The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Tennis

I am not a professional or competitive tennis player, although I have been playing casually on and off for the past 10 years.

As a professional trader, I find tennis not only an excellent way to keep fit, but also a good way to train self-discipline and mental consistency.

Over the years, I have had several coaches (still ongoing), and also spent quite some time reading various books and browsing online for the best tennis resources.

Here is a compilation of those efforts, and I would appreciate any feedback, corrections, or contributions to this. I will continue to update this as I learn more in my coaching and tennis journey. 😀

[Photo: Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia]

Content Table for Tennis Guide:

Tennis Rules and Scoring
Tennis Skill Progression
Tennis Equipment (Tennis Shoes, Tennis Racket, etc)
Tennis Racket Grip
Tennis Footwork
Tennis Ground Strokes
- Tennis Forehand Stroke
- Tennis Backhand Stroke
  - Tennis 1-Handed Backhand
  - Tennis 2-Handed Backhand
Tennis Service
- Tennis Serving Basics & Rules
  - Tennis First Serve
  - Tennis Second Serve
- Types of Tennis Service:
  - Tennis Flat Serve
  - Tennis Kick Serve (Twist Serve)
  - Tennis Slice Serve
  - Beginner Overhead Serve
  - Underhand Serve
  - Trick Serves (Drop Shot Serve)
- Placement of Tennis Service
  - Wide Serve
  - Body Serve
  - T-Serve
- Tennis Serving Strategies
Tennis Return of Service
Tennis Volley
- Tennis Volley Basics
- Types of Tennis Volleys
  - Block Volley
  - Slice Volley
  - Swing Volley
  - Drop Volley
  - Half Volley
  - Smash Volley
Slices
Drop Shots
Lobs
General Strategy
- Singles strategy
- Doubles strategy
Tennis Drills & Fitness Training
Resources
- Books
- Videos
- Anime
- Finding Games Near You
- Major Tennis Tournaments

Tennis Rules & Scoring

Dimensions of court
Ad court vs. Deuce court
Types of courts

Tennis Skills Progression

Bare minimum strokes to master for tennis if you want to play a singles game:

Basics like grip, footwork, etc
Groundstroke – forehand
Groundstroke – backhand
Service – decent deep serve with few double faults
Return of service

And if you want to play doubles or level up, add in these:

Slice
Volley

Next, to level up further, add in these:

Drop shot
Lob
Overhead (smash)

NTRP – National Tennis Rating Program

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Tennis Grip

For forehand ground stroke: Continential (Eastern) or Semi-Western or Full Western grip
- Continental grip is easier to hit flatter and lower shots, but harder to hit spinny and higher balls
- Full Western is easier to hit spinny and higher balls, but harder to hit flatter and lower shots
- Semi-Western is somewhere in between
For single backhand ground stroke: Semi-Western grip
For double-handed ground stroke: Continental grip
For slices, lob, drop shot, service, overhead, volley: Continental grip

Tennis Footwork

Types of Steps:

Split step, stutter step, shuffle step
Side shuffle, cross step, karaoke step
Back-peddle, forward stride
Adjustment steps (hop step, flow step, walking step)

Moving to Hit the Ball:

Use the split step. Get used to the timing. Stay alert on the balls of your feet.
Run quickly to the perfect position to hit the ball with the same form. Always stop before hitting the ball.
Shuffle with small steps to fine-tune your positioning as you get nearer. The key is the final step you land just before the shot.
Keep your footwork fluid, elegant, dynamic and nimble.
Keep moving

Types of Hitting Stance:

Open stance is great for when you are pushed out wide and have to defend. As well as when your opponent rushes you and takes your preparation time away. Also it’s used when the ball is high and out of your hitting zone.
The neutral stance is important for when you wish to take the ball on the rise to avoid always having to move back and give up your court position. It helps you generate your own pace off slower balls. As well as helps you deal with shots that bounce lower.

Generally, your hitting stance will be based on the direction you approach the ball, as you can see from the diagram above. The 2 yellow ovals represent your 2 feet, and shows how you should be standing based on how you approach the ball (see the arrows).

For example, if you are running left or right to reach the ball, your feet will parallel to to the baseline and pointing towards the front (open stance) when you hit the ball.

Where to stand at baseline?

