Tennis: How to Get Started
My Tennis Journey
I’ve been playing tennis for about 11 years, but it feels like a lifetime. I did not play sports growing up, but my younger sister played in high school so that peaked my interest in the game. When I tried to play with my sister, I realized fairly quickly that tennis is a lot harder than it looks on TV. Based on that experience, I left the sport of tennis alone for a bit. A year or so later, I was watching the US Open, and it reinvigorated my interest in the sport again. This time it was seeing Serena Williams play and seeing all of the women’s beautiful tennis outfits that got me.
HOW DID I START
It may be very hard to know exactly WHERE to start your tennis journey: the local park, a country club, hire a coach? Luckily for me there was (sadly it’s no longer there) an amazing tennis program at the local YMCA in downtown Los Angeles that was legendary in the tennis community, yet very affordable! This YMCA facility had about 6 courts located on a rooftop overlooking a beautiful metro skyline, with certified and highly experienced coaches, a full program of drill/live ball classes, league play, group and private lessons all throughout the week.
Every Monday I would go to a beginners drill class, which included a little bit of instruction from the coach leading the class. But it was mostly about running around and hitting the ball and different kinds of shots, i.e. volleys, backhands, forehands, overheads, etc, and playing against other classmates. In conjunction with the drill class, one day a week, I would also do a group lesson class for beginners with about 3 other people at my level with a coach. These initial group lessons is where I learned the fundamentals of tennis, e.g. how to hold the tennis racquet/different grips, how to serve, how to hit backhands vs. forehands, etc. I did about 3 months of these classes before I was able to hold my own on court (and I say that generously). At that point, I was at least at a level where people could play with me without being annoyed, as I could technically serve and keep score and get some balls across the net.
Tennis is a sport which requires a lot of dedication, patience and consistency in order to see improvement
Long story short, over the years I added more days of playing with friends that I met in class, and took additional lessons to fine tune my game. After about year 2 of private lessons, group classes, etc. at my community YMCA, I was ready to take my game on the road! I embarked on playing tennis competitively in the adult USTA league. Playing different people all over southern California and being on a team has motivated me to continue improving my game. It has been a rewarding journey of meeting new friends, travel and playing a sport that I truly love. I also enjoy being apart of the tennis community in Los Angeles and seeing familiar faces around the courts.
These days, I play competitive USTA matches on the weekend for my team and practice 3-4 times a week with friends. When I reminisce about my tennis journey, I am so happy that I just stuck with the difficult phase of learning as a beginner, as I am truly amazed at the advanced level that I have achieved. Tennis is a sport which requires a lot of dedication, patience and consistency in order see improvement. I think what makes it even more fun for me, is that after all of these years of playing, there is still room to add things to my game and build my tennis skills, as there’s really no limit!
Great article on the closing and story of the legendary YMCA Tennis Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Forever grateful to have learned tennis and made lifelong friends over the years there.
Where to Start Your Tennis Journey
If you are starting from scratch with no tennis experience whatsoever, you need to start with tennis instruction. Tennis is not a sport where you can go out at just start randomly hitting with someone. I see this happen often and I think this is where the sport loses people. I must emphasize: tennis is way harder than it looks. If you have some experience playing in high school on a team or the like, skip to Step 2.
“ I cannot stress enough: give yourself time to learn and don’t rush or compare yourself to someone else’s progress”
Start with Instruction and Find Tennis In Your Community:
-Budget Friendly Options: Find a tennis MeetUp group (via the app), sometimes coaches lead group classes which are a deal cost wise compared to prices at tennis clubs, and you get to work with other tennis players at your level. Check with your local recreation center or city park. If there are tennis courts at your local park, they can put you in touch with coaches that run classes, lessons, teams etc. onsite.
- Not So Budget Friendly Options: Join a tennis club or country club that has a tennis program. These clubs are definitely your one-stop shop to learning the game and come with the community aspect of players already built in. It’s a huge upfront commitment, so you have to be sure that you will stick with the game to make it worthwhile. But despite what is commonly believed, you can easily play the game of tennis regularly without the expense of an exclusive club.
Whichever option you choose, the goal would be to learn the fundamentals of the game, like serving, grip options, forehand and backhand strokes, etc. I cannot stress enough: give yourself time to learn and don’t rush or compare yourself to someone else’s progress.
Build your tennis community:
Yes, you can practice hitting a tennis ball against the wall, but tennis is a social game and a great way to make lifelong friends. Going to a live ball class or group lesson is a great way to meet folks and build your tennis contacts for days you just want to rally or play a casual match.
While you are in the learning phase, it’s important to have a place to implement and practice what you have learned from your lessons. At a minimum, you should be playing once a week in conjunction with your instruction/lesson session. You need repetition on court in order to build that hand-eye coordination and muscle memory that the game of tennis requires. If you simply just go to lessons without any practice to reinforce what you’ve learned, you will not see the results in your game.
“You need repetition on court in order to build that hand-eye coordination and muscle memory that the game of tennis requires.”
3. Treat Yourself with Tennis Style
I absolutely love tennis style! In recent times the tennis “look” exploded with people sporting the preppy tennis skirts, polos, etc. off court. I love taking my tennis look to the next level with tie-dye socks, lavender pleated skirts, bright orange dresses and other bold and vibrant colors. Once you have some comfort with the sport, treat yourself with some on-court fashion and accessories.
One accessory which is non-negotiable in my opinion is tennis shoes. I see so many people on court with regular running or non-tennis shoes. Shoes made specifically for tennis are made for lateral movement and are non-marking for tennis courts, among other benefits. The right shoes will give you the support you need and protect you from injury on the court, so please get tennis shoes!
Here to Help
This is just a starter guide, but there are so many other technical areas to explore once you get going, like finding the right racquet, shoes, strings, balls etc. Follow this space, as I hope to build on these topics in the future!
If you are in the Los Angeles or Southern California area, I can definitely offer some specific tennis facilities and programs, so feel free to e-mail: hello@deucekat.com for suggestions. As an ambassador of the sport, I love seeing new people learn the game of tennis. I know that the early days are the toughest for beginner tennis players, but I encourage you to just stick with it, and you will be so happy that you did!
SHARE YOUR TENNIS JOURNEY IN THE COMMENTS!
I would love to hear about your journey and any tips for beginners getting started!