Second tennis lesson for beginner players

This is how our student progresses in learning to play tennis.

In this video, the beginner player will hold the racket for the first time and hit some tennis balls fed by the coach. Javi has not yet explained to them how to hold the racket or how to hit so they are only trying to hit the ball after it bounces and when it is dropping. The player is using the same easy footwork that they have learnt in the first tennis lesson, however, this time they have the opportunity to hit the ball with the racket.

Javi has divided the training in 2 exercises depending where the player is hitting from: the mid-court or the baseline. In the exercises, he shows the player how to do the split-step, arrive to the ball at the right distance and hit it back to him. He is encouraging the player to explore basic tennis footwork of how to move forwards, backwards and to the sides on their own. They should try their best to arrive to the ball at the distance that is not too far and not too close.

The skill to hit the ball at the correct distance from your body, so you are hitting it comfortably, is one of the most important to master. The proper spacing will greatly impact your swing path and timing.

If your feet are too close to the ball you will most likely be hitting it too late. You will also find yourself in a cumbersome position where your elbow is too close to your body and is bent too much. Consequently, your swing path will almost always be cross court and with little control. You may also accidentally hit the ball with the throat of your racket.

Whereas if your feet are placed too far from the ball you will most likely be hitting the ball too much in front of your body with your elbow too extended forwards. You will be stretching out to reach to the ball and therefore losing balance at contact point. As a result, you might hit the ball with the frame of your tennis racket.

We will be covering those topics in more detail in future tennis lessons for beginner players.

On the backhand side the player is hitting the ball holding the racket with two hands as it is easier to maintain more control when they start learning backhand. However, there are two backhands a beginner player can chose from: a one-handed backhand and a two-handed backhand. It’s more common to start learning two-handed backhand but it is possible to switch to one-handed in the future.

The main learning points from this tennis lesson for beginners are:

1. In order to have more control over the ball, start learning to hit the ball when it is dropping to your hip or even knee level.
2. From early on your learning path explore footwork in different directions: forwards, backwards and to the sides.
3. Before learning stroke motion techniques a student should practice moving towards the ball and gauging correctly the distance between them and the ball.
4. Make sure you arrive to the ball at the proper distance so you can hit it comfortably and maintain balance and control.
5. If the ball is coming towards you separate your body from the ball to avoid hitting it too close.

A correct spacing and timing will produce cleaner shots!

In this video, Javi has selected 2 exercises to show you how to hit easy balls from mid-court and the baseline. Now the player is learning to do a split-step, move towards the ball and hit it at the right distance, therefore learning to correctly space and time the impact of the ball.