Default position for singles is 1m behind baseline, for doubles is near baseline

Grounds Strokes

Grip your racket handle with both hands in ready position
Hit the ball flatter for more pace, visualise a flatter trajectory path
Shoulder TURN and run towards the ball
- Point your shoulder towards the direction you want to hit the ball to
- Stop before hitting to ensure that you have a stable base (weight on back leg)
Start your acceleration earlier for smooth stroke – easier to hit rising shot
- Do not wait till last minute to start swinging
- Rather than thinking “i’m going to hit hard” think “i’m going to swing fast”
- Think VRROOOMMM not BOOM
- Focus more on getting a good contact point
- Use more compact and smaller swings for fast balls
Focus fully on every shot. Keep your EYES ON THE BALL on contact
- Make sure you hit the sweet spot every time. (perfect strike zone)
- Run and adjust (shuffle) your body so that your strokes will always be hit in that same strike zone
- Ball should be in front of me. Hit the outside of the ball.
- Do not contact ball higher than shoulder
- For low shots, bend your knees to get my contact height consistently waist-high, and keep your body and head in an upright position.
- Say “ISH” (or any sound that promotes exhaling) upon contact – anchor the perfect form of every shot, and exhale upon contact for proper breathing and relaxation.
Follow through and BRUSH FORWARD instead of upwards to generate maximum topspin, pace & depth.
- Whip the ball instead of hitting it, stay relaxed for explosive power
- Step in if you need to create more pace
- Power comes from transfer of body weight (not the arm) into the ball
  - Transfer weight into the ball, not into target
- Swing must end with hand touching neck
- Face the front after completing your stroke
- Keep your base firm, and do not jump or jerk when executing the swing.
- Must drop the racket to below the ball to generate topspin
Hit the ball on the rise
- Defend your strike zone, not hit the ball really early
- Try to hit every shot 10% earlier
Most rallies should go deep. Offensive shots should be sharp and angular.
- Deep shots should aim to cross the baseline before the sideline
- To return shots with lots of topspin, step forward to hit rising shot. Do not step back.
To return a groundstroke with topspin, players normally swing the racquet upwards at an angle of about 30 degrees to the horizontal
For high balls, do not hit downwards or upwards, but rather horizontal (L-shape)

Are you turning your shoulders and rotating your shoulders to swing your racquet?

Are you swinging with a loose arm instead of muscling your swing?

Are you getting low to the ball and using your legs to push through?

Is your weight moving forward as you hit?

Are you being too wristy and putting too much spin on it?

Timing is EVERYTHING! You can get plenty of power if you time it right, and you can get no power if you time it wrong.

How High Should the Ball Be When it Crosses the Net?

If you are standing at the baseline, you should aim for roughly 2 rackets height above the net
If you are standing further behind the baseline, you should aim for roughly 3 rackets height above the net
If you are standing in front of the baseline, you should aim for roughly 1 racket height above the net

Ground Strokes Progression

Parameters of a ground stroke: depth, height, placement, pace, spin
4 levels of ground strokes mastery:
- Level 1: Consistency – aim to get all your shots within the court, reduce unforced errors
- Level 2: Placement – ability to direct your shots left, right, down the line, etc
- Level 3: Depth – ability to hit short (sharp-angled) or deep balls
- Level 4: Power – able to effortlessly generate pace (speed) on your shots
Remember how it feels to hit every shot, and where it lands in the court

Wardlaw’s Directionals for High Percentage Shots

If you cannot go for the kill, set up a chance for a volley on the return (move up)
Reach there as early as possible
- Aim to hit the ball slightly earlier (in front)
- Just stand closer to the ball so that your racket contacts it earlier
Hit the ball crosscourt until you get a short ball. Then attack and control the point.
Relationship btw ball and player is more impt than relationship btw ball and court
- Is the ball on your left or right?
- Inside vs. outside ball (shots that cross the body)
If ball comes from cross court, hit back cross court (same direction)
- Unless it is short, then you have the option to kill it DTL
If ball comes from DTL, hit it back cross court
If ball comes to centre, you have the option to (usually) change direction
Aim for the area btw service line & base line
“Don’t hit hard, hit smart.”

