Know Before You Go: 5 Things to Know for Your Beginner Tennis Lessons
Ready to start improving your tennis skills on the court – or introducing your child to the sport? Playing tennis is an incredibly rewarding experience that holds a lifelong impact for players. While you get to enjoy the game, you’ll also hone plenty of skills that apply both on and off the court. Before you dive headfirst into your tennis academy journey, here’s a few important things you’ll want to learn early on.
1. The Terminology
If you’re new to playing tennis, you should prepare to hear a lot of unusual terminology thrown your way. Don’t worry! With time and practice, you’ll be aligning these new phrases with the actions they represent like a total natural. Before your beginner tennis lessons, here’s a few to get you started:
- Serve: Also called “service” – this refers to putting the ball in play by hitting it into the opposite service box.
- Stroke: Hitting a ball with a tennis racket.
- Forehand: A stroke with the inner side of your hand, as you hold the racket facing
- Backhand: A stroke with the back of your hand, as you hold the racket facing
- Fault: An invalid, failed service
- Ace: A serve which is not touched by a receiver. Here, the serving player wins the
- Volley: The act of striking the ball before it first hits the
- Game, set, and match: A “game” involves a player scoring four A “set” is a group of games
A winning player must win six or more games by a margin of two. A “match” indicates the best of three or five sets.
2. How Scoring Works
In tennis, “love” means nothing – or at least, it means 0 points! A tennis game involves scoring 4 points – with a margin of 2 above your opponent. You earn a point when your opponent fails to legally return your serve. Before each serve, the score is announced. The server’s score is listed first – and with specific terminology:
- 0 points – “love”
- 1 point - “15”
- 2 points – “30”
- 3 points – “40”
- 4 points – “game”
3. Time to Think on Your Feet
Focused on that tennis ball or your racket? You might find yourself facing problems – are tennis can truly be about training your feet! You’ll be moving around the court frequently to efficiently return the ball, so great footwork is a cornerstone of your success. As you learn to make these quick steps, strong legs are key! Exercising them will be important, as well as working with your instructors to learn the best practices for navigating the court – like positions and stances you’ll use.
4. Practice is Key
Like any other sport or physical activity, tennis works and pushes your body! Cardio is key for this type of exercise, as tennis gets your heart rate up and relies on stamina and strength to find success. You’ll want to begin putting effort not just into your tennis game, but into training your whole body! Develop your own fitness routine, and balance practicing your tennis skills with some other exercises, like running, swimming, cycling, or more. The mood boost you find along the way can be a great added bonus.
5. Train Your Mind, Too
Tennis isn’t a purely physical game. The process also helps to train your mind! As you follow the ball in play and learn to make quick judgements, you practice decision-making and problem-solving. Beyond these skills, you’ll also want to remember that your attitude matters. A poor outlook or defeatist attitude can only hurt the growth of your skills. Remind yourself to stay optimistic and determined. No one has ever become a tennis champion overnight, and you’ll need to earn your skills with hard work.
Got all that in mind? Good – you’re ready to start beginner tennis lessons! For skilled instructors who are ready to start you on the correct path to forming good habits, turn to John Hudson Tennis Academy – your premier Daytona Beach tennis center!