Practical guide
How to film tennis video for a useful practice review
A useful tennis video starts with a steady, repeatable view and one question. Keep the full action in frame, compare the same moment between attempts, and send your coach the camera view and context with the clip. TennisDraw helps you inspect footage; it does not decide whether a technique is correct.
By David Balderston, developer of TennisDraw. Updated October 10, 2026. This is a filming and review checklist, rather than personalized tennis instruction or a claim that a video overlay measures ball speed.
Pick a question before recording
Decide what you want to show a coach: a serve checkpoint, contact during a groundstroke, a volley sequence, or a change between two attempts. A clip that answers one question is easier to review than a long recording of unrelated repetitions. Ask your coach which view is most useful for that question.
Keep any tripod or support outside the playing area. Get permission before recording other people, and avoid framing unrelated players when you can. Follow the venue’s recording rules.
Frame the whole movement
For a serve, leave room for the player, racket, toss, and follow-through. A crop that cuts off the racket or ball removes context you may want at the checkpoint. For a groundstroke, include the preparation and recovery rather than only the moment you expect to be contact.
Use a stable support and useful lighting. High-frame-rate capture can provide more frames to inspect when your camera supports it, but poor light and motion blur can still hide detail. A higher frame rate does not itself prove that a movement is measured accurately.
Make before-and-after clips comparable
Write down camera position, height, distance, orientation, and zoom. Keep those choices the same between attempts where possible. Perspective changes apparent angles and distances; a new camera position can make a similar movement look different.
Retain the original files. Add a short note describing the session and the question so a later comparison has context. Do not infer a precise 3D angle or speed from an ordinary 2D view.
Review one checkpoint in TennisDraw
Record or import a clip, then slow playback or step frame by frame to the moment you want to discuss. Add one useful line, arrow, or angle. A body overlay can help you locate visible positions, but it remains a visual reference affected by the camera view and tracking quality.
Compare a second clip at the same point in the action. Align the checkpoint you want to examine rather than matching only the number of seconds since recording began. If you are uncertain which moment matters, send a slightly longer section so the coach can see the motion around it.
Share the question with the video
Export an annotated frame or video and include the stroke, camera view, date, and question. The recipient can watch a normal exported media file without owning TennisDraw. Keep the original clip for a different interpretation or a later review.
TennisDraw does not provide remote coaching accounts, cloud team libraries, ball-speed measurements, or automatic technique diagnosis. Choose a shared coaching platform when the ongoing relationship and team organization are the main job.
Copy this session note
Stroke / checkpoint:
Camera position, height, distance, and zoom:
What changed between attempts:
Question for the coach:
Original file, app version, and annotated export:
App facts before you buy
TennisDraw is $7.99 once on the U.S. App Store, with no subscription or in-app purchases. It requires iOS or iPadOS 17.6 or later. Footage and review stay on device unless you share. These purchase facts were checked against the Apple listing
Scan with your iPhone on October 10, 2026.
See TennisDraw’s workflow, full product facts, and support.