Tennis Approach Shot

If you cannot go for the kill, set up a chance for a volley on the return (move up)
Reach there as early as possible
- Aim to hit the ball slightly earlier (in front)
- Just stand closer to the ball so that your racket contacts it earlier
Early preparation – shoulder turn and racket set up while waiting for ball to rise
- Keep wrist loose, effortless power
- little backswing
Acceleration must be smooth/gradual
- Think of hitting the ball “fast/through” instead of hitting “hard”
Accelerate racket after getting contact point
- Stay relaxed prior to contact
Hit the ball perpendicular to racket face, works best for short balls
- low (below knees): whip it up and dash to net
- mid (waist): hit it flat and put weight into it
To avoid over-hitting when killing a short ball, aim for service line

Tennis Service

Serves: consistency, placement, power
Stand with weight on back leg before tossing, not leaning forward
Toss consistently to the same height. Toss with the palm and fingers and do not snap the throw.
Keep my wrist loose and relaxed
Stretch out your arm to get the full swing. Contact the ball at the highest point.
Instead of relying on your arm, use your body weight to add power to the serve by throwing your weight into the serve, thus landing on my left foot slightly within the court.
Serve with controlled power (70%) for better placement and consistency
Stand about 1/3 away from centre line, toss ball slightly in front, aim to get the stroke
Start your acceleration earlier as well (hit max accleration just before contact)
- This means starting to accelerate BEFORE the ball starts to fall
Left Shoulder point at direction to aim
Look at contact point
Toss ball properly – depending on type of serve

Flat Serve

Hit straight across the center, where the net is lowest.
Free movement of wrist. Loose wrist. Snap wrist at highest point
Imagine point of contact, contact path while in contact
Bend knees to transfer weight, do not arch back
Toss ball slightly in front
Adjust back foot slightly to change angle

Slice Serve

Thrown slightly to the dominant side of the server
Aim to draw opponent out wide

Kick Serve

Stand sideways. Toss the ball @12 o’clock. Toss it above/behind you.
- Toss ball higher
Start swing at 9. Brush ball from 7/8 to 1/2. Generate power form the legs.
Bend knees, do not arch back
Point of contact is just a brush
Open the racket slightly to give it topspin contact
In order to bounce to shoulder height, the ball must land at high speed and at a relatively steep angle.
- Land well before baseline, then kick up to shoulder height near baseline
Despite the fact that the server swings up at the ball in a kick serve, the ball must be projected downward below the horizontal for a good serve

Master the 9 Serve Variations

3 types of spin: flat, topspin (kick), slice
3 different serving placements: T, body, wide
Gives rise to 3×3=9 variations:
- Flat serve to T
- Flat serve to body
- Wide flat serve
- Kick serve to T
- Kick serve to body
- Wide kick serve
- Slice serve to T
- Slice serve to body
- Wide slice serve

Tennis Serve Placement

This breakdown is based on playing against a right-handed opponent:

For 1st serve:
- 1st serve (R): 43% wide, 57% T
- 1st serve (L): 48% wide, 52% T
- For flat/slice serve, about 50-50 mix of wide and T
For 2nd serve:
- 2nd serve (R): 15% wide, 85% T
- 2nd serve (L): 80% wide, 20% T
- For kick serve, most shots (~80%) are aimed to the backhand side

Based on this, the general strategy is to hit hard flat serves for the 1st serve to wide or T (about 50-50), and for the 2nd serves, to hit most of them to the backhand side of the opponent.

This means that to play a decent game, you will minimally need to master these 4 service shots on both the ad and deuce court, giving a total of 8 shots:

Flat wide
Flat T
Kick wide
Kick T

Tennis Service Returns

Be alert. Make a guess of his likely serve based on playing style and success rate.
Adapt and get used to the spin and pace of the serve.
If the serve is powerful, use a smaller swing or a slice block, and aim to neutralize the shot. Or stand back. Or shorten grip.
For weak, shallow serves, aim for wide blind spots (power shots), a passing shot (DTL), or a dropshot.
Stand at baseline, split step into box
Even a short swing should have follow-through
Ball projection vs Ball reception – the former is how well you can hit the ball, the latter is how well you can receive balls coming towards you.

The “Rule of 10” is a simple way to remember how hard you should return a ball. This applies to return of service, ground strokes, volleys, basically any form of ball reception. Eg. If an incoming ball has a power of 8, you return it with a 2. If it has a power of 3, you return it with a 7. The total always adds up to 10.

