Online Tennis Lessons For Beginners - Pros And Cons

It's one thing finding beginner tennis lessons online and another thing whether you actually found a good way to learn how to play tennis.

But suppose you found a good online tennis lesson; how does it compare to a real on court tennis instruction session?

Here are the pros of online tennis lessons for beginners:

1. They are more systematic. What often happens on court is that a tennis beginner starts making minor mistakes and this causes the coach to deviate from the original plan and perhaps miss some of the fundamental skills in the first few tennis lessons.

An online tennis lesson is already prepared, either written as an article or taped as a series of video clips and you can be sure that it will guide you in a very effective way through your first lesson.

2. You control what you want to learn. In case you already know some of the strokes, you can quickly scan the online lesson and choose what you need to learn.

When you are on court, the coach controls the flow of the lesson and you may find it difficult to tell the coach what to you. You are a tennis beginner after all.

3. They are much cheaper or even free. A typical tennis lesson with a professional coach costs between $40 and $50 and you need at least 10 to start playing some real tennis.

A full collection of online tennis lessons can cost you less than $50 and for that you get the information for all the strokes and footwork patterns. Now you only have to actually do it on the court.

And the cons of online tennis lessons for beginners?

1. No feedback from the coach. This means that if a tennis beginner misunderstands the instruction in the online tennis lesson, a coach cannot correct them.

So you might end up learning a slightly incorrect stroke from the beginning without even noticing that.

2. You miss on the fun and the social part of tennis. When you have a real tennis lesson with a coach, you can play many fun games and activities which will help you improve faster.

You also get to know a new person and gain a new friend. If you are learning tennis from behind a computer, it can be very lonely.

3. You cannot accelerate your learning. If an experienced tennis coach guides you through your first on-court lesson, he will be able to judge whether you are learning fast or slow.

A coach can then adapt the learning process to accelerate your learning in various stages of your beginner experiences.

If you are learning tennis online, you are not able to judge whether you could learn something faster or in a different way which may be more suitable for you.

In summary, learning tennis from online tennis lessons can be much cheaper and a very practical way to jump start your tennis journey.

But sooner or later you will probably have to find a pro to take you to the next level.

Tomaz Mencinger is a tennis coach who offers online beginner tennis lessons for free. You can find more tennis tips and instruction on his Tennis Thoughts blog.

Tennis for Beginners - Basic Tips and Advice

This article goes into the basics of tennis for beginners. What are the first things you have to do when starting to play tennis? At what age should you begin? And what's the best tennis racquet to begin with?

To start, one of the best ways of learning to play tennis is to use your body's natural abilities. If you do this the right way, you will build up thousands of natural muscle connections. It will ensure that you can keep on developing and never run into a dead end along the way.

First Steps to Take

Three things are crucial to me when it comes to tennis for beginners:

Step 1 - In case you have never had previous tennis coaching, then find yourself a tennis coach who can teach you the fundamentals. Only when you have learned the basics of tennis, you can move on to more advanced stuff.

Step 2 - This is about really delving into tennis through reading, watching tennis games, and practicing tennis as much as you possibly can. My favorite motto is "sleep, drink, eat tennis".

Step 3 - Now it's time to learn specific baseline tactics and other tennis drills for beginners. The goal should be to develop as quickly as you possibly can. Your focus should be to win - playing tennis is not the same as hitting balls!

When to Start?

What is the best age to start playing tennis? The answer to this question really depends on your goals. If you really want to become part of the top 100 tennis players in the world, then you should start as young as possible. Remember that a famous tennis player like Andre Agassi picked up a tennis racquet before he could even walk. Boris Becker won Wimbledon at the age of 17, and Rafael Nadal was winning professional tournaments at age 16. One exception is Vince Spadea, but even he started playing tennis at the grand old age of 14.

The reason for this, is that young children can effortlessly develop their coordination just like young children can learn any language without effort.

However, don't let these sobering facts stop you from starting to play tennis. Even if you don't become a top 100 tennis player, tennis is still an excellent way to develop mental strength and fitness. And don't forget that for talented amateurs, Europe has leagues that pay you to represent their club. Also, many tennis players who don't make it to the top, still get good paying jobs as tennis coaches.

Your First Tennis Racquet

When you buy your first tennis racquet, it doesn't have to be a professional racquet. But unless you are particularly light or young, it should be an adult racquet. If you weigh under 80 pounds, you should go for a junior racquet, meaning any racquet under 27 inches.

Particularly, you should try to avoid the following:

Racquets with a head size under 100 square inches. Racquets with a larger head size make it easier to hit the ball and such racquets also give the player more power as they have a larger sweet spot.

"Head light racquets" that have their weight based in the handle, as they are particularly meant for advanced players and not for beginners.

Racquets that start to weigh in at under 280 pounds. Very light racquets are meant for players who are very light themselves. However, once you start off with a very light racquet, it is typically hard to change to a proper one later. So it's better never to start with a light racquet in the first place.

Aluminium racquets for beginners are the cheapest and can already be bought for $30 to $70. As you advance, you can switch to a graphite racquet which are available in the $80 to $330 price range.

Max Gregor is the editor of How-2-Tennis.com, a complete information resource for beginning and advanced tennis players. Find more about tennis terminology at his site.

Tennis for Beginners: Instructional DVD with Lessons to Learn Forehand, Backhand, Serve and Volley - Tennis Mantra

If you want to learn tennis or improve your tennis without expensive coaches and lessons, now you can with Tennis Mantra. Guru guides you through the essentials of an effective forehand, backhand, serve, and volley in a few quick and easy lessons. If you keep following and practicing these tips (or "mantras"), you will have all you need to move from a beginner to an advanced level tennis player. Tennis Mantra is highly recommended for both beginner and intermediate level players.

DVD Chapters Include:

- Easy to follow step-by-step instructions.

- Proven methods to improve your grips, footwork and stroke techniques.

- Tips to perfect your forehand, backhand, volley, and serve.

Guru is an avid (USTA 4.5 League) tennis player, who has worked his way from a beginner to an advanced level without professional coaching through self-motivation, gathering valuable tips from advanced players, and practice. The lessons in this DVD are the ones that have helped him perfect his game and effectively coach others. For a preview of the DVD, visit www.tennismantra.com.

We ship internationally.

Price:

Click here to buy from Amazon

Tennis for Beginners: Instructional DVD with Lessons to Learn Forehand, Backhand, Serve and Volley - Tennis Mantra

If you want to learn tennis or improve your tennis without expensive coaches and lessons, now you can with Tennis Mantra. Guru guides you through the essentials of an effective forehand, backhand, serve, and volley in a few quick and easy lessons. If you keep following and practicing these tips (or "mantras"), you will have all you need to move from a beginner to an advanced level tennis player. Tennis Mantra is highly recommended for both beginner and intermediate level players.

DVD Chapters Include:

- Easy to follow step-by-step instructions.

- Proven methods to improve your grips, footwork and stroke techniques.

- Tips to perfect your forehand, backhand, volley, and serve.

Guru is an avid (USTA 4.5 League) tennis player, who has worked his way from a beginner to an advanced level without professional coaching through self-motivation, gathering valuable tips from advanced players, and practice. The lessons in this DVD are the ones that have helped him perfect his game and effectively coach others. For a preview of the DVD, visit www.tennismantra.com.

We ship internationally.

Price:

Click here to buy from Amazon

How To Play Tennis: Instructional Videos For Tennis Beginners

49 step-by-step tennis instruction videos covering all 6 basic strokes in tennis.

Check it out!