Tennis is the world's 4th most popular sport after soccer, cricket, and field hockey. It may be a sport you've been interested in for a while or a sport that's recently grabbed your attention.
Even if you're an adult, there's no reason why you can't start playing tennis. You can find classes or coaching programs for all levels whether you're an absolute beginner, intermediate, or advanced player.
In this article, we'll be looking at what tennis is, the rules of the sport, how you can get into tennis, why you should get into tennis, and how much it'll cost you.
What Exactly is Tennis?
Tennis is a racket (or racquet) sport played by two or four players on a court. Using rackets, players hit a ball from one side of the court to the other over a net that divides the court into two.
The objective of the game is to hit the ball into your opponent's half of the court to score a point. There are a few ways a point is scored, but basically, you score in tennis when you hit the ball into your opponent's half of the court and they are unable to return the ball into your half.
Tennis is a fast-paced sport that requires speed, agility, and skill and is enjoyed in many countries around the world.
The Basic Rules of Tennis
Allow us quickly to explain some of the rules and concepts of tennis. In tennis, matches can be played as singles or doubles with either two or four people respectively. Whether it's a singles match or a doubles match, there are only ever two sides or teams in a tennis match.
Unless specified, all the examples we use here are referring to a singles match.
The Court
The court is where tennis is played. Your typical tennis court is set up so that matches between two and four players can be played.
The court is nearly 24m long and around 11m wide, though a smaller part of the court is used when two people are playing as opposed to four.
A net divides the court into two equal sides and hangs around 1m into the air.
There are several lines indicating the edge of the court for both singles matches (two players) and doubles matches (four players) as well as lines that are used for service (the start of a point).
The service lines run through part of the centre of the court, creating four boxes known as "service boxes" with two on either side of the net.
Along the baselines (at either end of the court), there's the centre mark that the serving player will use to make sure they're on the correct side of the court when serving.
Out of Bounds
In tennis, the ball is considered out of bounds (or out) when it lands outside of the outermost lines (in a doubles match) and outside of the outermost lines at the ends of the court and the second set of sidelines in a singles match.
Except for service, when the ball lands outside of these boundaries (as well as hitting things outside the court such as lights, the ceiling, building walls, etc.), a point is awarded to the other player, provided that it didn't bounce within the boundaries first.
Service
Each tennis point begins with a playing “serving” the ball to the other. In tennis, one player serves throughout an entire “game” (more on this later) and once a “game” has ended, it's the turn of the opposing player to serve.
A player must serve the ball from behind the baseline (the lines at the ends of the court) diagonally over the net into the “service box”, an area between the net and a horizontal line known as the service line.
Let
When serving, if the ball hits the net and still lands in the correct service box, the opposing player doesn't concede a point and the server can serve again with no penalties.
Fault
If the server fails to serve correctly, this is known as a “fault”. After a second “fault”, a “double fault” is called and a point is awarded to the opposing player.
Return
If the server correctly serves, the opposing player has to "return" the ball before it bounces a second time anywhere (both in or out of bounds).
They must return the ball to anywhere within their opponent's half of the court.
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Rally
Once the serve is completed and the opponent has returned the ball, a rally commences. A rally lasts until a point is scored with both players returning the other's shot.
Scoring Points in Tennis
One of the more confusing systems in tennis is how points are scored. Technically, each game is the first player to reach 4 points, but games constitute sets that constitute matches.
An entire tennis match is made up of several sets which are made up of several games.
Confused?
Let us explain.
Tennis Games, Sets, and Matches
In a tennis game, the first player to win 4 “points” wins the game provided they've won by two points. When they've scored at least 4 points and 2 more than their opponent, they win the game.
A set is several games. To win a set, a player must win at least 6 games by a margin of at least 2 games. In the event of a 6-6 tie, a tiebreaker is played, but we'll leave the explanation of that to keep things slightly simpler.
A tennis match is won by whoever wins the best of a particular number of sets. For example, you could play best-of-five sets whereby the first player to win 3 sets is the winner of the match. However, the number of sets to win depends on the level and what you and your opponent agree to.
