You can practice basic serving techniques in any large, open space, but it’s best to spend as much time as possible on actual courts. You’ll learn the layout of the court faster, and minimize the risk of breaking anything with your racquet or a ball!
You’ll need a racquet with its own case. For a beginner, all you really need to do is check to make sure your hand fits comfortably around the handle. The racquet shouldn’t feel like it’s too heavy to move, but it also shouldn’t feel like it weighs nothing. There are also men’s and women’s racquets, but you should prioritize fit over gender in most cases. Buy at least three tennis balls. They get lost very easily!
Stricter clubs may require you to buy tennis shoes, tennis shorts and shirts, and tennis skirts for women. However, this is not always the case. Tennis shoes are the best to play tennis in, but if you don’t have them, any pair of sneakers will do.
Tennis courts are divided in two by a net–one side is yours, the other is your opponent’s. You can’t touch the net or hit the ball into it in-game. The parallel line furthest from the net is the baseline. You’ll stand here to make the first serve. There’s a thinner line between the baseline and the net. This is the service line. You’ll aim your serves into the area between the net and the service line. The small line in the middle of the baseline is the center mark. You’ll stand to the left or right of this mark to serve. The service area is divided into vertical halves, perpendicular to the net. This divides the service area into left and right sections. The two lines on each side of the court perpendicular to the net mark the boundaries of the court. The inner line is for a singles game and the outer is for doubles.
Tennis games begin with zero points on each side. In tennis, a score of zero is called “love. ” Scores are called at the beginning of each point serve. For a score of one, the announcer or server will call “fifteen. ” For a score of two, the call is “thirty. ” For a score of three, the call is “forty. ” For a score of four or a winning score, the call is “game. ” Each serve point is awarded to the player who doesn’t let the ball hit the net, bounce twice, or go out of bounds. Each of these actions ends the point. “Breaking the serve” occurs when the player who didn’t serve wins the game.
If both players win six games each, a tie breaking game is usually called. Tennis matches usually consist of three or five sets.
There is also a one-handed backhand stroke. You use your dominant hand only, but everything else stays the same. This one is a little tougher to manage.
The backhand volley is performed in a similar way, except the back of your hand faces the net. The motion in a backhand volley is similar to elbowing someone out of the way while crouching.
You should be standing facing the opposite corner. Keep one foot slightly above the baseline and the other about 45 centimetres (18 in) away inside the court.
When you aren’t serving, you can hold the racquet with both hands. Usually, the dominant hand will grip the top of the handle with the other hand at the bottom, but there’s no required position as long as you keep your hand or hands on the handle only.
If you want to do a practice toss, don’t hit it with your racquet. This counts as a fault, which could give your opponent a point! Save practice hits for non-game times. If you aren’t serving, continue holding your racquet and waiting.
If the ball hits the net on the way to the other side of the court, it’s called a “let” and you can do the serve over again. If the ball stays on your side of the court, goes out of bounds, or if you miss the serve altogether, it’s a “fault. ” You can get one do-over for a fault, but if you fault twice in one serve, the point is awarded to your opponent and the game moves on to the next point.
When the point is awarded, you’ll call the score and serve again until the game is won, and then again until the set is won.
Hold your racquet back behind your head so it grazes your back. When the ball is almost over your head, slam it down with the racquet over the net, just as you would do with a serve. Aim towards the opposite side of the court from your opponent. You can also do an overhead serve by performing the same actions while serving.
Use your racquet to hit the side of the ball. [13] X Research source Immediately after you hit the side of the ball, move the racquet upwards and strike the top of the ball. This makes the ball spin in an upward arc instead of moving in a straight path.
To slice the ball, hit it from underneath first. Then, immediately bring the racquet forward towards your opponent’s side. This will slow the ball down as it approaches, making your opponent more likely to miss.
Hard surfaces like asphalt and acrylic are most common in North America. They tend to be good for beginners because the surface allows for more bounces, but they can be hard on players’ joints. Clay surfaces are most common in Europe and Latin America, and they tend to make the gameplay slower. The ball also bounces highest on a clay court. Grass courts are the kind used at Wimbledon. Grass court games tend to be very fast, since the ball bounces less and the player is more likely to miss a serve.
Many players, especially beginners, are most comfortable with one specific stroke. If you notice that your opponent likes to strike the ball high with a forehand motion, you can learn to serve them low balls that require a backhand motion. Many players either love or hate playing close to the net. Figure out how your opponent feels about playing near the net. If they spend most of their time on the baselines, serve the ball close to the net to force them up there. Get to know your opponent’s serve. Every player has their own serving style. If your opponent always serves the ball in the same direction at the same height, make sure you’re standing there to return the serve! Study your opponent’s mental state. A stressed or upset opponent is a vulnerable opponent. If they’re reacting angrily, missing easy shots, or don’t seem to be paying attention to the game, you can leverage that into a win by serving a variety of shots to confuse them.
There’s also a variety called Canadian doubles, in which one team has two players and the other only one. It’s usually played in situations where the single player is far more advanced than the doubles.
