Have you always wanted to serve like Serena Williams or smash a backhand like Björn Borg but never found the time to learn? The truth is, it’s never too late to get involved with tennis.
Aside from being great for our health, tennis is fun, sociable, and accessible. All you need is a racket and a couple of balls, and you can book a spot at your local court today!
Below, we look at some of tennis’s main benefits before serving up some advice on how to get started.
Why play tennis?
There are plenty of reasons to choose tennis as your next hobby. For example…
- It’s for everyone – One of the beauties of tennis is that almost anyone can get involved. Whether you’re younger, older, able-bodied, or disabled, tennis can be adjusted to suit all abilities.
- It’s social – From playing singles with a friend to running drills with your club, tennis is an enjoyable way to make new connections and bond with loved ones.
- It’s more accessible than you might think – Tennis has a reputation for being an exclusive sport reserved for elites. But nowadays, it’s never been easier to get involved.
Thousands of clubs and courts across the UK are open to the public (including indoor spaces), so you can play all year round. Even if you can’t get to a court as often as you’d like, you only need a racket and a ball to start developing your skills.
- It strengthens your whole body – Whether you’re volleying a shot back over the net or sprinting to catch a ball, tennis uses nearly every muscle in your body. So much so that Vogue called it the “original cross-training workout”.
- It promotes healthy weight loss – According to research, you can burn 580–870 calories in an hour-long singles match. The short, explosive movements involved work a lot like high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
- It can lower our risk of various diseases – Studies show that playing tennis regularly can be particularly effective for boosting bone health and reducing our chances of cardiovascular disease.
In fact, this Danish study found that playing tennis could extend our life expectancy by 9.7 years, compared to a sedentary lifestyle – beating out the likes of football (4.7 years) and jogging (3.2 years).
- It can improve flexibility, balance, and coordination – These are important as we age because they can help to reduce our risk of falls.
- It may boost brain power – Tennis is just as much a mental game as a physical one because of the constant need to make speedy tactical decisions, such as where to place your next shot. So, some experts suggest it could improve skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.
- It can boost our mental health – Like all exercise, tennis is great for mental wellbeing. This study found that people who played just once a week were less depressed and anxious.
- It’s fun – above all, 4.7 million people in the UK play tennis because it’s good fun. So why not give it a try?
How do you play tennis?
If you’re new to tennis and haven’t watched it much on television before, you might be wondering how the sport is actually played.
At its most basic, the aim of tennis is to hit the ball over the net and onto the opponent’s side of the court, in a way that they can’t return it before it bounces twice. However, as with all sports, there are a few rules to get to grips with.
Let’s look at how tennis is scored before diving into some important rules.
Remember: Though the rules may seem a little complicated at first, trust us, you’ll soon get your head around them once you start playing. Plus, in friendly matches (i.e. not in competitions), you can play by whatever rules you like. So you don’t need to remember every single one to get started.
Tennis scoring
One of the trickiest things to understand when beginning your tennis journey is the unique scoring system. Below, we take a look at how each match is structured.
Match structure
The word ‘match’ refers to the overall contest. A match is made up of smaller units called sets and can follow a best-of-three or best-of-five structure. This means you need to win two or three sets to win the whole match, depending on what you’ve decided with your opponent beforehand.
Set structure
Sets are made up of even smaller units called games. You must win at least six games by a margin of two points to win a set. For example, you can’t win a set 6-5, but you can win it 7-5.
If the score reaches six games each, a tie-break is played to decide who wins the set. You can learn more about tie-breaks on the BBC website.
Game structure
Games are made up of individual points (which we’ll talk more about below). Like sets, you must win games by a margin of at least two points. However, you only need a minimum of four points to do so.
Unlike sets, which are scored with consecutive numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.), games have a very unusual system. Different points are referred to with words (like ‘love’) and numbers that don’t reflect the ‘real’ score. This is simply a tennis tradition, and you don’t need to know why this is to get started (in fact, experts aren’t even sure why).
Games are scored as follows…
Points | Scoring term |
0 | Love |
1 | 15 |
2 | 30 |
3 | 40 |
4 | Game |
If both players reach 40, it’s called a ‘deuce’. A player is said to have an ‘advantage’ when they go one point up after that. If the score returns to level, deuce is called again.
