Every Tuesday, this site examines a training or technology concept that shapes how tennis is played. This week’s inspiration is a YouTube short featuring Aryna Sabalenka performing a keepy-uppy drill using a balloon. I will be honest, part of the reason I selected this clip is the rumor that the misidentification of a balloon precipitated a brief airspace closure over El Paso last week. Consider this a tongue-in-cheek attempt to chase a trending topic. Aviation confusion aside, the real question here is far more practical. Can a simple balloon actually improve your tennis reaction time?
In the YouTube short, Sabalenka works with her hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski in a competitive drill using a balloon and cones arranged in a triangle. The objective is to keep the balloon aloft on alternating touches. After tapping the balloon to keep it in the air over one cone, each player must quickly spring to a different set of cones before returning for the next contact. Those short bursts of movement are what elevate this from a novelty exercise to a legitimate coordination drill. Players are not only reacting to the balloon’s flight, but also recognizing where its trajectory will carry it and repositioning accordingly.
I previously wrote about a keepy-uppy style drill back in 2022 after seeing Andy Murray take part in Wimbledon’s “Copa-Uppy” challenge, where tennis players attempted to juggle a tennis ball soccer-style using only their feet. That version leaned heavily into pure footwork and lower-body coordination. The balloon drill Sabalenka is doing is different. Tapping the balloon with the hands more closely mirrors the upper-body control and spatial awareness required for functional tennis strokes. The addition of short sprints between cones adds a reactive conditioning component that aligns well with tennis movement patterns. If the Murray variation is stronger for isolating footwork skill, this balloon version may be more transferable to whole-body coordination and stroke-related positioning.
At its core, the drill Sabalenka is doing is a reaction and visual tracking exercise. A balloon floats more slowly than a tennis ball, but it behaves far less predictably. Small variations in force or angle can produce significant changes in direction. Minor air currents alter its path. Unlike a tennis ball, it does not travel on a consistent, repeatable arc. The athlete must constantly recalibrate position and timing. The slower speed makes it suitable as a warm-up activity while still challenging coordination and awareness.
Can doing this balloon drill improve tennis performance? Maybe. Reaction time in tennis is not solely about raw speed. It involves visual tracking, anticipatory movement, balance, and controlled footwork under dynamic conditions. This balloon drill encourages continuous visual engagement, demands balance while reaching outside a stable base, and sharpens spatial awareness in a low-stakes game.
When assessing this drill for recreational players, however, one significant limitation becomes immediately apparent. While the exercise likely works well in a still indoor environment or controlled gym setting, it will probably break down outdoors. Players attempting this on a breezy public court may quickly discover that the wind becomes the dominant factor rather than the intended training stimulus. In short, the balloon will be quickly swept away.
While balloons may not belong in controlled airspace, they may have a place in training and warm-ups. On a calm day or in a gym, this deceptively simple drill can sharpen tracking, coordination, and body control. Not every performance gain requires advanced technology. Sometimes improvement begins with something as simple as keeping a balloon in the air.
If the video preview below doesn’t load for you, you can watch it on YouTube at this link.