The Basics Of Tennis
I embark on this project with much purpose and interest to share my knowledge of tennis with any others who could benefit from it. If I could awaken or nurture the interest to greater heights of at least a few who are still new to the game or on the verge of entering this game, I consider it adequate rearward for my efforts.
At the outset, I would like to address the novices with regard to some of the basic aspects of the game since others may be already familiar with them.
Unlike in golf, the best equipment available would not be wasted on beginners. Don’t think twice about spending more on a superior accessory such as a racquet, since it would certainly improve your game and morale to more than justify the additional expense.
Make it a practice to be dressed in the proper attire when playing tennis for it is good for your ego. Choosing a good racquet is not that simple. There are excellent standard racquets available in the market irrespective of brand names. What goes most for a good racquet are its weight, the material of the frame and especially the handle, the overall balance when you hold it and the quality of stringing.
Just having a good racquet alone would get you nowhere unless you use good quality tennis balls on a regular basis. You can never hope to enhance your game by practicing with old “dead” balls that have lost most of their consistent bounce.
If you think that you are going to love this game, make use of every opportunity you get to see any great players in action, whether live on courts or on videos. Read quite a lot of books and other material available not only on rules and technique, but on all other aspects including how different types of turfs, weather conditions and even crowds can affect your play. They are all great ways of learning to play the game like an expert. 
You would probably learn more tennis off the court than on, especially in the initial stages. However, try to copy and emulate strokes of great players and test and put some new theories you learn into practice at the earliest opportunity on a court.
If your progress appears slow, don’t get discouraged, for there are times when after many unsuccessful attempts over a long drawn out period, something just clicks into place when you least expect it making it look so simple too! But you can’t expect fortune and success to always just fall into your lap without some hard work; can you? Tennis is no exception. The majority of great players have come to the top the hard way except perhaps for a handful of born geniuses.
Tennis is a sport that can take you places all your life through. With a tennis racquet in your hand you will receive immediate recognition and acceptance all over the world; for such is its universal brotherhood. Tennis is played by many top executives for relaxation from the stress of business matters that take up most of their time.
Besides, it provides good exercise, excitement and enjoyment to all irrespective of age barriers. One of the lasting tributes to Tennis is the large number of its representatives from all over the world who took part in the World War Two effort with a sense of patriotism, bravery and chivalry, far more than from any other branch of sport. They remained true ambassadors of tennis till the end bringing back glory to their countries while some sacrificed themselves on the courts of war.
The best, the quickest and the most appropriate sequence of building up your tennis technique could be summarized as follows:
- Concentration
- Keeping the ball in sight all the time from the moment of delivery
- Footwork and transference of body weight to appropriate foot at the correct time
- Playing Different Strokes
- Positioning within the Court
- Match Play (Court Generalship)
- Learning Psychology of Tennis
Concentration:
Tennis is not played with a racquet alone, but with the mind as well that plays a big role in how you fare in the game. You cannot play to your top potential if your mind keeps wandering during a match. There are many reasons why your mind may wander when playing; chief among which is an indifference to the game and a lack of motivation to excel in it. If anyone is not interested in going far in tennis, then obviously he cannot concentrate on the game during a match as much as he should.
Unless you posses high powers of concentration, you can easily be distracted and upset by crowd behavior with the din they make, especially if they happen to be partisan or hostile and very much more supportive of your opponent. Even the best and highly experienced players go through such traumatic experiences especially when playing under different conditions and new surroundings.
It is only a well-disciplined mind that can conquer such situations with grim determination to put one’s head down to the task in hand and to get on with the game unaffected and unruffled by what goes on in the surroundings.
It is the points that win a game for you, while winning games enable you to win a set and ultimately the number of sets you win determines the result of the match. But you can’t get points to begin with, unless you play each shot as best as possible. When you set about winning a match, put all other thoughts aside and concentrate fully on each and every shot you play. Put everything you have into every shot; and if you look after your strokes without missing shots, the match will look after itself.
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