Again, these rules can seem a little daunting at first, but you’ll soon get into the swing of things once you’re on the court. So try not to worry if you’re still a little bit confused.
The rules of tennis
Key:
- Baseline
- Singles’ sideline
- Doubles’ sideline
- Service box (1 of 4)
- Net
- Centre service line
- Service line
- Centre mark
Below, we’ve pulled together some of the most essential rules, splitting the match into two stages: the serve and the rally.
The serve
Matches typically start with a coin toss. The winner can either serve first or choose a side of the court to start on.
To serve, the player must stand behind the baseline between the centre mark and the right sideline. Then, the server must throw the ball up with their non-racket hand and hit it across the net into the opponent’s service box diagonally opposite.
Players are allowed two chances to make a successful serve per point. If they fail to do so once, this is called a ‘fault’. If they fail twice, it’s called a ‘double fault’, and they forfeit the point.
There are several ways that service faults can be given in tennis. However, some of the most common are when the serve doesn’t land in the correct service area, if the serving player swings and misses the ball, or if their foot touches the baseline before they hit the ball. You can find out about other ways a fault is awarded here.
The point is replayed if the ball hits the net but still lands in the correct service area. This is called a ‘let’. However, if this happens at any other stage of the match, the point stands.
As you might have seen on TV, professionals usually serve overhand. But you can serve underhand if you like. Just make sure you don’t bounce the ball before hitting it. The receiving player must also let the serve bounce before returning it.
After each point, the server changes sides – for example, the second point of the game is served from the left (since the first is always served from the right).
The rally
Once a successful serve is completed, the rally stage begins. This is when the players take turns hitting the ball back and forth until someone loses the point.
Players must return the ball before it bounces twice. Their return must land on their opponent’s side, within the area marked by the baseline and sidelines. In tennis, if the ball is touching any part of the line, it’s considered in.
You also lose a point if you…
- Hit the ball more than once
- Touch the ball with anything other than your racket
- Touch the net or your opponent’s side of the court
- Hit the ball before it’s crossed to your side of the net
- Return a serve before it bounces
Singles vs doubles
In tennis, there are two types of matches: singles (one vs one) or doubles (two vs two). So whether you enjoy the reward of battling it out alone or the camaraderie of team sports, tennis has you covered.
Above, we highlighted the basic rules for a singles match. Luckily, the rules don’t differ very much when playing doubles. To find out about the differences in doubles tennis, check out this guide from Nike.
What clothing and equipment do I need?
One of the great things about tennis is that you don’t need lots of expensive clothing and equipment to get started. However, there are a couple of essential bits…
Tennis rackets
For beginners, the world of tennis rackets can be a little overwhelming. Prices range from £10 to thousands of pounds, and people choose different types of rackets depending on their playing style. Factors to consider when choosing a racket include weight, balance, head size, and grip size.
When starting out, experts recommend using a lighter racket with a larger head. These are sometimes called ‘oversize’ rackets. The large head size makes it easier to make contact with the ball, while the lightness prevents your arm from getting overly worn out.
As for balance, this refers to how the weight is distributed throughout the racket. Rackets can be ‘head light’, ‘evenly balanced’, or ‘head heavy’. Head light rackets are generally more manoeuvrable, while head-heavy rackets can help you generate more power, and are usually recommended for beginners who are still building their strength.
Finally, for maximum comfort and control, it’s important to make sure your racket has the correct grip size. This is essentially how thick the handle is, and it’s generally indicated by a number on the bottom. For some help determining yours, check out this article from Wilson.
There are plenty of places to shop for tennis rackets online. However, to make sure you get the right one, it’s worth visiting your local sporting goods shop, where someone can advise you.
Tennis balls
If you’re new to tennis, you might be thinking, ‘Surely a ball is just a ball?’ While it’s true that you can use any old tennis ball to play, there are some differences to consider. For example, some are more suited to different surfaces than others.
However, the main thing for beginners to think about is the compression level. Most tennis balls are filled with compressed air. However, not all have the same amount, which affects their bounciness and speed.
