tennis tips

Like most sports, tennis can be intimidating when you first decide you want to pick up a racquet. Whether you are a junior or an adult, there are a few things you should know about when it comes to your game and getting the most amount of enjoyment out of the sport. Here, we will give you a few things to consider regardless of whether you have just started your tennis journey or are already decades along in it.

  • Embrace your own uniqueness

No two tennis players are alike. Even the Bryan Brothers, who are probably the most successful twin brothers to play the sport, do not have games that look exactly alike. Feel confident that your own unique style, flair, movement, and tennis strokes cannot be replicated nor should they be! There are, of course, certain best practices that work well in successfully hitting a tennis ball and playing points. But in terms of your own individuality, the more you can embrace that the better. Like any other sport, the best tennis players in the world serve as a great example of what’s possible - and their strokes, movement and fitness are what we all strive for; using them as an example but not getting too frustrated that you can’t hit a forehand exactly like Rafa Nadal or a serve like John Isner is key. Find out your unique qualities or quirks and embrace them. Is it bouncing the tennis ball exactly 8 times before you serve? It is fixing your strings after each point? Is it reciting your favorite positive saying before each point? Is it wearing bright yellow shoes? Whatever makes you feel more comfortable on a tennis court is a good idea (within reason, of course).

This point is true no matter what your current ability is. If you are a beginner, repetition in hitting a tennis ball is important. The confidence to draw on that repetition and put into practice what your instructor has told you is also important. As you become an advanced player and your strokes are more fundamentally sound, in-point tactics become increasingly a part of the game. Progressing to the elite levels of the sport becomes more of a thinking man or woman’s game than physical. Have you ever wondered how the #300 ranked player in the world could upset a #1? The answer largely isn’t physical, it’s mental. On any particular day, a higher-ranked player could have lower confidence in a particular shot or simply not have a tactical answer to his or her opponent. Both players can hit the ball almost equally well, but a lot of times the scales tip in favor of who is “on” more mentally and emotionally that day. The very best players are “on” mentally more than other top-flight players.

  • Get to know different court surfaces

This is a tip that not many people pay attention to, but one that provides a ton of enjoyment for those who do. There are lots of different types of court surfaces from red clay to grass to decoturf (hard). There are artificial grass surfaces, there is a rubberized court surface, and green clay (har-tru). Many of us learn to play on the same courts each week, but over time playing on different types of courts makes the sport a lot more fun. Also, it opens up all kinds of options while traveling or on vacation. Learning the surfaces, and learning how to adapt your playing style to the surface, is a unique challenge. We have heard stories about tennis players who have played on grass courts in England one day and then red clay in France the next. Having knowledge about all the types of courts, how the tennis ball reacts, and how your game adapts is an area most players tend not to think about. Doing so will also help improve your game and make you work on areas of it that make you a well-rounded player! No one trick ponies here!

  • Even if you’re a beginner, drink lots of water

By the time most athletes are thirsty, they are likely already dehydrated. A mistake we see often is that beginners who don’t tend to do much running or sweating on the court also tend to forget about drinking water. Even if you’re not experiencing an intense workout or practice session on the court, having enough water in your system impacts your energy levels. It also has been proven to help with focus and general clarity in your mind. If you’re learning and absorbing a lot of information in addition to exercising, having a bottle of water on court with you can help you continuously stay and feel refreshed. Try it!

  • Know the rules and etiquette of the sport, and you’ll have more fun

If you’re in the middle of playing a point, and a stray ball from another court comes rolling across your court during the point, what happens? If there is a disagreement about the score between two players, what should happen? What is the difference between a 9 point tiebreaker and a 12-point tiebreaker? If a tennis ball lands with only a portion of it touching the baseline, is it “in” or “out”? And no, it doesn’t depend on who you are playing!

These are just a few questions to get you thinking. The point is that knowing a few specific rules will make the sport a lot more fun and create less distraction for you and your opponent. The rules really aren’t all that difficult to learn compared to other sports. Since there are usually 2 to 4 players involved in a typical tennis match, the depth of the rule book isn’t too unwieldy. It’s worth a few hours of your time to familiarize yourself with the rules of tennis, as well as general tennis etiquette.