Introduction to Tennis

Is tennis good for you?

'Tennis is a battle of minds, just as much as it is a battle of playing ability. Trying to expose your opponent's weaknesses is one of the most vital and fascinating facets of tennis'

Absolutely - tennis is a gentle way of exercising for beginners, and for more advanced players is a very thorough workout. Physical activity increases energy and also helps you to stay healthy, fending off germs and infections. Playing one set of tennis would give you thirty minutes moderate physical activity, not to mention plenty of fresh air!

How old do I have to be to start?

Obviously you have to be able to hold a tennis racket, but there are plenty of opportunities for youngsters. Mini Tennis is an excellent game for starting off young players under eight. Played with a scaled down racket, foam balls and a small court the game is a fun introduction to the full game.

How much will it cost?

Prices for coaching vary from club to club, but we always recommend keeping your lessons to half an hour or an hour, and to have group coaching. How can I develop my game?

One way is to go for an intensive week of tennis, or a break where you can play tennis at your leisure, there are tennis holiday companies offering holidays both in the US and abroad. You can see a list of these in Clubs and Camps.

If the full court seems too big at first, play a scaled-down version of the game in the four service boxes of the court. As you start to become more confident you will start to use tactics. Hitting a ball that comes near to you is easier than running to hit a ball - therefore you'll soon realise that one aim is to try to make your opponent move in order to hit the ball. You will be better placed to hit each ball if you maintain a good position on the court before and after each shot, and you'll begin to understand the importance of good positioning. Don't get caught out of position to one side of the court or stuck half way between the baseline and the net.

Your tennis coach will have many other games and exercises to help develop the correct movement, co-ordination and dexterity for tennis.

Once you have found a court to play on and you start to play tennis with your friends, family or other players, you will naturally start to get a feel for the game. A way to develop your hand-eye co-ordination is to practice throwing and catching the ball either against a wall or with a partner.

Once you have mastered these basic principles, try to play to the weakness of your opponent. This might be their forehand, backhand, volley, smash, or perhaps running to the ball. Exploiting your opponent's weaknesses will help you to start controlling the game. Also, remember to use your own strengths as much as possible. You may enjoy serving, have a strong cross-court backhand, love to volley and play from the net - try to do more of what you enjoy!

And keep at it! The world's best players spend many hours training and improving their game. Success may not come immediately, so don't get downhearted if you don't always play at your best.

Gavin Dye Author and Webmaster at http://www.tennis-supply.com

Taking the first steps

More and more people in the UK are picking up a racket to enjoy the delights of tennis. It’s a more accessible sport than you might think; it’s sociable, exciting and, of course, great for your fitness levels!

It may seem to many of us that tennis is just an elite sport which is played for just a few weeks of the summer surrounding the Wimbledon fortnight.

Tennis clubs are generally laid-back and sociable, with a mix of friendly competitiveness for those that choose to play club matches.

When many of us are itching to go out and play after watching another gallant failure by Britain’s best and another success by Roger Federer, we usually find that the parks are full, and then perhaps don’t make another effort until the same time the following year.

But you don’t have to wait for the summer to enjoy the delights of tennis. Tennis nowadays is a more accessible and year-round sport than you might think; it’s sociable, exciting and, of course, great for your fitness. More than three million people are believed to play the sport in the UK.

These days you don’t need to be overly concerned about the weather. If it is fine, then a good match outdoors can be just what you need, but sports centres make it easy to play throughout the winter, whatever conditions are blown our way!

You could knock around with other club members, or many of them offer a ‘ladder’ in which players play against others of similar ability and then move up or down the ladder according to their success or failure.

The real barrier, perhaps, to starting tennis, is if you have no-one to play with, but there are plenty of clubs around who open their doors to players of all standards.

Tennis can be played indoors or outdoors, on a range of surfaces from grass, concrete, clay or artificial turf. The game can be played as singles (two people versus one another) or doubles (two pairs versus one another).

More on Tennis

Thanks to the wide coverage that television and other media gives to the game, tennis is now one of the most popular sports. How does one define the game? It is a game played with racquets and a light ball between two players. The players stand on opposite sides of a net placed in the center on a rectangular court that may be made of grass, clay or asphalt. It can also be played between two teams of two players.

“It is believed that his version was adapted from an older sport of indoor tennis or royal tennis that had been invented in 12th century France”

Racquetball, a variation of the game, is played in an indoor court with a specially marked floor and high walls off which the ball must be played.

Tennis has a long history, and according to records available, its establishment can be traced to two separate incidents. In 1859, Major Thomas Henry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Batista Pereira, a Spanish merchant, were living in Birmingham, England, and played a game that they termed "pelota" after a Spanish ball game. It was played on a lawn. This later came to be known as tennis, and in 1874 they formed the Leamington Tennis Club, which laid out the rules of the game. It was on 23 July 1884 that the first tennis tournament was held on the grounds of Shrubland Hall.

Meanwhile, in December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game to entertain his guests at a party on his estate in Wales.

The world tennis comes from the French word "tenez," an imperative form of the verb "tenir" which means "to hold." This, apparently, was a cry used by the player who was about to serve the ball. The players or the teams, depending on whether it is a "singles" or a "doubles" match, stand on opposite sides of the net.

Some of great tennis players include John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

One player is the server and the opposing player is the receiver. The server serves the ball, which is returned by the receiver. The ball has to go over the net into the service court opposite the server's. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service court, it is a void service. The server then gets a second chance. A proper service starts a rally in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. The first player or team that fails to return the ball loses the point.

The first player to win six games wins the set, but he has to be ahead by two games. If the score reaches 6 - 5, then the winning player must win the next game. If the score reaches six games all, it is called a tiebreak.

The points in tennis are called love, 15, 30, 40, deuce and advantage. Love indicates zero. If a player wins a fourth point before his or her opponent has won three points, then that player wins the game. If both the players win three points (40-all), the score is "deuce." A player must win two points in a row to win the game. The first point won after a deuce is called advantage, but if that player loses the next point then the score returns to deuce.

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