THE GAME OF TENNIS

THE GAME OF TENNIS

Are you familiar of the words “Wimbledon”, “Australian Open”, “French Open”? Do you know who are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Serena Willliams and Venus Williams? Since the time that I’ve accidentally watched a tennis game on a cable channel, I already became a fan of it. From that time, I already wanted to learn how to play tennis. Before I do so, I thought of myself what would be the benefits I’m going to gain upon learning tennis. So here’s what I’ve discovered.

Tennis have physical and psychological benefits, below are just some because it’s too many to enumerate.

Å     AEROBIC FITNESS. Fats are being burned and higher energy levels are maintained while playing this game. More calories are also burn compare to inline skating and cycling. Tennis also improves cardiovascular fitness.

Å     SPEED. When chasing the ball during play, you will sprint from side to side and back and up through this, you will develop strong leg muscles producing increased speed.

Å     HELP MANAGE ADVERSITY. Players should learn to play with tenacity no matter where the sun is striking and how hard the wind is blowing.

Å     IMPROVES THE BRAIN. Tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, so it generates new connection between the nerves in the brain thus promote a lifetime of continuing development of the brain.

Å     LEARN TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. Tennis is based on geometry and physics.

Å     HELPS ACCOMMODATE STRESS EFFECTIVELY. Players are force to develop an increased capacity when dealing with stress because of the physical and mental strain while playing tennis.

Å     BONES. Tennis is proven to help strengthen bones of young players while preventing older player from osteoporosis.

The Basics

In learning to play tennis, you should first need to know the basics of the game. The sport is played between two players that are on the opposite sides of a tennis court. A net is erected at the exact middle of it, and the felt covered ball must be passed back and forth over it with the use of nylon, strong tennis rackets. The game is started by a serve done by one player on one side of the tennis court. He must be able to serve the ball over the net and land it on the opposite side. The receiving player should allow the ball to hit the ground once before hitting it back towards the serving player. Points are made for each unsuccessful legal return of the ball to the opposite side of the net.

In order to learn to play tennis effectively, you must know how to do the swings that are accepted in the game for returning the ball. These are the backhand and the forehand. The backhand is done from a two handed stance and hitting the ball with the back side of the racket. This type of stroke takes more time to get used to and requires frequent practice to perfect. The forehand, in turn, is done by hitting the ball with the face of the tennis racket with the palm of the hand, holding the racket whilst facing the ball. This swing is the predominant stroke used by most players, even professionals.

EQUIPMENTS NEEDED

Tennis Racket - Consider the head size that is best for you. Remember that the larger the head size, the larger is the sweet spot, and the higher the power you can deliver in hitting the ball. Beginners and intermediate players often choose rackets with larger heads. Rackets with smaller heads allow for more control, and therefore better placement of the ball.

Tennis Ball - There are two kinds to choose from: pressureless and pressurized. Pressureless tennis balls have a solid core and are good for people who do not play the game very often. Pressured balls have a hollow core that is filled with air. Some companies use nitrogen instead, because it can be preserved for a longer time. If you are going to used pressured balls, you should know that they lose the pressure about a month after being taken out of the can. Low pressured ball are termed as dead balls, and do not bounce very well.

Shoes - You should also be wearing the right pair of shoes. It must fit your feet perfectly and should be able to cope with the stops and dashes that are common in a tennis game. Spend a little time in shopping around for the best tennis shoes for you. If you are not sure on what to buy, you can talk to the store personnel to get some recommendations.