Tennis - are you born knowing how to play? Or otherwise.

[User14March]

DH can play. Well. How did you learn? I asked.

He said, ‘ah, had lessons at school’ & nodded sagely.

Our lessons at school were rudimentary & in a group. The upshot was you either, seemingly magically, ‘got it’, or otherwise.

How did you learn?

Consistent, paid lessons from a young age (some group and some individual). Like anything if you learn a skill from a young enough age you don't remember being a beginner and it feels like you've always been able to do it.

Lessons from the age of six. I was not a natural but I practiced consistently and became fairly average. 😆

Some people are just naturally more coordinated and pick up sports quickly. Do you mean he's really good at it, or just that he knows basically how to play?

@AllProperTeaIsTheft he’s really good but sporty so probably why. Other friends similar & no lessons to speak of.

Played tennis in my teens with friends and family, as we are naturally sporty. It just came naturally to me. It was on TV a lot throughout the year and my dad taught me the rules so we just started playing at local courts and high school also had some tennis lessons during PE.

Put dd7 into tennis age 5 because I enjoy watching/playing and figured it might be a nice thing for us to do. Her coach would not let it rest that she is naturally talented and must continue. I'm unsure if its because we are a naturally active family and from birth we were out and about and even basic things like throwing balls with her at a young age or if it's just her natural talent. She also caught up to her class age 5 within a handful of lessons. I later found out they'd been training for just over a year. Unfortunately I am inclined to believe that natural talent is a thing.
Dd7 also scored highly on spatial awareness among other things I don't remember.

I had lessons in school for seven years and learnt nothing.

However on one memorable lesson we had a different PE teacher who was actually interested in teaching, not just hanging around the naturally talented.

I learnt more in that 30 minutes than in the years of lessons before. So I am prepared to believe it can be taught.

Playing on the park with friends, then lessons at school. Reading how to play certain shots from an old girls comic annual and copying it! I only really improved when I could afford lessons in my 30s

I think most sports are a combination of a natural affinity for it coupled with enjoying it sufficiently to want to practise, and have lessons (being able to afford them also becomes a factor, or course).

DH was always deemed unsporty at primary school because he had no talent for or interest in the traditional boys sports of football and cricket (or rugby or hockey for that matter). At secondary school they discovered he was a bit of a natural at racket and ball sports and he ended up playing several of them to a high level. Never did get into football or cricket though!

Hit the ball across the road every year during Wimbledon,,😉. Had a few "KitKat" sponsored lessons during the summer.

It's really just hand eye coordination so genetic and early engagement with any hand eye sport would translate.

It’s a really hard sport to play at a good level (big court, heavy balls, big racquet). That is why Padel tennis is becoming so popular, it is just much easier.

You need natural ability, coaching and a lot of practice. The kids who compete at even low level tournaments do at least a squad, a lesson and a practice every week, and it ramps up from there in the teenage years. Many play every day.

To have a fun hit with friends and enjoy it is a different matter.

I played 2nd team tennis in my 6th form without much coaching and enjoyed it, but we got our arses handed to us when we played good teams. One of my sons is taking it more seriously and the level is just completely different to mine at the same age.

I had private lessons (well, with a group of 4 girls in total). I am okay, nothing amazing.

DD (10) had tennis at school last term; she was pretty decent and has never played before HOWEVER (and this is a big caveat I think) - she plays cricket weekly and has done for the last 3 years. So her hand/eye coordination has massively improved through that. She also tried out for netball before the Easter break and made the team (again, having never played it before) - they had their first session this week - which is the first time she's ever actually properly played netball - and the teacher now wants her as "goal shooter". (ie. in attack and most likely to score).

I don't think she has an innate ability at all - her hand eye coordination was pretty abysmal when she first started playing cricket. But clearly consistent practice is working wonders.

Had lessons at school, but my DM was keen on tennis and a member of the local tennis club, as was my grandfather. I think they probably taught me to play before I got to high school, to be honest. Also badminton.

From my teens I played in the local tennis club too. Lots of friends did. There was nothing 'elitist' about it - it was about £5 a year subs and we lived in a small market town and the tennis club rented the school courts 3 evenings a week.

It was sociable and I enjoyed it. It's just good hand/eye co-ordination. It did mean when I went to uni and discovered squash courts (never around in my town) that I found I was a half decent squash player as well.

