- First Service In
Service is a shot through which a point can be started tennis. A service can be done overhead or underhand but most of the players prefer to serve with the overhead. It is necessary to toss the ball for the service.
Service is done in such a way that when the shot is played, it should land in the diagonally opposite service box in the court of the other player to be a valid service.
The first service is always done with power and total skill that it can beat an opposition player or a player cannot reply with the return shot. If this service is valid or it lands in the official service box at the opposite court, it is called ‘first service in’.
The first service is a very tough art for the newcomer to tennis to master, but once it is learned it can win many points for a player. But many players struggle to learn or master this art of the game of tennis and struggle to deliver the first service.
Because of the chance of a double fault (Two consecutive invalid services), the second service is not played with full power to place it at the exact location, and in this case, there are good chances of getting a strong return shot from the opposition player.
- Forehand
Tennis is a game of sheer skill requiring power and mental toughness. One needs to master all the shots including the forehand to become a champion player. If one of the shots is a weakness of any player, it will be exploited by the opposition. Let us master the art of playing forehand shots tennis.
A forehand shot is such a shot played by swinging across the racquet against the body and in the direction where the player wants the ball to go. For the right-hand players, the forehand shot starts at the right-hand side of the body, swings across while making the contact with the ball, and ends at the left-hand side of the body.
For the left-hand player, this is exactly the opposite as it starts on the left-hand side of the body, swings across, and ends at the right side.
The forehand shot is known to be one of the very easy shots in tennis which is not hard to master. There are two types of forehand shots, single-handed and double-handed.
Single-handed forehand shots are played with a single hand and it applies less power whereas double-handed forehand shot applies the full power of the body while playing the shot.
Some of the players with great forehand include Sampras, Borg, Nadal. Federer, Djokovic, Becker, Courier, and Lendl. One of the most astounding names in the forehand excellence is Robin Soderling who within a limited time has become a threat due to his excellent forehand skills.
- Playing at Baseline
Tennis is a game of sheer skill, power, and physical and mental toughness. One needs to master every single shot and have to decide on different strategies to win the game. A player should also learn about playing the shots across the ground with fluency.
Let us look at the strategy of how to play from the baseline. The baseline is a mark or a line where a tennis-court length ends and the art of playing tennis from the end of the court is known as playing baseline tennis. A player who plays this tennis is known as a baseliner.
Typically, there are two types of baseline players, Aggressive or offensive baseline play (known as aggressive baseliner) or defensive baseline play (defensive baseliner).
An aggressive baseliner plays shots from the baseline with power (or aggression) such that an opposition player cannot return the ball, whereas defensive baseliners return every ball without much power and relies on mistakes made by the opposition.
But that does not also mean that they never play an offensive baseline stroke. Offensive baseliners generally have at least one groundstroke, either forehand or backhand. The best offensive baseliner might have dominant service with the fast groundstroke.
Modern tennis is usually played at the baseline. The professional tennis players today tend to stay at back, hitting hard and deep groundstrokes rather than coming on to the net and playing volleys just like Sampras. Playing at baseline leads to big winners and long rallies. Nadal in the present time after Federer has become an all-court player and can play on to the net along with baseline
- Playing at Net
Tennis is a game of skill, sheer power, mental as well as physical toughness and some playing strategies are needed with which a player can become a champion. It is always necessary to master the art of playing tennis shots as well as covering the entire tennis court to play a very good game of tennis.
Modern tennis players like to play tennis from the baseline (or at the end of the court) but certain shots should be played from the net to win the points. Here, we can look at the art of playing tennis from the net.
It is not possible to play tennis entirely at the net; certain players prefer to play the ball from the net after replying to the service. Generally, these are the players that have a strong volley. Volleying is best while playing from the net.
Apart from this, certain players like to play the serve-and-volley game and such players play the game from the nets. In this case, a player serves the ball from the baseline and immediately comes to the net to return the volley on the reply of the service from the opposition player.
Playing the game from the net can give an advantage of playing drop shots from the net. If the art of playing tennis from the net can be mastered, it can win many points for a player. Playing at the net makes a game very interesting and thrilling as the drop shots change the entire game plan and usually take the opponent by surprise!
