04 October 16  |  Tennis   |  

Tennis Fundamentals: What You Need To Know To Get Started

The sunshine of Central Florida creates the ideal environment for going outside and enjoying physical exercise. If you’re looking for some fun activities, Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club offers excellent tennis facilities. But if you’re new to the game, you’ll need to learn the tennis fundamentals.

A game of tennis can be a workout. Be sure to wear comfortable tennis shoes and clothing, select the right size racket and make sure to warm up and stretch a little beforehand.

Get Prepared For The Big Game

When you’re ready to go, start by learning the following tennis fundamentals:

  1. Forehand: This is the most important move to master as the majority of strokes in any game is the forehand. Most right-handed players would rather shift left and return the ball with a forehand than stay right and hit it with a backhand.
  2. Backhand: In order to return a ball on the opposite side from your racket hand, you have to pivot and bring the racket around and back in order to hit the ball. It seems unnatural at first, but in time it becomes a natural reaction.
  3. Serve: Many tennis matches are won by a fast, accurate serve. The normal way to generate effective power is to pull the racket back, toss the ball straight up with the other hand and swing the racket in a full arc overhead to send the ball to the opponent’s service area diagonal from your own.
  4. Lob: A lob is a high, arcing shot with an extra second or two of hang time. This interval allows a player to reposition themselves before the return shot or catch a player who’s out of position by a quick lob to a different spot.
    woman playing tennis.
  5. Volley: This is a fast-paced version of a lob with a shorter, punch-like stroke. Skilled players who enjoy this kind of aggressive action may approach the net for an intense volley that will put pressure on the opponent. Often a volley is automatic if a player is too far forward to hit the ball off the bounce.
  6. Overhead: This stroke is the same idea as a serve, but is done as an offensive stroke during play for a fast, hard shot the opponent may not have a chance to return. Frequently a poor lob attempt will leave the receiving player in the right position to deliver an overhead stroke.

All of these skills are important in tennis fundamentals, and should be practiced both through repetition to develop an effective stroke and during match play. Practicing and using these strokes will help to improve both the offensive and defensive techniques of your game.

Golden Ocala has six of the finest clay courts  available. If you’d like to get started with a very popular and enjoyable pastime, call one of our tennis professionals at 352-402-4351 for some personal instruction that could elevate your game quickly. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates from our Tennis Club.