Welcome to Free Tennis Info, consider this guide your free tennis coach. Here, you will learn everything you would learn from taking professional tennis lessons, without paying the $50 an-hour lesson fees. We will cover everything about tennis, including: tennis form, basic tennis grips, how to hit and control your forehand and backhand, some game improving tennis drills, the rules of tennis, and much more. This step by step guide is easy to understand and will help you in taking your game to the next level. In every section you will notice that we have included frame by frame pictures, so you can easily understand how to develop your strokes. Our goal is for you to head out to your local tennis courts and play the best you can play. To be a good tennis player and enjoy the game, always remember that tennis is just a game, and a great way to stay in shape and have a healthy lifestyle.
Let's get started with a little history on tennis. Tennis was invented around the 12th century in France, but at that time they were playing indoors and hitting the ball with their hands, and the ball would be bouncing off walls, so let's get to when tennis really became what it is today. Around the 19th century is when the sport actually started using racquets and being played outdoors. It all began in the country of England, where they played in grass. It was a sport that was only for the wealthy, and the Kings and Queens from Europe loved to watch. Around that time is when they started playing singles matches and doubles matches. After some years, the sport got extremely popular and started to spread all around the world, even becoming an Olympic sport.
Now that you know a little history on the sport, let's get up-to-date. Today, tennis has become a physical sport, we have seen some professional matches that can last as long as 5 hours (except for American John Isner, who's first round match against Nicolas Mahut in the 2010 Wimbledon lasted over 11 hours!). Being in-shape is a plus but not a prerequisite, learning to control your shots and hitting the ball in the correct zone that you desire, is far more important. We have seen an overweight person pound a in-shape player 6-0, 6-0. What we mean by physical is how hard the ball is being hit today. If you watch a professional tennis match from the 70's and a match from today, you will wonder how they even became professionals in the 70's. The main reason why tennis today is much more physical is because of the new racquets that are being made, which are much lighter (which produces harder hitting) and the heavy top-spin that players are developing in today’s game, plus most professional players are working out to gain strength.
We know that most of you just want to learn to play tennis the correct way and enjoy it in the recreational level, and cannot commit to working out and practicing 8 hours a day, we do have day jobs! The good news is, that you do not need to commit this much time to become a great recreational player, but you will need to commit at least 2 hours a day, 3 times a week to practice every aspect of your game. In tennis, like any other sport, career or just about anything in life, you get what you put in. If you are a beginner or a novice, don't expect to much from yourself in the beginning, practice, determination and patience will get you where you want to go. There are no short-cuts in tennis. If you don’t practice proper form (which we will teach you) you will never improve your game.
In today’s tennis game, there is a number system that classifies your level of talent, from 2.5 to 7.0. Most recreational players will range from 2.5 to 5.0, anything above that is considered almost a pro to a pro. To reach the 2.5 level (the lowest level), you must be able to serve, hit the ball with some consistency, and count score. Sounds pretty easy right? the problem is, that the 2.5 circuit is boring and not challenging, most players double fault many times and there are many un-forced errors. To reach the higher levels and enjoy the game, you have to learn how to hit the ball properly, have a consistent serve, and learn to have patience with your game, and of course, lot's of practice. You can easily reach 3.0+ by just learning some basic tennis techniques and practicing them over and over until your body responds naturally to them.
Many players from the 2.5 to 3.5 level, are trying hard to improve their game. Here is a great tip. When you are out on the court playing, remember that you are playing the ball, not the other player, forget about him or her and focus on hitting the ball to the zone of the court you desire. Even if the player you are playing is much better than you, remember that the ball coming towards you weighs only about 2 oz., don’t be afraid of it, you control the ball, the ball does not control you.
For those of us that have been playing tennis for many years, consider this the greatest sport ever, for those that have recently started, the love and passion has just begun, and for those that are getting interested in playing, get ready for greatest ride of your life. Please visit our sections to the left to get started on your journey to becoming a great player and truly enjoying this wonderful great game.
