Probably each of us has not once encountered information about a great success of a famous tennis players such as Agnieszka Radwańska, Łukasz Kubat or players from younger generation – Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Świątek. Those players have practiced for many years to achieve the highest level. Didn’t news like this make you think: “why not to try and play”? For some, such thought may be the beginning of success streaks, for the others a new passion. Bellow I present few sentences which will help you to start your adventure with tennis.
Tennis is a sport that in simple terms involves striking the ball into the opponent’s part of the court. It may be considered not only as a sport but also as a form of recreation. It is a year-round activity, played on indoor courts or on the outdoor courts. Tennis is one of the most popular individual sports in the world, for years it has been breaking popularity record especially in the United States and Europe. Tennis involves all muscle groups, thus improving physical condition. This discipline becomes an alternative to gym or running due to its specificity.
1. Benefits of playing tennis.
Tennis is a general- development sport and has positive effect on the whole body, from muscles to the mind. It affects our brain, as it requires tactical thinking, distribution of strikes and distribution of tactics and physical condition for the whole game. A moderate game of tennis allows you to lose unnecessary weight, and to sculpt your body. During an hour of tennis game, we burn up to 600 kcal (male about 600 kcal, female about 420 kcal). Tennis is an interval training. Interchangeably appear both moments of calm, and quick movements with sprints and jumps.
Activity in the form of tennis improves cardiovascular and respiratory efficiency, lowers blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol. Tennis combined with strength training perfectly shapes the figure, sculpts and slims the body, strengthening all the main muscle groups – the muscles of the legs, back, chest and stomach. Regular workouts affect bone tissue, which makes bones stronger. Tennis helps you loose weight, accelerates calorie burning, accelerates metabolism, but what’s most important- improves the entire movement apparatus, through spontaneous jumps and turns.
2. Tennis essentials- shoes, clothes, racket
You are probably wandering what belongs to the tennis “must have”. Tennis is a sport based on running, so the most important element is proper foot protection and solid ankle stabilisation to avoid ankle joint injury. It is worth choosing shoes designed specifically for tennis, with wider and flat sole which provides better stabilisation. Find out more about choosing proper tennis footwear from our article: “Tennis shoes- how to choose.
Due to the high intensity of movements, it is worth equipping yourself with special sports clothing that doesn’t stop sweat and doesn’t restrict your movements. When buying sportswear, we should pay attention to the fact that your clothes shouldn’t be too wide. The closer the blouse and shorts are to the body, the smaller chance of injuries and the higher the comfort. When it comes to used materials – it is worth choosing functional clothes and sportswear, which are made of thermoactive materials. Their biggest advantage is the comfort of moisture removal. Thanks to this, there are no visible sweat stains on your clothes, and your body doesn’t overheat. The second solution are clothes made of cotton or fabrics with a mix of cotton. Additionally, when playing tennis in cool days or in air-supported dome in winter, it is worth to have thermoactive underwear. You can learn more about choosing the right tennis clothes in our article: “Tennis Clothes- comfort over aesthetics!”
Last in the basic list but equally important is the tennis racket. Only at first glance its selection looks extremely complicated. The four most important things you need to know at the very beginning of your tennis adventure are:
RACKET WEIGHT – The racket for a beginner should be light. Why? A light racket is easier to manoeuvre, and that makes it easier to play when we’re learning how to strike and develop our technique. Lightweight equipment puts less stress on our hands. Beginning male players should aim for rackets weighing 270-285 grams. For women even lighter- preferably between 260-270 grams.
THE HEAD SIZE- The force in the racket is generated mainly from its head, therefore, on the beginning its surface area should be large. 100 square inches (645 square centimetres) is the minimum, but the enlarged head would be the best – 102 square inches (660 square centimetres) or 105 square inches (675 square centimetres). Larger head means more power, most importantly, larger area of ideal impact, forgiving more mistakes.