The Points System in Tennis
We've avoided talking about the points system in tennis because it's also complicated. Before, when we spoke about scoring 4 “points” to win, we avoided mentioning how tennis is scored.
In tennis, the points are numbered 15, 30, and 40, with the fourth point being "game". If the server has won three of the points against their opponent who won only two points, the score would be 40-30.
In the event of both players reaching 40 points, this is called “deuce”. Since both players then need to score 2 more points to win, when a player takes the lead, this is known as “advantage”. In the event a player has “advantage” but loses the next point, the game returns to “deuce”.
Benefits of Playing Tennis
While you mightn't be itching to start playing tennis after hearing the rules, there are lots of great reasons to get into the sport.
As with any sport, tennis is great for your health. It can improve your cardiovascular health, help you to build and tone muscles, improve your bone density, and help you manage your weight.
Because of how technical tennis is, it's also great for the mind and can improve your coordination and balance, too.
Tennis is great for the spirit, too, and it can be an enjoyable social activity that people of any age can do together. Tennis is fun and it's great for relieving stress.
How To Get into Tennis
There are plenty of benefits to tennis, it's fun, and it's quite an easy sport to get into. Here are the steps you need to take to start playing.
Find a Tennis Club
A great place to start with tennis is a tennis club. Look for your local tennis club and get in touch. They'll point you in the right direction.
At a tennis club, it's quite easy to find adult tennis classes and they'll likely cater to all levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.). You'll likely be able to find lots of different coaching options and programs.
Get Tennis Equipment
You can't play tennis without the equipment and while you may get equipment provided at a tennis club or in a private tennis lesson, it also helps to have your own.
To play tennis, you'll need appropriate sportswear such as a T-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. In addition to the clothes, you'll obviously need a racket and a ball. Generally, balls are bought in packs and players use several balls during a match rather than running after a single ball after each point.
Once you have the equipment, you can start playing tennis even without coaching or lessons. If there are tennis courts at your local park, that's even better as you won't have to pay to rent courts at a tennis club and you can practise to your heart's content.
Get Tennis Lessons
The barrier to entry for tennis isn't very high, but you still need to learn how to serve and take a shot that can go over the net and into your opponent's half.
Consider taking lessons to get started with tennis. You can find lessons for beginners at tennis clubs, your local leisure centre, or through private tennis coaching.
Getting good at tennis takes time, so make sure you're aware of how much time and money you'll need for your lessons. The cost of tennis lessons will depend on the duration of each session, the number of students in the group, the skills you're being taught, and whether the program is for beginner, intermediate, or advanced players.
Location can also affect the prices of a tennis lesson and sessions in Sydney are unlikely to cost the same as sessions in Brisbane, for example.
Practise Tennis Regularly
Practice makes perfect and tennis is no exception. If you're serious about playing tennis, you need to practise regularly. Even if you have regular tennis classes, you'll want to practise outside of each session.
It's very common for coaches to ask students to practise certain skills outside of the class so ask them what you should be working on, head to your local courts, and get practising.
Sometimes, you won't even need a court to practise and you just need a racket, a ball, and a wall.
Play Tennis Matches
The best way to learn is by doing and there's no better way to gain experience in tennis than by playing matches. If you're a member of a tennis club, there'll likely be regular events you can participate in.
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Exercise
While tennis can improve your fitness, it's also important that you work on your fitness to improve your tennis. Regular exercise and a good diet will make your tennis more enjoyable.
Watch Tennis and Learn
Tennis is the world's 4th most popular sport. There are plenty of opportunities to watch tennis matches both at local clubs and events and on TV. Watch the best players and learn from them.
Watching tennis can become part of your tennis coaching and help you to improve your level, but it's also quite social and something you will want to share with the other tennis fans from your tennis club or your local leisure centre.
Now that you have a better idea of what tennis is about and how to get into it, you can start looking for tennis clubs and lessons and get started.
Enjoy!
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