Tennis is a relatively easy sport to play, however it requires a lot of patience and focus, especially if you want to learn the basics in a short amount of time. Tennis consists mostly of a few points. Please note: throughout the article I will assume that you are a right handed player, if you are a lefty just do everything grip related the opposite way.
The Grip:
The most crucial thing to know when first starting out is grip. Your right hand should be on the bottom and your left hand should be on top. The face of the racket should be sideways, you should only be able to see the edge of the racket. The racket should be angled about 45 degrees upward. This is your ready position.
The Stance:
You should stand just behind the baseline with your racket in the same position as the previous step. You should always be on your toes, constantly shuffling from one foot to another, even when the ball is not in play.
The Swing:
You always want start off shuffling and in ready position simultaneously. You should always have your eye on the ball before, and until the point of contact. At which point you will want to continue to look at the point of contact until you have completely followed through.
Start by shuffling in ready position, once the ball is hit you want to shuffle sideways toward the ball, then rotate so your body is pointed sideways toward the net, your eyes should be following the ball. Bring your racket back in a loop, act like you are bringing the racket around a beach ball. So bring your racket around in a loop and then make contact with the ball, ideally with your arm fully extended, then follow through until your racket is on your left waist. Remember to continue looking at the point of contact until you have completely followed through. If you are new to tennis, the ball may have gone way out, and that’s okay. As I mentioned before, it all takes time. As you continue to practice, adjust the face of the racket so it is either more open (upward-tilted) or closed (downward-tilted)
If you are more experienced you may want to use topspin to make the ball drop quicker. To do so simply brush the racket upwards as you make contact with the ball.
Aiming:
Once you feel like you have really nailed the swing start focusing more on aiming the ball. Some people think aiming is all about timing, but they are wrong. You must aim with your shoulders. Whichever way your shoulders are pointed is where the ball should go.
The Serve:
The serve is one of the most import aspects of the game of tennis. Start by holding your racket up as high as you can. Your toss should be about this height. Since the serve is so complicated I am going to break it down in several sub-categories.
Positioning: You should be about halfway between the mark in the center of the baseline and the alleys for your serve.
The Toss: Your toss should be about the height of your arm straight up with a racket. The toss should be at about one o’clock. So slightly to the right.
The Motion: Your racket should go down and backwards as your toss goes up. The racket should go up behind your head and meet the ball at the highest point that your racket can go. Your wrist should snap a lot, this is where almost all of the speed comes from. If you don’t get it at first don’t worry, first focus on getting your serve in, add power later. You need to start with a foundation (getting it in) then build onto that.
The Split Step:
A very crucial part of tennis is the split step. A split step is a short little ‘hop’ that you take to set your feet before you move to the ball. You should try to do your split step just before your opponent makes contact with the ball. If you’ve ever watched a professional tennis match, you would notice that almost every player does a split step before every shot. Using a split step will help you get in a rhythm much easier than without it. It will also improve the stability on your shot.