Month: April 2021

If you are a little confused as to what’s going on in the tennis court and trying to read the scores when you watch it on TV but you want to have a game and need to be able to keep score, then don’t worry.

Tennis is not a straightforward sport to understand at first, but once you get the fundamentals down, you’ll feel like a seasoned pro.

In this post, we’ll go over how to keep score in tennis, so you can enjoy anice game of tennis at your local court. You should be able to get through this post pretty quickly, as we’ve stuck to only the key ideas!

The basics

• Each game of tennis consists of either three or two sets. In order for a player to win a set, they must win at least six games.
• Every game is scored starting at zero, and goes up to forty points – even though it’s technically just four points. From zero, the next point is 15, then 30, then 40, which wins the game for the best player.

Getting the game started

• To start a tennis game, one person flips a coin or spins a racket to determine who serves first. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide several things:
  • Whether to serve first or second.
  • What side of the court to start on.
  • Or if the winner wants to leave the above choices to his or her opponent.
• Whoever serves first will serve throughout the game until its conclusion.
• Players serve from the court’s baseline, which is the right-hand side of the court.

Scoring the Game

• Before the player serves the ball, they should announce the score, with your score first being the first number spoken and then your opponent’s number.
• A player gets two attempts at serving. The ball must go over the net, and land in the ‘service box’ on the opposing side, as well as bouncing towards the opposing player.
• If the ball does not land in the service box, the player is required to serve the ball again. If the second attempt misses again, the player loses a point.
• If the ball grazes the net but lands in the box, the serve does not count, but you must take that server over (this is known as a “let”).
• If the serve goes in and the other player is successful at returning it, players continue hitting the ball back and forth until it hits the net, lands out of bounds, or someone misses the ball. Any of the aforementioned events will cause one player to gain a point at the expense of the other player.
• The game continues until the score reaches 40 at which point the player on 40 can win the game by winning the next point. If the game is tied at 40, it is known as a “deuce.”, which in tennis lingo means a tie. In order to break the stalemate, a player must earn two points in a row.
• Once the game finishes, the other person begins serving. Every odd-numbered game a different player will be the one to serve.

Scoring a Set

• Before the beginning serve in each new game, the server is required to announce the score in sets. One should announce their score first and then the opponent’s score.
• One set consists of six games; the first person to win six games and be 2 games ahead wins the set.
• If the score ties at 6-6, you play a tiebreaker.

Scoring the Match

• All of the above is known as a match. The match is then determined by the best out of two of three sets. In other words, if a player wins two sets, they win the game. If you each win a set, then you must play a third set to determine the overall winner.

Conclusion

So that’s pretty much everything that you need to know when it comes to keeping score in tennis.

If you’re still stuck scratching your head trying to figure out the game, (which is understandable) there are plenty of tutorials that can give you some visual and audio clues on how to read a game, as well as some content that can break down everything for you in real time.

Are you on your way to becoming a professional tennis player? First of all, hold on there, as it will probably take you longer than you think it will. But if you stick to some realistic goals, then tennis can become a fun sport that is not overly difficult to learn.

There are a few foundational strokes that new players can start practicing right away, which includes

• forehand
• backhand
• overhead shot

There are also some variations to these that are used by the pro players, although it’s best to take it one step at the time to begin with.

In this guide, we’ll cover how you can hit a tennis ball with a strong and accurate forearm shot that will fly past your opponent and score you points every time.

Before we get started, this video is very good for getting the most out of your forehand shots:

When should you use a forehand?

Each type of stroke in tennis has its own specific application, strengths and weaknesses, so knowing when to use a forehand stroke is a critical part of the game.

• The forehand is known as the most basic of strokes and is executed on the side that you use to swing your racquet.
• Forehand shots can be used to put topspin on the ball.

How to hit a forehand shot

Get your body into position

In order to properly execute a forehand stroke, you need to make sure your body is properly aligned with the oncoming ball.

• You should perform a split-step as your opponent takes their shot.
• A slip-step is where you jump roughly an inch off the ground and land on your toes while the opposing player gets ready to hit the ball.

