The cone drill: change of direction for tennis

Five markers in a fan 3–5 metres from a centre point. Split at the centre; a number is called as you land; sprint to that cone, brake, come back for the next call. Part of speed and reaction in the 6-week tennis fitness program.

Animated demonstration: five cones in a fan around a centre mark, with a sprint to the called cone and back — Cone drill, one cycle, as the app shows it.

Why it matters

Changing direction on a random call. In a study with tennis players, random routes improved reactive agility more than fixed ones.

How to do it

Lay 5 cones in a fan 3–5 m from a centre mark (shoes or bottles work).
Number them 1 to 5 from left to right.
On each beep, split-step at the centre; the number is called as you land.
Sprint to that cone, brake, and come back to the centre for the next beep. Fast and clean, not endurance.

Common mistakes

Rounding the turn instead of braking.
Drifting away from the centre mark.

How much

From week 3 of the program: 4–6 sets of 8–10 seconds, a cone called about every 4 seconds, 40–60 seconds of rest. Every rep fast and clean: this is speed, not endurance.

Level	Split-step rallies × shots	Reaction arrows	Cone drill (from week 3)
1	6 × 3	10	4 × 8 s
2	8 × 3	12	4 × 8 s
3	8 × 4	14	5 × 8 s
4	10 × 4	16	5 × 8 s
5	10 × 4	18	6 × 8 s
6	10 × 4	20	6 × 10 s

This drill needs a cue you cannot predict: a random side, a random cone, a random pause. A partner can call it; Tuko calls it for you, with the beep and the voice.

What the research says

Sprints with several changes of direction build sprint speed and change-of-direction ability better than sprints with a single turn (meta-analysis of 15 trials)^[3]; a random route improved reactive agility more than a known one in college tennis players.^[2]

Tuko runs this for you: the timer, the beeps and the voice, the levels and the repeats. Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.