Now that you’ve got started & had an introduction to the game, how do you
get better? How quickly you get better is up to you, but here are the key steps
you should take to improve your game. Time required: As long as it takes!

1. FIND TIME TO PRACTICE AS WELL AS PLAY • It is only by hitting the same shot again & again that you can master the shot. Hitting the shot many times in a row can help you ‘groove’ in the shot, & gain the ‘muscle memory’ needed to hit the shot well during an actual game. A practice wall is a great learning tool for this.

2. TAKE SOME LESSONS SO YOU PRACTICE EFFECTIVELY • Unfortunately, practice does not make perfect. In tennis, as in many disciplines, perfect practice makes perfect. Therefore, you must take some lessons so that you learn what to practice, & how. i.e. specific drills to develop depth of ground shots

3. ARRANGE MATCHES WITH SOME PLAYERS WHO ARE BETTER THAN YOU • While it is fun to win matches, you can learn more quickly by playing better players. Find someone who is a bit better than you, yet is willing to play with you. Even attend club social nights, or team practice nights where you will encounter more advanced players

4. GET FIT TO PLAY TENNIS • Tennis is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. Jogging, running, rope-jumping, dynamic stretching, core strengthening & light weight-lifting are all good training activities for this sport

5. PLAY & PRACTICE REGULARLY, NOT SPORADICALLY • Playing or practicing once a week can help you improve. Playing or practicing three times a week, or every other day, will help you improve much more quickly.

6. GET RATED • In GB, there is a rating system for tennis corresponding to players’ skill levels. The higher the number, the better the player. If you know your rating, you can more easily meet players at your level, & enter tournaments at the right level. Go to www.lta.org.uk to register for BTM membership & player rating.

7. BUILD A NETWORK OF PARTNERS BY JOINING A LEAGUE OR A LADDER • It helps to have a lot of tennis friends, so you have opponents who play with different styles. Also, joining a league or ladder is a good way to commit yourself to regularly-scheduled play.

8. PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL TOURNAMENTS • When you’ve learned your regular opponent’s shots, tricks, & patterns, you can learn a lot by participating in a tournament. You will see new shots, different spins, tactics, & make new friends.

9. KEEP LEARNING & SET GOALS FOR IMPROVEMENT • You can always get better tennis since it is a very deep game. Set yourself some challenging goals, & then define some achievable milestones along the way to your goals

10. LEARN THE MENTAL GAME, STRATEGY & TACTICS • Although there’s no time for reflection during a tennis point, there is plenty of time off-court to read books. Theories abound concerning the most effective tennis strategies & tactics. Read books, study the best at work & talk with good players about what works for them, & why they do what they do. Tennis is played on a variety of surfaces & matches can be indoors or outdoors so your play has to adjust to the conditions. For example, if outside on a windy day & on a high bouncing surface, you may need to be more prepared to rally, take more time between points & use drop shot when hitting into the wind etc.

11. PERSEVERE & HAVE FUN! • You will hit plateaus, seem to get stuck at a certain level, & even regress as you try to master new shots or skills. Keep practicing. Have faith in what you are doing. Remember that tennis is just a game, & have fun!

What you need: Tennis professional, partners & opponents, time to practice, time to play matches a bit of money for tournament entry fees.

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'Rusty Racquets'  Women Only - Groups for Beginners Last year BMTC offered a new course designed especially for women who have never played or haven't played for some time and wish to return to the game. This opportunity to learn a new skill, have fun and make friends proved to be extremely popular and places filled up very quickly! Given it's popularity, the club will be considering arrangements for further courses in the future. In the meantime, the club now holds specific coaching sessions for women who are beginners. These happen on Monday evenings. To register your interest for future courses or discuss the possibility of 1:1 coaching, call BMTC Coaches Jason White / James Foulk directly using the details above.