It helps to think about your own tennis game and what you are doing and when you have a basic tactical plan ready it can really boost your confidence.

To start with. It’s no good give up straight away on a tactic when it doesn’t work the first time. What I mean is, like Brad Gilbert says in Winning Ugly – if you are down a set and 5-0 that’s when you change because your tactic isn’t working. Me personally, I don’t wait until I am down that far to change my tactic.

I recommend this site Tennis Mind Game for a full tennis tactic guide the best online book is Tennis Strategy Encyclopedia

Remember, if you have a plan to play a tactic or stragegy in a match, stick with that tactic.

If you are playing a match and winning and you’re only a short distance from taking the match DO NOT I repeat DO NOT try anything fancy or new!

That is the biggest mistake I see players make when they get close to a win, they get fancy and start taking chances. Don’t fall into that trap.

What ever tactic got you into a winning position is the same tactic you need to keep doing until you shake hands.

Good luck and be sure to check out  Tennis Strategy Encyclopedia for a full tennis tactic and strategy guide

To begin to serve make sure you stand side ways to the net with the arm you hold the tennis racquet with closest to the fence at the back of the court.

Your front foot is not allowed to touch the base line (other wise it’s called a ‘foot fault’) but stand as close as you can to the line anyway.

Toss the ball up above your head about five feet in the air, position the toss above and a little bit in front of you aiming for an imaginary 1 o’clock if you are right handed or 11 o’clock if your are left handed.

Your racquet position while tossing the ball is best dropped behind your head while you are waiting for your ball toss to come into your hitting zone.

To have a good strong service swing just imagine you are throwing a baseball – For example, notice that when you throw a baseball what happens is, after the ball has left your hand, your hand keeps moving to what’s called ‘follow through’ – it’s the same in tennis, so after you hit the ball let the racquet keep swinging through. This will help your speed and spin.

After you have got your serve in quickly get into ready position (Ready position is when you stand in the middle of the court behind the baseline, your knees slightly bent and springy, facing the front of the court with both hands on the racquet – you are ready for the next shot, hence the name ‘ready position’)

When practicing your serve it is a good idea to practice your ball toss. Stand as if you were going to serve, toss the ball up but don’t hit it, just see where it lands. Ideally it should land within 1 foot of your own feet – in front of you but slightly closer to your racquet holding hand.

Once you are confident with your serve then the rest of your game will also get better too.

I  recommend you get some tips from a coach one on one if you are serious about getting your serve working for you. Go and practice some basics on an empty court if you have time, this is another way to get better. Or if you would like more online instruction have a look at this online coaching course that is immediately downloadable and has video instructions CLICK HERE

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Game scoring looks like this:

0 points = the word “Love”

1 point = 15

2 points = 30

3 points = 40

1 point each you say 15 All

2 points each you say 30 All

3 points each you say the word “Deuce” (not 40 All)

At Deuce the person who wins the next point has the “Advantage” and depending on what country you are playing in you might say this differently, some players say “Your Ad” or “My Ad” or “Advantage Receiver” or “Advantage Server”

If the player with the advantage wins the very next point too they then go on to win that game. But if the player who has the advantage looses the next point then the game continues and the score goes back to Deuce, then the game is played until the player with the Advantage wins the point and so wins that game.

But if the game doesn’t get to Duece then the player who won 4 points first wins. For example if the score was 40-15 the player with 40 wins the game if they win that next point.

When you say the score out loud you always say the score of the server first. Eg. ‘40-love’ would mean the server has 3 point and the receiver has zero points.

You change ends of the court every second game starting from the end of the third game in the first set. In a tie break you change ends after every 6 points. (Sometimes in social tennis you don’t change ends, it just depends on what you and your partner decide on and how seriously you are competing.) Officially change end time frames are 90 seconds between games, 2 minutes between sets, and 20 seconds between points.

Each point the server gets two chances at getting a serve in. If the server misses it is called a ‘fault’ if the server misses both tries it’s called ‘double fault’. When a player double faults the other player wins the point.

