20 Quick Tennis Tips You Need to Win Your Next Match

Do you have a match coming up?  Need a few quick tennis tips to strengthen your game?

You have come to the right place!

There is more to tennis than just being able to hit a good groundstroke.

These tennis tips take a look at different aspects of the physical and mental game of tennis.

Sometimes all you need is a simple tweak to step your game up to the next level.

Give these a try and let us know what your favorite one was!

19 Quick Tennis Tips You Need to Win Your Next Match

The Wall is Your Toughest Opponant

Want to practice against someone you will never be able to beat?  

Go find a tennis backboard or a sturdy wall to hit against. 

Hitting a ball against the wall allows you to just focus on the basics of the game.  

Pay attention to how high you are swinging.  Tune into what your feet are doing.

You will be surprised by what you can learn from just playing tennis with yourself.

How to be a Better Tennis Player Mentally

If you go into a match thinking you are going to lose… you probably will.

When you step on the court you need to have confidence in what you are doing.

Think about how you are going to ace your serves.  Be thankful that you an awesome backhand.

Tennis is a mental sport and if you walk on the court thinking you are not that great it will affect the outcome of the match.

Read more about improving your mental strategy for tennis here.

Tennis Match Day Nutrition:  Eat the Right Foods

Don’t skip meals or eat junk.  This will impact your performance.

Load up on healthy whole foods that will give you energy and focus before your tennis match.

Eating healthy all the time will help improve your fitness and strengthen your tennis practice. 

You definitely do not want to eat a giant heavy meal before a tennis match.  However, you do want to make sure that you consume enough calories to keep up your strength and speed throughout a lengthy match.

Eating a mix of healthy whole carbs and protein is a good choice.

You can read more about tennis nutrition HERE.

How to Physically Prepare for a Tennis Match

Tennis matches can be really short…or really long!

In order to maintain strength, power, and speed you will want to be in good shape.

Doing strength training and cardio is a great way to improve your overall tennis skills.

Read our complete guide on strength training and conditioning for tennis if you need more information about that.

Being in good physical shape will help you get to more balls and be less tired.

If your not in perfect shape and want to play tennis..don’t worry about it too much.

Your fitness level will improve as you play.  You may also become more motivated to work out in order to up your overall game.

Tennis Quick Tips: Get Back to the Middle

You hit a great shot! 

It may be tempting to stand there and watch where it lands and how your opponent reacts, but there is something else you should be doing.

Make sure that you recover and get back to the middle of the court.

Don’t ever expect that your opponent will miss a shot…you should always be thinking that you will be playing out the point until it is actually over.

How to Excel at Tennis?  Take Your Time

If you start losing a game or set, slow the pace.

If it is your serve, take your time and make sure you are prepared.  Take a couple of deep breaths to get you calm and in the moment.

Matches can go downhill quickly if we just move on to the next point without thinking about what happened.

RELATED POST:  HOW TO PLAY TENNIS

Be a Versatile Player

The weather can change.  Courts are all different. 

Whatever the case, learn to adapt to whatever conditions present themselves for your tennis match.

Indoor tennis is much different than playing outdoor tennis.

Be prepared by playing on lots of different courts and in all types of weather.

You will want to know how to change your serves and strokes on a windy day when compared to playing in stillness.

Let Your Opponent Make the Mistake

One of the best feelings is when you hit a smash and you win the point!

Although that feeling is great…don’t focus on doing that the majority of the match.

Instead focus on playing steady and letting your opponent make the mistake.

Your goal each point should be simply to return the ball, not to get a “winning” point.

It is easy to make our own mistakes when we try to get a bit fancy and put too much pressure on ourselves.

Serve Your Second Serve First

Are you losing point after point?

It may be time to switch things up to change the pace of the game.

A simple way of doing this is by serving your “second” serve first.

If your first serve is always a powerful hit to the corner of the service box that is wonderful.

If your opponent seems to have no trouble returning it though…it may be time to spice things up a bit.  

Try to serve your second softer serve on your first serve and see what happens. 

It will most likely throw your opponent off a bit and leave them feeling a but unsure of what kind of serve you will throw at them next.

Beating Your Opponent in Tennis

During your warm-up and throughout your match pay close attention to your opponent.

