Category: Playing

Tennis, originally known as lawn tennis, has gained tremendous popularity over the years. Today the modern game of tennis is played and enjoyed by millions in public courts and on clubs. Even better, we are witnessing an interesting tennis era of the three prolific tennis players who are making a difference in the game. By the three, we refer to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and the ultimate world number one, Novak Djokovic. This game would not be the same without them, but lucky for us; they are still here. That said, here is an inclusive look at the tennis ranking 2021, including the top ten men’s and women’s tennis rankings 2021.

Top Tennis Players 2021

ATP refers to the Association of Tennis Professionals, a merit-based way of determining the player tennis rankings 2021. Top ​tennis players 2021 ranking is based on the player who has collected the most points on the ATP tour over the past fifty-two weeks. The points are given depending on how far a player advances in tournaments and the tournament’s category. Also, the exciting feature with the top ten ATP rankings list is that young and new players are emerging. For instance, about six players are less than thirty years old in the current top ten listings.

​Top 10 Tennis Players 2021

Let’s look at who makes the top 10 tennis players 2021 below:

Novak Djokovic, 12113 points (Serbia)
Daniil Medvedev, 10053 (Russia)
Rafael Nadal, 9630 (Spain)
Dominic Thiem, 8445 (Austria)
Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7980 (Greece)
Alexander Zverev, 7305 (Germany)
Andrey Rublev, 6120 (Russia)
Roger Federer, 5605 (Switzerland)
Matteo Berrettini, 4468 (Italy)
Roberto Bautista Agut- 3125, (Spain)

Top 10 Men’s Tennis Players 2021

Let’s look at who makes the top 10 men’s tennis players 2021 below:

1. Novak Djokovic -12113 points

Novak Djokovic is currently listed as the number one world professional tennis player by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The Serbian international has been the top tennis player for a record total of 326 weeks ending the record of Federer for most weeks at number one. Djokovic has currently won nineteen Grand Slam men’s singles titles and an overall 84 ATP singles titles. This includes a joint record of 36 Masters Events, same as ones held by Rafael Nadal. Also, Novak is the only player in this era to win a double career Grand Slam and the only player to finish the career Golden Masters two times.

2. Daniil Medvedev- 10053 points

Medvedev is a Russian professional tennis player currently listed as the world’s number 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). This is his first highest career singles ranking. Medvedev has until now won 10 ATP Tour singles titles. This includes the 2020 Finals, where he beat the top three players, including; Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Novak Djokovic.

3. Rafael Nadal- 9630 points

Rafael Nadal Parera is a Spanish pro tennis player who is ranked as the third best. The player has been ranked as the number one tennis player for 209 weeks by the ATP rankings. Rafael Nadal has won twenty Grand Slam men’s singles titles; a record shared with Federer and 36 Masters Singles titles, a record shared with Djokovic. Moreover, one of the special records held by Nadal is the thirteen French Open titles and the 81 consecutive wins on clay which is the longest winning streak on a single surface.

4. Stefanos Tsitsipas -7980 points

Stefanos is the youngest player ranked in the top ten by ATP. The number four ranking is career-high for the Greek international tennis player, making him the highest-ranked Greek player. The player has won 7 ATP singles titles and became the youngest winner of the tennis championship by winning the 2019 ATP Finals.

5. Dominic Thiem- 8445 points

Dominic is an Australian professional tennis player and the second-highest-ranked Austrian tennis player in history. Also, the remarkable player currently has 17 ATP Tour singles titles. Thiem became the first Australian player to win the US Open singles title. He was also the runners up in the 2020 ATP Finals, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

6. Alexander Zverev- 7305 points

Alexander Zverev, popularly known as ‘Sascha,’ is a professional tennis player based in Germany. He has risen through the ranks to be among the best tennis players. Zverev was the winner of the 2018 ATP Finals. He got acknowledged as the youngest champion at the end-year championship in more than a decade. Until now, Zverev has won 15 ATP titles in the singles championship and two titles in doubles.

7. Andrey Rublev -6120 points

Andrey Rublev currently ranked as the number seven best tennis player worldwide, a new best record. Also, the Russian professional tennis player got into the top ten of the ATP ranking in October 2020. Until now, the player has won 8 ATP singles and two doubles titles.

8. Roger Federer- 5605 points

Roger Federer currently ranks as the number eight best tennis player globally by the Association of Tennis Professionals. This Swiss international is a twenty times Grand Slam Men’s singles titles champion, a tennis record shared with Rafael Nadal. Moreover, Federer has managed to be the number one’s ATP rankings for 310 weeks and has finished the year as the number one tennis player five times.

9. Matteo Berrettini- 4468 points

At number 9 on the list is Matteo Berrettini, an Italian professional player. His career-high ATP singles rank number 8 world ranking, which he achieved on 4th November 2019. Also, his career-high for ATP doubles is number 105 in July 2019.