I started playing at about age 6yo when my parents joined a club. Well, when I say play, we'd run onto the court at the end and they'd throw a few balls and we'd swipe at them.
Then when I was about 8yo and I was bored of my siblings I went to where my parents were playing and asked to join in. They told me to stand at the net and hit any that came near me.
And I found I could do that well. So I started playing. No one taught me how to play, I just did it the way it felt right, until much older when I did have a few lessons and learnt some techniques.
I spent hours hitting a ball against the wall of our house one summer.

And I am quite a reasonable amateur who can not play for ages and pick up a racquet and still play well enough to play a good team match in a high division.

Now the thing is, on paper I know plenty of people who should be able to beat me easily. They play 3-4 times a week. they have regular coaching (I haven't had coaching in 30 years), I am the slowest runner known to man, I am horribly unfit... but I can still outplay them, in retrieving, pace and tactics.
I don't know how I manage to hit so hard-I don't think I'd doing anything different from loads of other people and can hit it far harder.
I think the difference is timing. My timing is good so it doesn't matter I'm not quick, because I'm quick off the mark. I'm also good at reacting to the court, so my down the line past the person at the net beats many people better than me because I somehow know when they're about to move. It's not even a conscious decision a lot of the time.
I am generally pretty unsporty, except for racquet sports.

As a junior, we had a England rugby player join the club. Other than a few of the older women who were weak at the knees at the thought, the main thing I noticed was he was rubbish. He was lovely, really kind (even to the fawning ladies although you could tell he was irritated by them) He was really fit, obviously had great ball sense, but tennis wasn't his game.

I didn't go to the sort of school where tennis was played, but did always play in the street. Somehow managed not to play at university, but in my thirties joined a local club and found I started to improve. Now I'm 58 and am in a different club and play 2 or three times a week to a decent standard. I'm tall, with a good long reach and quite athletic for my age, so have natural advantages. Had a handful of lessons, mainly on strategy.

I love tennis and hope I can play til I can no longer stand!

Maybe his school had better PE teachers?

Some people have good hand-eye coordination and a competitive streak that motivates them to practice.

I had lessons in a summer tennis camp while in primary school, and my dad had played for his school so gave me a tip or two, but I also had a great brick wall to practice shots against. I had to keep the ball below the top of the wall or it would sail into the ndn's garden and be chewed by their dog, so I improved my ground strokes.

Some people have good hand-eye coordination and a competitive streak that motivates them to practice.

@mathanxiety I think that’s why I couldn’t pick it up, my hand/eye coordination must be crap. 😂

DH and I saw some teens playing yesterday and I said that I wish I could play well enough to do it socially. I did have some lessons at a sports centre when I was 8/9, but they didn’t seem to work! I needed glasses a couple of years later though so I’ve wondered whether my eyesight was contributing to it?

I’ve had a few lessons as an adult too, but only about six. I would like to pick it up, just not sure what would work best at nearly 50. I did learn to swim well a few years ago with a lot of lessons and practice.

Has anyone else picked it up in later life?
@faffadoodledo Would a club let a soon-turning-50-year-old beginner join?! 😂

Would a club let a soon-turning-50-year-old beginner join?!

Any club will let you join. But you may need to either book lessons or find someone else who is willing to come down and play, rather than assuming you can just turn up and join in.

So ask around your local clubs. Village clubs can be lovely, or they can be very territorial. Bigger clubs may have more for all stages, but they may also have too many people wanting to play and the beginner end misses out.
It's worth asking what is on for beginners, and about social sessions before you pay your money.

Edited to say: Actually there are some clubs that do "vet" their applicants by standard, but I don't expect you were thinking of those anyway. I don't know if there are many outside the elite left. The one I knew growing up went bust because they didn't let enough people in!

@MargaretThursday Thanks. I would definitely be upfront that I’m a beginner and need lessons, I wouldn’t want to impose my current incompetence on other players!😂

We live in a city so I’ll have to see what’s available in our area.