Find out what their strengths are and their weaknesses.

This will help strengthen your game as you will know the best way to play.

For example, if they have a weak backhand try to hit it to their backhand.

If their shots seem to fall in the middle of the court instead of the baseline…hang out there instead.

Whatever it may be, take notice and work that into your game plan.

Watch Yourself

If someone is coming to watch your match see if they can take some videos.  

This will help you see how you play and where you can make improvements.

It is also nice to have video of yourself to compare to later on as your game improves.

Tennis Scoring Tips:  Always Know the Score

It can be easy to get lazy and let your opponent handle the score when they are serving.

Even if they are calling it out each time (which they should be) make sure to keep track in your mind is well.

You do not want to lose points because of a scoring error.

Make sure to check out our tennis scoring guide if you have any questions about how to score a match!

Be a Dog With a Bone

Go after every single ball no matter what.  You will probably surprise yourself and your opponent if you really give it you’re all every point.

Jump and try to reach the balls even if you think they are too high.  Just a little piece of your racket needs to make contact in order to make an awesome shot.

Lighten Up a Bit:  How to Stay Loose in Tennis

If you are nervous or feeling intense you make unknowingly grip your racket too tightly.

Holding on to your racket really tight may seem like a good idea but it won’t help you hit better.

Relax your grip and it will help your hits become more smooth.

Get Your Racket Back

In tennis, you want to be prepared to hit the ball.

One way of doing this is getting your racket back as soon as your opponent hits the ball.

This way you will be able to get the power you need and will have one less thing to think about when returning a hit.

If you start immediately getting your racket back it will become a habit and you will be more prepared for each point without even trying.

Follow Through Your Stroke

After you have made contact with the ball, follow through with your stroke.

This simple tennis tip will help you get your shots exactly where you want them.  

It will provide you with better form which will help your overall technique.

RELATED POST: BENEFITS OF PLAYING TENNIS YOU WILL LOVE!

Tennis Tips for Net Play

Do not be scared of the net.

Many times tennis players tend to hang out back by the baseline.  

It can make a lot of sense to do that at times.  But don’t be scared of charging the net either.

If you find yourself near the middle of the court it may be time to charge the net.

This can change the pace of the game and also throw your opponent off a bit.

Wear Comfortable Clothing

There are SO MANY cute tennis outfits out there.  As stylish as you may want to be, make sure that you have clothes that you can move in.

Tennis skirts are my favorite to play in. I love that they are fashionable yet very comfortable.

I actually wear skorts quite often in real life…shhh…don’t tell anyone!

You can put extra tennis balls inside of the skort portion which is VERY convenient.

Never play a tennis game without pockets or a skort.  You don’t want to have to be getting balls constantly throughout your match.

I have seen people try to serve while holding the extra ball..ummm…not a good idea.

It could throw off your toss, form, and technique.

Grab a shirt or tank top that is moisture-wicking and comfortable as well!

Communicate with Your Doubles Partner

Make sure that you have an open line of communication with your doubles partner.

This is crucial in your doubles tennis strategy.

When you take the time to talk before, during, and after your match you will help ensure that you are both on the same page!

Shoes Are Important

Picking shoes that are meant for tennis is a good idea if you plan to play on a regular basis.

The term “tennis shoes” is applied to almost any type of athletic shoe.  

If you go to the shoe store and ask for tennis shoes…they will probably throw all sorts of shoes from running to cross-training at you.

You will want to ask for “court shoes” . Make sure you let them know the shoes are for playing actual tennis.

If you are playing outside on concrete, having the right footwear is important.

Footwork Is As Important As Tennis Strokes

Your awesome backhand does not matter if you can’t get to the ball.  

One of the best tennis footwork tips I can give is to stay light on your feet.

This allows you to be ready to get to anything!

Having good footwork will help you get to the ball fast, leaving you with plenty of time to get set and make contact with the ball.

The basics of tennis footwork include having a good ready stance, mastering the split step, and being able to do a side shuffle confidently.

You can practice any of this steps outside of a tennis match. You should definitely keep them in mind when working through tennis drills.

You can check out some tennis footwork drills HERE.

I hope you found these tennis tips helpful!  Keep playing…practice makes perfect!