This article is going to talk about a number of things that go into playing tennis. It will focus on equipment, the various shots involved in the game, and the scoring, but it won’t go into specifics on any particular topic.
Equipment
There are three things you need to play tennis: a tennis racket, some tennis balls, and a tennis court. A tennis racket is, of course, specifically designed for the sport. All rackets have approximately the same design: a handle (sometimes called a “grip”) and an oval-shaped head with strings. A tennis ball is about two and a half inches in diameter and covered in felt. Typically, the inside of a ball is pressurized so that it bounces relatively high. Finally, a tennis court is 78 feet across and 27 feet wide (for singles) with two-inch white lines dividing the various areas of the court.
The Strokes
There are several basic strokes in tennis: the forehand, the backhand, and the serve. The forehand is hit with your dominant hand on the dominant side of your body. For example, if you are right handed, you would use that hand to hit a forehand on the right side of your body. The backhand is on your non-dominant side and hit with either one (your dominant arm, reaching across your body) or two hands. The serve starts the point and must be hit behind the baseline into a service box.
The Scoring
The scoring of a tennis match is very unique. You need to win four points to win a game and six games to win a set. Matches are typically best-out-of-three sets, but for major tournaments they are best-out-of-five sets. Both players start at 0 – 0. Let’s say the server wins the first point. He is now up 15 – 0. If he wins the next point he is up 30 – 0, and if he wins the one after that he is up 40 – 0. So the first point you win gives you 15, the second 30, and the third 40. If both players make it to 40 (so 40 – 40), this situation is called deuce. From this spot, a player must win two consecutive points to win the game. If one player wins the first point, but the other player wins the next, they are back to deuce.
While this is somewhat of a rough introduction to how to play tennis, hopefully you’ve got a better picture. If you’re still interested in learning how to play tennis, please visit our website!
Will Hamilton runs the website Fuzzy Yellow Balls, which teaches people how to play tennis by offering free video tennis lessons