Machine Transition Walk
Why this drill
The machine holds the kitchen line so you can practice taking it: a full baseline-to-line journey against feeds that never make the polite mistakes a drilling partner makes.
Setup
Machine at the opposite non-volley-zone line, set to a firm, flat-to-slightly-descending feed at a steady interval — quick enough to press you, slow enough to allow two steps between balls. You start behind the baseline.
The drill
Reset the first feed from the baseline, advance two steps, split step, reset the next from where you land, and keep advancing one station at a time — baseline, mid-court, kitchen — until your toes reach the line and you block two final feeds into the kitchen. That is one walk. A pop-up above net height ends the walk; start over. Count completed walks in fifteen minutes and log the number. Rest a few breaths between walks — quality of the split step decays first.
One thought to take on court
Stopped and split before each ball arrives — the machine's rhythm is fixed, so earn your steps between its shots, not during them.