The Fundamentals of Tennis

Tennis is a game played with rackets and a light, small ball that is played by two players or two pairs of players on a court divided by a net. Tennis could be played on grass court (lawn tennis), on hard court, or on clay court. To fully gain knowledge of the fundamentals of tennis, one has to learn the essential skills, tennis rules and tennis etiquette.
Learning the essential skills of tennis is very important to any tennis player. There are essentially two principles of tennis, which are keeping the eyes on the ball and moving into shots (moving or running to the ball) when it is in play. Three basic skills will be discussed here.
When a tennis ball is allowed to bounce (once) before being hit, the shot is known as a ground stroke. Ground strokes are the most commonly hit shots amongst players, therefore making it extremely important in any tennis game. Ground strokes should be hit by first turning sideways to face the path of the ball. Racket preparation is important in hitting ground strokes, in order to hit them correctly, the racket should be taken back until it almost points to the fence at the back of the court. The racket is then swung and makes contact with the ball, following thr

Once a player steps on the tennis court, it is recommended that players show and express to each other proper politeness, courtesy, and fair play, making tennis etiquette another important aspect of the fundamentals of tennis.

It is a part of the courtesy practiced in playing tennis to be ready to play when your opponent is ready. If it is your turn to serve, always start with two tennis balls. All serves should be made only when the receiver is ready. If a serve is made before the receiver is ready, the receiver should simply ask the server to serve again (although, if the receiver makes an attempt to hit the serve, that receiver is deemed ready).

The player receiving the serve may stand anywhere: in the court, well behind the baseline, in the alley. If the receiver touches the served ball before it bounces, the server wins the point. If the served ball lands in the proper service court and bounces a second time before the server hits it, the server wins the point.

When a match is about to begin, the players determine who is to serve first and determine who will play first on each end of the court with a “toss”. The toss, nowadays is performed by spinning a racket and the butt of the racket faces an opponent, the letter on the butt of the racket is covered with one hand while the racket is turned several times, and the opponent calls “up” or “down”, and so on. The winner of the toss has three options: the winner can elect to serve first, can select which end of the court to play first, and can ask the opponent to make a choice.

In a tournament, if an opponent calls your shot out of bounds that appears good by substantial margin, you might calmly ask your opponent if he or she is certain. If there is no change after the opponent is asked (more than once) about being sure, a player may request a line judge from the tournament director.