Tennis Slices

Use the Continental grip
When contacting the ball, racket face is almost perpendicular to ground
Use Low slices to change pace
Like catching and throwing the ball back. Similar to tapping a shot, but with follow-through.
Do not slice on the run. Stop before hitting.
Follow-through with the stroke. The direction which the racket head is pointing directs the direction of the ball upon leaving contact with the racket.
Angle your body more for forehand slice (refer to backhand slice body angle)

Tennis Volleys

Focus on the ball, track the ball (not the player) with your eyes.
- track from the moment is leaves opponent’s racket
Angle of racket face can see strings
Height of racket
No pullback & follow thru
Bend knees to correct height,
cross the correct foot, step forward, push the ball
If someone runs to the net, hit it right to him! As low as possible.
wide split step, early contact
Keep racket straight and at eye level
- lean forward slightly, racket not so near body
Slight shoulder turn, keeping racket face open to net
- use the racket face to track the ball to ensure contact
Step in with your feet towards the direction you want to hit to, using body weight to punch the ball
- the contact should be a slice, and the ball should go deep
- goal is not to kill the point on the first volley but to create chance for the next ball
If ball is too far away, just stretch and reach

This video is a good example of using volleys and half volleys.

Tennis Lob

Topspin lob (forehand grip) is for offence, flat lob (service grip) is for defence
For topspin lob, use forehand grip. Drop racket head lower to get a sharp angle of brushing up. More spin, less pace.
For normal lob, use service grip. Contact the ball with open (45 degrees) racket face and just “push” it back.
As you move towards the ball, stay side on, using side steps and cross steps to adjust your position.
Use your non-racket hand to point at the ball.
Remember to keep the racket face open.
Don’t under-hit the ball. The worst thing you can do is give a low ball that your opponent will be able to smash.
Follow through low to high with the racket ending up at your shoulder. The momentum of your swing brings you round into the ready position.

Tennis Overhead (Smash)

This is somewhat similar to the service, except that the ball may not be as high, and it might have horizontal pace and also spin.
Keep your wrist loose, like a serve
Go for good placement (sharp angles) rather than power

Tennis Drop Shot

Use the service grip (Continental)
As you move towards the ball, stay side on, using side steps and cross steps to adjust your position
Use your other hand to point at the ball. This helps you track the ball and keeps your body sideways on to the shot.
Step forwards as you chop down on the ball.
Soft hands and wrists – feel the ball
No follow through
Disguise the shot (same form as a ground stroke)

Tennis Drills & Physical Training

Ground Strokes Rallying Drills

Level 1: Warm up: mini-tennis half court; baseline rallies half court
Level 2: Cross-court rallies: FH to FH; BH to BH
- Level 2.5: Same but return to centre after each shot
Level 3: DTL rallies: FH to BH, BH to FH
- Level 3.5: Same but return to centre after each shot
Level 4: One person only hits cross-court, while the other person only hits DTL

Hitting Against the Wall

This is a good way to train your reaction and preparation time
Train your consistency, control and precision
Try to aim for the same spot on the wall which is about 2-3 net heights from the ground

Service Drills

Try serving batches of 10 balls and see how many good serves you can get. Aim for consistency.
- Also a good way to estimate your % success of each type of service.
Try serving like you are in a real game, eg. 1st and 2nd serves
- If your serve is good, you win the point
- See if you can defeat an imaginary opponent
Place cones at different spots near the service line to see if you can aim your serves to different areas
- Main spots: Wide, Body, T

Home Drills

Practice tossing the ball vertically for your service to get it to the perfect strike zone for each type of serve
Practice bouncing the ball on the ground using your racket to get the feel and train your arm muscles
- Try starting at waist level, and see how low you can bring the racket to the ground while still maintaining the bouncing ball against the ground, then go back up to waist level and repeat.
Practice switching the racket grips between forehand, backhand, and Continental
- Try doing it with your eyes closed
Metal visualization training – watch some videos to get the “perfect” form imprinted in your brain, then try visualizing yourself executing it
- Stand in front of a full-length mirror and try to recreate the form in slow-motion, then move on to normal speed.

Physical Exercises

Training of arm muscles for service and ground strokes – keep elbow at 90 degrees and rotate arm forwards and sideways both ways
Side-step hops from one end of the court to the other
Sprints from one end of the court to the other
- When touching the ground on each end, make sure you alternate, eg. when sprinting to your right, touch the ground with your right hand while the weight is on your right leg; when sprinting to your left, touch the ground with your left hand while the weight is on your left leg
Alternating step up hops

Major Tennis Tournaments

Grand Slam

Australian Open (January)
Roland Garros – French Open (May)
Wimbledon (July)
US Open

ATP Tournaments

Chengdu Open, China
Shenzhen Open, China
China Open, China
Japan Open, Japan
Shanghai Masters, China