Get ready to swing your racquet

It is important to keep your head straight and shoulders facing towards the net.

• As the ball flies towards you, shift your shoulders into a 90-degree angle to the net and raise your opposing arm across your body.
• Pull your racquet arm backwards as the ball approaches closer.
• Shift your weight to your opposing leg, and point your foot towards the sideline.

Have a strong grip

Did you know that there are at least three different ways to grip your racquet when performing a forehand hit alone? The easiest grip to start with is called the Eastern Forehand Grip.

• To begin, place your index knuckle and heel of your hand at the third bevel of the racquet’s handle (it should look like a 3 o’clock position) and the heel of your hand at the bottom lug.
• A good way to get started with this grip type is to imagine that you’re shaking hands with the racquet.

Hit the ball

Now you finally hit the ball. Remember to keep the racquet straight and face open towards the net as you make contact with it.

• Swing straight through as you hit the ball.
• A bit of downward force as you make contact with the ball will produce a powerful flat shot.
• You should be using your entire body to power the shot. This is done by pushing your foot off the ground just before you strike the ball. What happens next is a chain of kinetic energy that you’re feeding into the shot. You can make the shot even stronger by rotating your upper body into the ball as you hit it.

Complete the follow-through

The last step in the process is vital to remember as it affects the speed and spin of the ball. There are different kinds of follow-through techniques that have different qualities, which have been detailed below.

• The out-front finish is one of the easiest to remember for newbies. With this move, the racquet’s head goes straight out and does not twist at the end.
• The downward finish is another powerful move. As you could probably gather, this move involves putting your body in a downward motion, with your arms across your opposite hip.
  

How to hit a tennis ball harder

There are so many different areas of the game in tennis that make a big difference to your performance and results. Footwork and racquet handling are both very important, as is speed and endurance but strength is another area that really helps to win matches. Being stronger means that you can hit the ball harder, therefore you give your opponent less chance of returning the ball.

Technique

There is a lot more to hitting a ball hard than strength alone, or else people could simply head to the gym to do weights and bulk up. Hitting a ball hard requires a good technique that transfers weight at the right time to generate more power into the shot. For this, you will need to have mastered the right footwork so that you have your feet in the right place to allow the correct foot to be planted in position ready for the shot.

Your backswing also plays a crucial part in delivering a powerful shot, so your backswing must be timed right so that you can get a big backswing. Of course, the technique will vary depending on what type of shot you are playing but the overhead shot (smash) is more powerful due to the angle the ball is struck. You will often see pros running to the front of court when their opponent has played the ball high and then smashing the ball down with such power that it is literally impossible to return.

The Power Serve

A power serve is one of the most important shots in tennis as it gains instant points without the energy-sapping effort of winning a rally. Being able to land a first time serve hard into the service area is going to give you a much better chance of getting an Ace. So out of all of the shots you practice, it is probably more worthwhile to get this one to the highest standard possible. The pros can hit a serve at over 100 mph, which is quite unbelievable but with the right technique it is evidently achievable.

The most important part of getting the technique right is being able to establish a smooth transition that allows you to get optimum power through the ball. When you are first trying to do this, do not try to hit the ball hard. Instead, concentrate on your throw of the ball and the transfer of your body weight as you strike the ball. Then you can gradually start to try and hit the ball harder once you have mastered the serve technique.

When you are throwing the ball up, you will be throwing the ball forwards in order to strike it with as much power as possible. If you throw it directly upwards then you will not get as much power coming down on the ball. This movement also sets up your body movement i.e. your body will naturally move in the same direction as the ball, which will add extra power to the serve.

Your leg muscles also play a big part in generating power for a serve and you should be driving your legs upwards and toward the ball to enable you to gauge more power into the shot. One common mistake that people make is to put a lot of spin on the ball but this counteracts what you are trying to do so only put a small amount of spin on the ball if any at all.

You should watch videos of slow motion power serves to enable you to master this. You will see that the great servers will start behind the service line and strike the ball whilst they are in mid-air before landing quite far inside the court. This is a skillful way of using the rules to your advantage in terms of keeping your body in the right place according to the rules when you are serving the ball.

