Tennis Simplified: Tips for Beginners

Tennis is a game that can go either way, whether you win or lose it you will always take something away. There are many tips for playing Tennis and I am going to share some that everyone knows and then some that personally help me when I play. Everyone who has played a sport of any kind has heard, “practice makes perfect” however, in Tennis our motto is “perfect practice makes perfect.” To make perfect practice, players must give their all into the game by producing blood, sweat, and tears for Tennis. As they say, you’re not really a Tennis player until you’ve eaten the court! This merely means that in order to succeed you have to fall down and get back up again. “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not prepared to do.” (http://www.active.com/tennis/Articles/How-to-Play-Tennis-Tips-for-Beginners.htm) The more time a player spends on the court the better their game will be during their match. Therefore, because Tennis is a sport where improvement can be seen daily, players should be tempted to practice all they can!

There are many tips or ways to succeed when playing Tennis, but the main thing is keeping the ball in “play,” which means to keep returning the ball no matter what. Also something to remember when you are returning the ball is to hit it deep, because focusing on depth will force your opponent to make a UFE (Unenforced Errors) or UFO’s as Coach Carr calls them! Every time you hit the ball deep it makes your opponent use more skill than you. The biggest mistake a beginning player can make is to hit the ball to low and it will hit directly into the net. This will eventually make you want to scream. Don’t scream because you will allow your opponent to believe that they already have you beat. Player’s will take obvious advantage if you are beating yourself up over the little errors. To share inside knowledge, I would suggest you to figure out what you did wrong and throw it out because if you dwell on a mistake it WILL keep happening. So once you throw it away, work on your versatility. Versatility helps keep your opponent on their feet and they will not be able to guess your next move. Look HAPPY no matter what!

The main tip I can give you about playing Tennis is just to stay calm and keep your eyes on the ball! For instance when a serve is coming at you 90 M.P.H. you want to hit the deck and scream but if you watch the ball it seems to slow down. Whether you’re upset, furious, or sad that you’re losing make sure you clear your mind and focus on the most important thing, the ball! At home there are many ways to practice Tennis with just a simple wall, without windows. (Your parents may get a little upset if you break a window, don’t do that!) The wall is a great opponent that will return every time, just hit against the wall for a hour every day and you will feel like you’re good enough to play someone like Roger Federer or Maria Sharapova! Take my tips and practice them and you’ll be on your way to the pros!