So I stumbled across these Ergi Kirkin tennis drills everyone’s buzzing about, promising “fast results.” Honestly? Sounded too good to be true. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Grabbed my racket, shoved a basket of balls into my car, and headed straight to the local courts early Tuesday morning. Figured I’d give all four moves a proper bash and see what stuck.
Starting Out: Pure Chaos
First drill was this footwork thing near the net. Supposed to improve quick reactions for volleys. Man, did I feel like a newborn giraffe! Stepping forward, then sideways, then some weird shuffle back… I tripped over my own feet more times than I hit the ball cleanly. Took me a solid 15 minutes just to stop feeling like I was gonna faceplant every third step. Ended up just focusing on the basic side-to-side shuffle first, trying to get that smooth before adding anything fancy. Progress? Tiny. Frustration? Huge.
Move Two: The “Forehand On The Run” Mess
Next up was hitting forehands while sprinting side-to-side, simulating chasing down a wide ball. Let me tell you, trying to control a shot while barreling towards the fence is no joke. My timing was way off:
- First attempts? Swung way too early, balls sailing into the next county.
- Tried to slow down? Then the ball whizzed past me untouched.
- Footwork? Forget positioning nicely. I was mostly just scrambling and wildly swinging.
Seriously questioned my coordination. Spent ages just hitting the ball normally from the side, concentrating on not falling over, before even trying to add power. It was ugly, but slowly got a tiny bit less ugly.
The Serve & Volley Surprise
The third drill was a classic: serve, then sprint forward to volley the return. Simple, right? Wrong. My brain absolutely refused to coordinate. Serve… then stand there like a lemon watching the imaginary return go past! Or worse, serve, start charging forward like a bull, then completely miss the volley because I hadn’t stopped moving yet. The key, painfully learned? Serve, then a quick split step before moving in. Took focused repetition to hammer that pause-step into my muscle memory. Still messed it up half the time by the end of the bucket.
Deep Ball Drudgery
Last drill focused on returning deep balls near the baseline. Felt like running a marathon just to get behind the ball in time. The drill emphasized keeping the shot deep yourself. Yeah, easier said than done when you’re sucking wind. Shots kept landing:
- Short in the net
- Short for an easy kill
- Or sailed long
Felt like grinding teeth work. Slowed everything down, focused purely on clean contact and hitting through the ball, aiming high and deep over the net. Less power, more shape. Eventually got a few decent ones, but it was exhausting and required constant concentration.
Final Verdict After the Sweat & Grunt Fest?
Look, “fast results”? Maybe if you’re already some kind of tennis ninja. For the rest of us mortals? These drills highlighted exactly how rubbish my footwork and stroke-timing were under pressure. It was brutal, awkward, and kinda humbling. BUT! Just by forcing myself to do them, really focusing on the ugly parts, I absolutely felt specific weaknesses getting prodded. My net approach felt a tiny bit smoother by the end. I hit a couple of decent deep balls I couldn’t manage at the start. Is it magic? Nah. But if you stick with the grind and don’t mind looking like a fool for a while, I can see how chipping away at these could build solid skills. Still got mountains to climb, but at least I know which mountain paths suck the most now.