The typical ball you see professionals play with has the highest compression level, but there are learner balls with lower levels. This means they don’t bounce as high or move as quickly, giving you more time to learn the basics. Learner balls generally come in red, orange, and green – with red being the lowest pressure and green being the highest.
To learn more about the different types of tennis balls, check out this guide from TennisHQ.
Tennis clothing
Unless you’re playing at a tennis club (which sometimes has dress codes), you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in to play tennis. Though light, flexible, breathable, and moisture-wicking activewear is generally recommended.
As for footwear, while trainers will do fine for a couple of sessions, if you plan on playing regularly, it might be worth investing in a pair of tennis shoes.
Tennis shoes are designed to support you during the specific movements you’ll make in a game of tennis, such as pivoting and moving from side to side. Running trainers, for example, are only designed to support you during forward movement, so they may not be as comfortable and increase your chance of injury.
Many tennis shoes also have a toe guard, offering extra protection when players drag their feet, which happens regularly in tennis.
When buying tennis shoes, one of the main things to consider is the outsole (i.e. the bottom) because different ones are designed for different court surfaces (you can find out about these in this article from Charles Lawrence). However, if you’re not sure what surface you’ll be playing on or if you’ll be playing on multiple surfaces, there are shoes specifically designed for any type.
Take a look at this guide from Tennisnuts to learn more about tennis shoes.
How can I start playing tennis?
Get to grips with the basics of tennis
If you’ve never picked up a tennis racket before, you might want to have a go at practising the basics before getting stuck into your first match.
Many people choose to take lessons to get started, which can be delivered as part of a group or individually by a coach. The LTA also offers six-week Tennis Xpress courses, which are specifically aimed at beginners or adults returning to tennis after a long break. However, lessons aren’t strictly necessary if you’re just looking to have some fun.
With the wealth of information now available online, there are plenty of tips, tricks, and tutorials to look at, especially on YouTube. These can help you get to grips with basic grips, shots, footwork, and tactics. Then, you can take what you’ve learned and practise your skills with a friend – or even against a wall.
Check out the video below for some quick tips.
Book a tennis court
Whether you’re looking for a place to practise or you’re ready for your first match, there are tens of thousands of courts across the UK. The Lawn Tennis Association (the governing body of tennis in Great Britain) has a handy search engine to help you find your closest one, or you can simply plug ‘tennis courts near me’ into Google.
Although, if you don’t have anyone to play with, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to find other tennis players who are keen for a match. For example, RacketPal is an app that pairs you with people in your area, whether you’re looking for a competitive match or a friendly knock-around. You can also check out if there are any tennis groups near you on Meetup.
Join a local tennis league or club
And if you’re interested in some competition, there are ocal leagues all over the country. These cater to all ages and abilities and can be a great way to make new connections. You can find out more about these on the LTA website.
Tennis clubs also typically offer members competitions and other benefits, such as social events and changing facilities. Lots of clubs also offer free open days, where you can get a taste by taking part in things like free coaching sessions. You can search open-day events using the button below.
Check out tennis alternatives
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, one of the best things about tennis is that it can be adapted to suit any age and ability. So, if you have a disability or are looking for something gentler, it’s worth looking into different types of tennis.
For example, walking tennis is becoming more popular across the UK. In walking tennis, players can’t run or jump, so it’s easier on joints. They’re typically allowed to let the ball bounce twice too, and it’s sometimes played on a smaller court. This makes it ideal for beginners looking to build their confidence, and people interested in a slower-paced match.
The LTA website also provides information about tennis adapted to suit different disabilities, including wheelchair tennis and tennis for the visually impaired.
Final thoughts…
With the arrival of warmer weather and Wimbledon on the horizon, you might be wondering whether it’s too late to learn how to play tennis. But the truth is, it’s not! Whether you want to play competitively or just knock the ball around with a friend, you can get involved at any age and start reaping the benefits.
For more advice on racket sports, check out our beginner’s guides to padel and pickleball. And, for more inspiration for new sports and activities, head over to our hobbies section.
Have you learned to play tennis in later life? Or are you considering it? If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