10. Roberto Bautista Agut-3125 points

Finally, this is a Spanish professional tennis player currently listed as the number ten on the ATP singles list. Roberto Bautista has until now won 9 ATP singles titles, with the massive win being the ATP 500 tournament of the 2018 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Top 10 Women’s Tennis Players 2021

Here is a look at the latest updated top 10 women’s tennis players 2021 based on the player’s performance. Also, on the recent update, the Australian Ashley Barty contends as the top best in women’s tennis.

Ashleigh Barty -9635 (Australia) 25 years
Naomi Osaka -7336 (Japan) 23 years
Aryna Sabalenka- 6845 (Belarus) 23 years
Sofia Kenin -5640 (USA) 22 years
Bianca Andreescu- 5331 (Canada) 21 years
Elina Svitolina – 5125 (Ukraine) 26 years
Karolina Pliskova – 4975 (Czech Republic) 29 years
Iga Swiatek- 4685 (Poland) 20 years
Garbine Muguruza- 4165 (Spain) 27 years
Simona Halep – 4115 (Romania) 29 years

Bottom Line

In conclusion, we now hope you are up to date with the current Tennis rankings 2021, including; top 10 men’s tennis players 2021 and top 10 women’s tennis players 2021. We will keep updating our list with time in case of any changes.

Whether it’s on clay, grass or traditional surfaces, everyone knows that a good serve is the difference between winning or losing a tennis match.

Like with anything new, getting the technique down can be confusing. Try to think back to the first time you tried to ride a bike or drive a car. Nod your head if there was a moment or two where you were ready to give up. It’s the same with a tennis serve. We suggest beginning with the basic steps, of which there are five, and then moving onto more advanced techniques.

1. The Grip

If you happen to watch any of the pros playing you will notice the majority use a specific grip. It’s called the continental grip and is the most natural of all. It’s fairly easy, once you know how. Imagine shaking hands with the racket, while your non-dominant hand holds it by the ‘throat’. If that doesn’t feel right try the ‘hammer’ grip, which is holding the racket as if you have a hammer and are about to hit a nail.

The continental grip is used to serve, slice, hit forehand and backhand volleys and overheads or smashes, giving you the spin and power you need. If you use a forehand grip for serving you’ll get the power you’re after but you’ll lose control and accuracy.

Another reason to achieve this type of grip is because of pronation and supination, two actions that add extra power, control, and spin to your serve. If you’re not using the continental grip, supination and pronation won’t happen naturally.

2. The Ball Toss

While the ball toss should be a simple and straightforward action of the serve, it’s what causes the majority of tennis players the most frustration. Watching amateurs and pros serve, we’ve noticed those who toss the ball about 4-6” higher than the point of contact have more control.

The players who struggle are the ones who toss the ball too high. Throwing it too high above your head breaks the momentum of what should be a fluid motion. It really is as simple as that. Your aim is to achieve a steady down/up action and make sure the ball is thrown no higher than 6 inches above the point of contact.

To hold the ball correctly, make sure you’re holding it in your fingers, not your fingertips and not in the palm of your hand. Release the ball when your hand reaches your head.

3. The Trophy Position

The trophy position or the serve power position is what will take your serve from good to great. If you’re able to master this position, you’ll master the perfect serve. We suggest you start practicing this position once you feel confident with the grip and the throw.

There are a few essential elements with the trophy position:

• Make sure your back shoulder is positioned lower than the front
• Ensure the racket tip is positioned upwards
• Your ball-tossing arm (in motion) is what will keep your body balanced
• Your knees must be bent

4. Supination and Pronation

While pronation and supination might sound technical, they’re two actions that will come naturally if you’re using the continental grip.

Supination happens just before contact with the forearm if you’re relaxed and have the correct grip. The more supination prior to hitting the ball the more pronation takes place. How much supination prior to hitting the ball is up to you. Some players will use very little, while others, like Pete Sampras, used as much as possible to be able to generate more ‘whip’. To check if you’re supinating make sure the palm of the hand and the strings are facing to the left side of the court.

Pronation naturally begins when your palm opens up towards the ball and carries on up until your palm and strings are facing the right side of the tennis court.

5. The Follow-Through or Finish

Your body should be at its most relaxed when you’re serving and finishing off the serve. Everything should happen naturally, even the slowing down of your arm and body. A sudden stop will result in stress on the elbow, shoulder and wrist, leading to serious injury in the long run.

A really good way to make sure your finish is as natural as possible (and to get you pumped up) is to think of your racket as a gun, you as the sheriff. You’ve just taken the most wanted criminal down and you’re placing it back in its holster. Make sure your elbow is bent, naturally, when finishing your serve as this takes stress off the shoulder joint.

Ironically, any natural movement, like walking, running, driving or riding, takes a lot of persistence, perseverance, and practice. Everything will click into place and you’ll wonder what the big deal was all about.

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.