When you first start playing tennis, it will be important to understand the different shots that are used in tennis. These shots will be used to perform different tasks. Previously, we broke down the different areas and lines within a tennis court. Now that you understand what each part of the court is, you will need to learn the tennis shots. Our experts at Utah Court Surfacing can help to provide you with the superior backyard tennis court to practice your tennis shots on! Here are a few different tennis shots that are beneficial to learn.
The Serve
The serve is an incredibly important tennis shot to master. This shot is used to start every point in a tennis match. The serve involves both the server and the receiver. These roles are switched at the end of every game. Most serves use a movement where the player swings their tennis racquet above their head to serve the tennis ball. It is also important to note that the player is required to stand behind the baseline when they make their serve.
Return
The return shot is the receiver’s reaction to the initial tennis serve. For this shot, the receiver will wait to see where their opponent’s serve lands. They will then attempt to hit the ball back across the net to the other side of the court. There are several ways in which a return may be executed. Ultimately, the most important part is to get the ball back to the other side. Returns may use a backhand, block, forehand, slice, or chip to return the ball.
Forehand Shot
A forehand shot is a shot that is hit with the player’s dominant side. For this shot, they allow the ball to bounce once on their side of the court before hitting the ball. Forehands are usually only swung with the use of a single hand. For this stroke, the front of the hand is usually facing the opponent.
Backhand Shot
Ultimately, backhand shots are extremely similar to forehand shots, but they are implemented on the player’s non-dominant side. This results in the back side of the dominant hand facing the opponent, rather than the front of the hand.
Slice
The use of a slice is actually a variation on the backhand shot we already discussed. Rather than hitting the ball on the top, the racquet swings at the bottom portion of the ball. The use of a slice helps to add underspin to the shot. When you use a slice, the ball will stay low and close to the ground after it has bounced on the other side.
Overhead Shot
The overhead shot, also referred to as a smash in some areas, is a shot that is important to learn when playing tennis. This shot involves standing near to the net, as well as hitting the ball without allowing it to bounce. The ball has to be hit over the head, which is where the name comes from.
Backhand Volley
A backhand volley is very similar to the use of a backhand slice. However, the major difference is that these volleys don’t allow the ball to touch the ground. A volley tends to occur when you are standing close to the net and is used on the non-dominant side.
Forehand Volley
A forehand volley only uses a single arm to hit the tennis ball. The forehand volley uses the dominant side, without allowing the ball to touch the ground before hitting. The use of any volley requires a firm grip on the racquet, as well as fast movement.
These are some basic tennis shots that you will need to learn in order to play tennis. Our experts at Utah Court Surfacing can help to provide you with a great backyard court to make your tennis playing even easier. For more information about the courts that we can provide, contact us at Utah Court Surfacing today.
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