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What Is the First Thing to Learn in Tennis?

In tennis, everything begins with the feet. Once you start playing, your feet will not stop moving as they are an essential part of your playing. Therefore, the first things to learn in tennis are the stances and basic positions.

Tennis is a fast sport and students might be better off learning right off the bat the “ready position”. This position features the racket in front, standing with the legs shoulder-width apart and the body weight slightly forward. This position will get the student ready to race in any direction.

Stances and grips are several and there is no priority to them as the way to use them depends on position and time. The main four stances are closed, neutral, open and semi-open. Grips are similar as there is no correct way to hold your racket. The six main grips are continental, eastern, semi-eastern, full western, backhand and two-handed backhand; again, no priority, but we may use one over the other depending on what we need at a certain moment in the game.

Tennis, as we mentioned before, is a fast-paced sport and so the split-step is fundamental. The split step is a short hop to be done before going towards the ball. It helps activate the legs in order to have a better reaction time. Moving steps are another aspect of tennis technique and just like stances and grips, there are several of them: cross step, side shuffle, sprint, adjusting steps, to name a few.

Finally, the path of swing is very important and it can be described as hitting low to high and finishing the stroke across the shoulder.

What Are Five Rules in Tennis?

Tennis, just like any other sport, has rules that need to be followed. General rules are the rules that apply to all matches, but there are other rules that are specific to singles matches and doubles matches.

Here are five general rules of tennis:

1 - The ball must land within bounds for play to continue; if a player hits the ball outside of bounds, this results in the loss of the point for them.

2 - Each player has two service chances to get the ball into the box.  If they miss both serves, that is called a double-fault and they lose the point.

3 -  A player’s feet must remain behind the service line during the serve.

4 - A player must win four points before the other player in order to win a game. A player must win six games to win a set. In most tournaments, matches are played to best two out of three sets, but in major tournaments like Wimbledon, women’s tennis matches are best two out of three sets while men’s matches are best three out of five sets.

5 - If the ball hits or touches the player, that counts as a penalty.

How Can I Make Myself Better at Tennis?

Taking tennis lessons is a good way to make yourself better at tennis. The benefits of learning tennis with tennis coaching are several. 

Tennis lessons can be a great way of keeping your consistency level high. Learning with a coach means learning with someone who will meet you on a regular schedule every week. This structured way of learning will help you keep focused; your time and your energy, therefore, will be used more efficiently.

A tennis coach will also address the challenges and difficulties that are specific to your progress. Your racket grip, your feet or any other aspect of tennis, in general, can be addressed in a personalised fashion thanks to this tailored approach tennis coaching provides.

A coach can also help you realise your errors so you can correct them. This interaction builds a relationship in the long run. Therefore, learning with a tennis coach means getting to know someone who will guide you patiently through your journey of learning this beautiful sport.

Wondering “Where can I find tennis lessons near me?” Visit Superprof and find an array of tennis coaches ready to start tennis lessons with you. Type down Tennis for the skill you would like to learn followed by your location in New Zealand, and you will have access to a long list of tennis instructors in your area. Searching for “tennis near me”? Visit Superprof and find the answer today.