@BuFord you'll probably be a reasonable beginner then. My experience is the more incompetent a beginner is, the less they realise it. 🤣

Personal favourite was the total (lady) beginner who turned up at men's first team practice and wanted to join in because she was "very good" and she thought they'd be "about the right level for her". They good-naturally gave her a set in which I don't think she got a ball over the net and in.
At the end when they asked her to let them continue their practice she had a massive strop and ended off walking off shouting over her shoulder "just because my game was showing you up..." Five years later she still had the same attitude and not a much better game either. People used to leave the club by the back route when they saw her walking up with racquet in hand. 🤣

A close second was a match I played in, where the opposing team had initially told us that they might be one short, but when we turned up they were jubilant that they'd got a new member who'd told them she was an experienced team player, and they were almost apologising that they thought she might be a lot better than the rest of us.
I'm not sure what sport she was experienced in, but it certainly wasn't tennis. I think we lost 2 points in 2 sets against her and her partner, and one of those was a double fault. We weren't even playing that hard because we were feeling a bit sorry for her partner, but she was determined to poach even when it was well out of reach.
At the end we left her cheerfully saying to the captain, "I'm on for the next match. I've got it in my diary."
On the basis they were a pretty good team and went up that season I assume someone was able to disillusion her.

After those two you can go in confident you won't make a fool of yourself!

My suggestion would be, get yourself a few lessons. Group is fine at beginner level, but you will learn quicker at 1-2-1. See what the relative cost is. I was horrified to find that our club charges roughly half the cost of a private lesson to the groups (talking about 10+ players) and you definitely get far less than half the benefit, I'd say probably less than 10% for that number of players.

Get a nice racquet. It will make a difference. I'm still playing with my 1990s vintage racquet because I love it. But when I bought it I tried a few. You want to make sure it's comfortable in both weight and grip.
Buy yourself some balls. You don't want the 3 for 99p level balls. You get sponge puddings better to play with than those. Especially my Gran's...
I'd go for 2-3 tubs (with a ring pull top), and dry them out if they get wet. Don't get tretorn if they're still trading. Odd balls, they actually bounced more as they got more threadbare than the other way round. I'm sure they were actually aliens balls.

Then between lessons give yourself a practice. Whether that's a tennis wall at the club (we have one - it's fantastic to lean on), wall at your house, or if you can't do either, then even just sending a ball across the garden helps, or failing that bouncing the ball on the racquet. If you have a friendly child/partner/friend then put the balls in a bucket and they throw them to you and you hit them over the net back.
Or if you have a long drive (and no local free ranging dogs) you can use one of these:
Buy Tretorn Tennis Training Device Blue online | Tennis Point UK (tennis-point.co.uk)
Yes, it is tretorn, but the ball not decaying is an advantage because attaching another is a feat I never worked out how to do. This was how I learnt.

Do something between 10 minutes a day and 30-60 minutes twice a week. You will improve. Focus on getting back at first rather than perfect technique. If you can get your rhythm for playing then the technique can come later.

Once you can do ground shots, try serving. You can go down to the club with your bucket of balls and just serve endlessly. Practice is the main thing here.

When you can serve then you will almost certainly be fine at the club sessions. I would advise getting down towards the beginning, but not at the beginning, and only doing a couple of sets/whatever you play, at first. People are far happier to play and encourage a beginner if they don't feel that they're going to be playing every set with you especially in a small club.

Other thing to look at is court surface. Almost no clubs unless they're really posh have decent grass courts, but I'd go for either hard or artificial clay. We got artificial clay a couple of years ago and I love it except for when I get bits in my shoe. I'd avoid astroturf (slippy in the rain) or carpet (never seen one that doesn't puddle like a bath in the rain and doesn't drain, so you get showered every time the ball lands even once it's stopped raining. Indoor is okay. Don't like it myself, but it definitely has advantages, especially in the wind.

And enjoy it. It's a great fun game!

I learned to play at school in the 80s. The school had a number of tarmac and gravel courts. We were local to a venue for an international tennis tournament (not Wimbledon) and good players from the school had the opportunity to be ball girls.

@MargaretThursday Wow, thank for all the advice, this is great! We have a locally owned sport shop that sells a wide range of racquets so I think I’ll ask them for guidance. I was also thinking that 1-2-1 lessons would be the best way to get started, I’ll have to find someone patient. 🤣

@BruFord my club wouldn't turn you down! In fact it has a Rusty Rackets group whlichmeets every week and seems to be comprised of beginners. They get a group lesson then get to play with other beginners with intervention from the coach.

Would a club let a soon-turning-50-year-old beginner join?!

when I retired at 60, I joined a club and had individual lessons. The coach then paired me up with another learner, we split the coaching cost. He then created a group of similar level, all age, female players. We play every week and mostly have a coffee afterwards. A great group.
I’d advise anyone interested to go for it.

My coach advised and obtained the racquet, the grip and weight is quite important.