Look at the physique of tennis players – they have really toned shoulders and large biceps, quads and calf muscles. So if you want to become more powerful, doing some weights and muscle building exercises will definitely help you to hit the ball harder in tennis.

Tennis is a game that has a logical set of rules and guidelines developed to guarantee a winner at the end of a tennis game, set, or match.

Unlike some other sports, a tennis match can never result in a tie. The game must be played out until one player wins and the other player loses.

Although tennis is a fascinating game to watch, spectators may have trouble keeping up with how to read the tennis scores it can be confusing at first. Why do they keep talking about Juice!?

The good news is that the tennis scoring system is straightforward to understand and remember once you get the hang of it.

So in this article, you’ll come away with everything you need to understand about how to read tennis scores quickly and easily.

How to Read Tennis Scores: The Beginning

This is an overview of the components of scoring in tennis:

1. Points – these are won when you hit a winning shot or your opponent fails to return the ball to you within the specified area.
2. Games – each game is won by the player who wins the point when on a score of 40 or with the advantage if it is Deuce.
3. Sets – these are won by the player who reaches 6 games first or in the event of a tie break, the person who wins that. There can therefore be a maximum of 6 games in a set and 1 tie break if it gets to 6-6 in games.
4. Match – this is won when a player reaches a certain number of sets. This number varies depending on the tournament and if it is men or women playing.

The game starts with one player initiating the serve. A player who serves first will continue to serve throughout the entire game.

To win a game, one player must earn at least four points (more if the game gets to Deuce).

The server’s score is announced first before they hit the ball to the opposing player.

The terminology of how the tennis score is kept track of can be seen below:

• Points Earned 0 = 0 Games Points or ‘Love’
• Points Earned 1 = 15 Game Points
• Points Earned 2 = 30 Game Points
• Points Earned 3 = 40 Game Points
• Points Earned 4 = Game Over (2 Point Advantage Required)

In order to win a tennis game, one player must have more than two points than the opposing player. In other words, if the score is 40-0 and the server wins the next point, the server wins the game.

On the other hand, if the server loses the next point and the score is 40-15, the server must continue to serve and see the game until the end.

Tennis Scoring: A Set

A set in tennis is named when a player who has won a minimum of 6 games with at least a two game advantage over their opponent.

A set could be a number of score outcomes, such as 6-4, 6-3, 6,2, 6-1, or 6-0.

Some sets can last as long as an hour or even more if there are special rules in play.

These rules can include tie-breaker scoring or no-ad scoring that can dramatically alter the strategy the players use for the match.

A common set of rules seen in tournament play is ‘Pro set’, which makes the games end faster. When playing a ‘Pro set’ game of tennis, the winner of the match needs to win at least 8 games leading with a minimum advantage of two or more games.

During a tennis game, the players will rotate continuously during a match when the total number of games in a set is an odd number.

For example, a total game score in a set could be 5-4, which is 9 games in total. The competitors would then switch sides before starting the next game.

Tennis Scoring: Match

The nature of a tennis nature is purposefully designed with an odd number of sets to ensure that a winner emerges at the end of the match.

Most competitors in tennis play for the best 2 out of 3 sets to decide on the winner of a match.

In some tournaments, such as the Australian, French, or US open, players will compete for the best out of five sets.

Therefore, the final score could be 3-0, 3-1, or 3-2 for the winner in these competitions.

The Short Answer

The quick answer of how to read tennis scores is that the competitor who wins the most of their sets within a match is crowned the winner of the game.

Tennis is often a very exciting and interesting sport to watch, but without knowing how to keep up with the pace of the game can make it overwhelming.

So by now you should know everything you need in order to understand what’s unfolding on the courts, as we have left nothing out in this quick guide.

For some readers, simply reading an article may not be enough for them to fully absorb the complexity of the game. If this applies to you, then you can easily find tutorials on YouTube and other sources that may be able to explain how to read tennis scores with videos and pictures instead of writing alone.

Now you know how to read the scores, grab yourself a racquet and get on the court!