START HERE: Tennis for Beginners – Get Started Playing Tennis

Thinking about getting into tennis? You’ve come to the right place!
Our comprehensive guide gives you everything you need to know to get started playing tennis.
Tennis is a terrific game that you can start playing as a kid and play well into retirement. It’s good for the mind and body. We hope this [...]

Playing Tennis – Basic Rules

As with any sport, it’s important to know the rules and etiquette before diving in.

Keeping Score
Since birth we have been taught to count 1-2-3-4-5. The reason why in tennis the score is counted Love-15-30-40-Game is still debated, but may date back to as early as the 1400’s and be rooted in the French language. [...]

Tennis Skill Levels – NTRP

It is important to know the terminology associated with skill level in tennis because tennis lessons, club play and tournament tennis play are typically all based on your rating.
Tennis has a very defined skill level evaluation system called the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP). Very generally, the purpose of this system is to enable people [...]

Tennis Court Surfaces – How Different Surfaces Affect the Game

You’ll probably play on whatever court is most convenient for you. Note, however, that the playing surface has a significant effect on the tennis game.
Clay
Speed: Slow

Balls tend to bounce high and rallies are long
Most games tend to be baseline oriented
Fun surface on which to practice strategy
Clay courts are occasionally found in the US and [...]

Tennis Shots and How to Use Them

There are many shots that make up the game of tennis.
Beginners starting to learn to play tennis first learn the forehand and backhand groundstrokes to rally and then add the serve to play games.

Serve:
This shot starts every point. The goal is to put your opponent on the defensive through placement and/or power. This is [...]

Tennis Grips – Holding the Tennis Racquet

There are a number of different ways to hold the tennis racquet.  These are called tennis grips.
What is popular has changed over time as the technology and style of play has changed.  Years back, many players played with the continental grip.  Today, most modern players play with a semi-western grip.  Still, deciding which is best [...]

Tennis Ball Spin – How Different Types of Spin Work

There are three types of spin that can be put on a tennis shot.
Some players hit all their shots with the same type of spin while others vary the spin depending on the game situation.  Good players can mix up their shots by putting a variety of spins on the ball from one shot to [...]

Tennis Stances – 3 Different Types

There are three ways to position your lower body relative to the ball when you swing.  These are called stances.
Instructors used to exclusively teach the closed stance because it forces you to get into better position and allows better leverage hitting the tennis ball…and because it is easier to teach beginners to hit with a [...]

Learning Tennis – Private Tennis Lessons

Private tennis lessons are offered by professional instructors often called tennis pros. Rates tend to be by the hour and vary depending on the experience of the tennis instructor or tennis pro and how many students are in your private group.
Private one-on-ones with a tennis pro are an excellent way to get started to make [...]

Learning Tennis – Tennis Schools and Tennis Camps

Whether you only recently stepped foot on a court, or feel like you were born with a racket in your hand, attending a tennis school or camp is a great way to take your game to the next level, whatever level that may be. Tennis camp is also a great choice if you want to [...]