When scoring, if you play tournaments, most the time you play best of three sets. In social tennis though it is popular to only play one set.

A set is won by the person who wins 6 games first. However if the score reaches 5 games all then the match has to be won 7 games to 5 but if the score ties at 6 games all the players then play a tie-break. A tie break is won by the first person to win 7 points and they must win by 2 points eg. 7-5 but if it ties at 6 points each they play on until one player wins by 2 points.

If you’re new to tennis and have been invited for a hit, basic tennis is to hit the ball so it lands inside the lines. If you are just having a social hit and you are not keeping the score it is polite to hit the ball straight to the person (not away from them). In that case try to make the tennis ball bounce about 1-2 metres (3-7 feet) in front of where they are standing on the other side of the court.

As you play more and more you will get better at controlling where the ball lands. If you are a real beginner please remember that it’s not just about hitting the ball hard so try to go for placement first before power. (Don’t worry though, you will soon be able to hit the ball hard if you get some coaching then you can learn how to hit the ball hard and still make it land where you want it to. But for now, just go for placement and hit the ball to the person you are playing with (that way they might still ask you to play with them again )

(Feel free to let me know if i’ve forgotten anything and also ask me any questions by adding a comment below)

For more rules and many more tips you should take a look at the book Tennis For Dummies. Click Here for my review or Click Here to go straight to Amazon.com

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If you want to get coaching right now on your computer Tomaz Mencinger is a professional tennis coach and he has a Complete Video Instruction Guide For Tennis Beginners so go check it out if you want some video lessons right now

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Or the book Tennis For Dummies has the best info for beginners about tennis rules, different types of strokes, match play and more Click Here for my review of Tennis For Dummies or Click Here to go straight to Amazon.com and grab it now

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But if you’re a more experienced player then check Coach Kyril out for online coaching videos that are more advanced but if you want to read my review first then  Click Here

As you play more and more you will get better at controlling where the ball lands. If you are a real beginner please remember that it’s not just about hitting the ball hard so try to go for placement first before power. (Don’t worry though, you will soon be able to hit the ball hard if you get some coaching then you can learn how to hit the ball hard and still make it land where you want it to.)

But for now, just go for placement and hit the ball to the person you are playing with (that way they might still ask you to play with them again )

Try to make the ball bounce about 1-2 metres (3-7 feet) in front of where they are standing on the other side of the court.

I will be adding more to this post shortly but in the mean time get more beginner tips Here

Happy hitting

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I challenge you to find out. Just know that the only limitations are those you decide you have. If you have a will you’ll find a way, no matter what. Go for it!

I know sometimes it feels like it takes a lot effort to learn more. You know what I mean, thoughts come in your head ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘I’ll do it later’ and ‘I know all that stuff’ and before you know it your on the court loosing again wishing that you took a bit of time out to ‘read that book’ or ‘watch that tape’.

Here is a tip I use to keep out of lazy habits… When I’m faced with a decision I ask myself this simple question: “If I do this or I don’t do this will I regret it when I’m 80 years old?” The reason this works is because the pain of regret hurts more than the pain of effort (and no one knows that more than an 80 year old who didn’t live the life of their dreams). I would hate to look back on my life at 80 and say ‘i wish i did that and this etc’.

It’s always up to you – are you going to learn and therefore keep living a full life or will you decide to just take it easy and hope for the best?

We always have a choice.

On the tennis court, your potential is waiting to be fulfilled.

You can start right now by making the most of your intelligence and learn to use your brain more while you are playing tennis.

Stop switching off your brain when you play. Humble yourself to the fact you don’t know it all and open your mind to learning.

Read this ebook, make some notes, call a buddy for a hit, and pay more attention to what’s happening. You’ll have an absolute edge over your opponent.

Why not give yourself the best chance at winning by doing some strategy study and have some fun with The Insider Tennis Ebook

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