USED MATERIALS- The most sensitive issue for the beginners, mainly because it has the highest impact on price. With higher production quality comes higher equipment cost, ang it is not a phenomenon that only occurs in tennis. Rackets may be made of aluminium, graphite composite and graphite. The first option is the least beneficial unless you treat tennis as one- time activity. Aluminium rackets are perishable and put a lot of stress on your hand. Prolonged use of aluminium rackets may lead to an injury that will exclude you from playing tennis. Tennis rackets made of graphite composite are in between – part of them is made of aluminium, but key elements are made of aluminium which has better properties. They are cheaper than fully graphite rackets. Graphite rackets are a guarantee of much greater strength, control, comfort of the game and, what’s perhaps the most important, health. Graphite rackets are the most expensive, but worth investing in, with certainty that they won’t have a negative impact on our health. The latest graphite racket models promoted by leading players often receive new technologies to improve them. Check out the newest graphite rackets. Previous models of the same rackets may be bought on sales in much lower prices. Check out current sales of graphite rackets.
Knowledge about this is important, regardless of what level you are, and many people unwittingly omit this aspect. A properly selected grip is not only a reduced risk of hand injury, but also the comfort of the grip and feel of the racket. The old and proven rule is that the correct grip is one in which the index finger of the other hand fits between the thenar eminence of the thumb and the finger of the player's longest finger. The size of the grip takes into account only the size of the hand, without players height. You may find information on how to choose the right size of the grip in our article: "Tennis racket grip size - how to measure?"
Find out more about how to choose proper tennis racket in our article: “Tennis Racket- what to consider when choosing!”
3. With or without the instructor- that is the question
If you are wondering whether to acquire the first technical habits yourself on the basis of the observations of professionals or, to take the advice of a specialist, that is the first sign that you think consciously and wisely about tennis. You will certainly get to the benefits of several lessons with the instructor yourself. In order to make learning easier and, above all for the proper functioning of the movement apparatus during the game, it is better for the decision to use the support of the coach to be made earlier, because you will save yourself time and nerves when something will not go as planned. The trainer is an excellent observer who spots and quickly corrects your mistakes at an early stage. So, don't think about it and look for a coach at the club you're going to go to.
4. Basic information and rules of tennis
Now some theory about the rules of the game and courts themselves. With the knowledge of basics, you will have better understanding of this sport, and you will also have the necessary knowledge to talk to your fellow players.
The length of the court is 23.77 meters, the width of 8.23 meters (in the case of singles) or 10.97 meters (when playing double games). Through the centre of the court passes the net, with a height of 91.5 centimetres. Inside the playing field there are lines that designate a special field - the so-called service box. Its dimensions are 6.40 x 4.12 m.
There are few types of court surfaces.
We distinguish:
-clay courts, which Surface is covered with brick dust; One of the Grand Slam tournaments- Roland Garros, is played on such surface,
-grass courts – next tournament of Grand Slam – Wimbledon, is played on such courts,
-hard courts (concrete) or special material (rubber flooring) – Australian Open and US Open are played on such courts.
Depending on the surface, court lines are made with paint or lime. Clay courts (with brick dust) are the most common type of court in Poland.
Tennis match is divided into games and sets. To win the game, you need to score four points (respectively 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, game). The exception is 40-40 situation (deuce). From this point on, the game is played on so-called “advantage”, until one of the players gains two points of advantage over the other player. Winning 6 games means wining a set. There is a rule of at least two games advantage. At 6 – 6, tie-break is played- a special game up to 7 scored points, with 2-point advantage. The match ends when one of the players wins two sets. There are exceptions of course, e.g. in men’s Grand Slam tournament you must ween at least three sets to be the winner.
5. Ready, steady, court!
Tennis is a game for at least two players, so once you find your tennis partner, it is time to look for courts in your area, to book one, and to start playing tennis! That is all you need to start, so you can join the family of tennis enthusiasts. If you try once, you may be sure that your tennis journey won’t end fast. Now there is nothing more than just to start playing.
Ready, steady, court!
