Casper Ruud, World No. 3.
World Number 3 Casper Ruud is the most consistent player on Tour. He does not give you free points. This level of consistency needs to be trained and developed. You can become a solid and consistent player too by following a groundstroke training routine that will take you no more than one hour to complete. It was part of my training routine for years and helped me build the consistency skills needed to reach a top ranking on the junior tour.
The key to success here is to stick with the drills described in this post for the long haul. Do not give up after a week or two — you will be tempted to diverge or switch to a different practice routine, one that is more fun. I promise you, if you stick with the boring consistency drills, you will see a huge payout!
Second key to success: You need a practice partner who is at a similar level and just as committed as you. You both need to commit at least six-months of training however many days per week before you truly see the positive results. If you want to get noticeable results sooner, you'll need to practice five-days per week.
One last thing before we dive into the drills. You must complete each rally sequence without interrupting the rally or letting the ball bounce twice. If the rally interrupts before you get to your destined number, you must start over for that sequence. For example, your goal is to make 100 shots cross-court, ad-to-ad. You hit the bottom of the net at shot 98. Do you let it slide or start over? Follow the rule, you know the right thing to do. Do not move on until you complete each sequence. The manageable thing to do is to set smaller numbers and incrementally increase them over the weeks or months.
Short court cross-court and down-the-line. Your first drill is to hit from the service line cross-court. Your job is to make 10 balls into the service box. Repeat the same from other diagonal. Then, you must hit ten shots down-the-line. You're still in the service box. Do that from forehand and backhand sides.
At this stage, you've hit 40 shots in. Next is the movement phase, still in the service box. One player hits cross and the other hits down-the-line. It’s called the Butterfly Drill and is the most important to developing consistency for matches because of the movement component.
The baseline. After you've completed the consistency sequences from the service box, you move back to the baseline and repeat the exact same sequences. Down-the-line, cross-court, and the Butterfly. The difference here is that you must hit past the service line for your shots to count. Do not count any shot that lands inside the service box.
Pro Tips
Recover back to the middle (or off-center) after each shot.
If you're missing a lot, move more actively, keep a wider stance, and get under each ball.
Make it more challenging by adding higher goals every two or three weeks. After two weeks your new number should be around 15 or 20 shots. Do not aim higher than 30 to 40 shots. You don’t want this drill taking up all your practice time.
Do not compromise your numbers. Once you and your hitting partner decide on a number, you must go through with it. The point is to grind through the boring and annoying parts of tennis for your brain to develop focus and determination.
The idea behind the drills is to help you develop consistency for your groundstrokes in most directions and mental strength. After two to twelve months, you will be able to complete this drill within 15-minutes. You will feel confident hitting cross-court, changing direction, and moving while keeping the rally alive. But fair warning, these drills will not train you to play points well, attack short balls and transition to the net, or develop an ability to transition between defense, neutral, and attacking states during point play. You will need to add those skills with other drills by working with a coach.