Beginner Overhead Tennis Smash: Your technique with options

The overhead smash is the last tennis core tennis stroke you´ll learn as a beginner. Best to learn this one after learning the serve since the motions are identical. The smash is more a psychological thriller than anything. When you’re comfortable and confident to use a true overhead smash to end a point, it’s effortless. When you’re first learning the overhead smash, it’s bizarre to see that spiraling green ball pummeling down at you. It’s a shot that needs your timing to be clean, coordination on point and you’ll want hit it to the open court. If the thought of an overhead makes you queasy- there’s options. These options help you keep going when you’re getting started in tennis. I always fire off some big lobs to test these options with new players on a tennis holiday.

Beginner Tennis Volleys: Half the Work of a Powerful Punch!

Ready for a change of scenery? It’s time we move you from the baseline where you’ve been hitting groundstrokes (forehand & backhands) to the net where you’ll only hit balls out of the air, called volleys. A place that feels more intense because your closer to the action, literally. You’ll have less time to react, no time to swing. You’ll end points quickly up at net. Using nothing more than the sensation of high 5’ing someone with gusto! And you’ll use THE CONTINENTAL grip on your forehand & backhand volley.

Beginner Tennis: A five star forehand & quick fix when you're in trouble

Regardless the playing level, everyone playing tennis is out to have a good time. That rush happens fast when you hit your first beginner forehand on the sweet spot and it lands in the opposite court. That 1st time is like noooo other! YOU WILL come back for more. But to do it again you’ll need to improve your beginner forehand to get into your first tennis rally. I love teaching the forehand & fixing adults on day 1 of an adult camp. Sets a terrific tone & energy for players to quickly see improvements to the #1 fan favorite shot in tennis, the forehand.

Is Tennis Hard? A little time and these 3 skills will crush your barrier to entry

When covid hit, tennis numbers grew - a little. People liked the safe distanced play of 78ft (23.77m) between baseline to baseline. They could be outside, breathing among other humans safely AND break a sweat. Just like the good-old days😏. But pickleball numbers between 2019 - 2020 soared 21.3% to incredible heights in the US. And Spain’s padel obsession grew even deeper. When I pressed both continents for the shift away from tennis towards these 2 games, it came back … “it’s easier”. As a Tennis Director, this concerns me. How many players can tennis afford to lose without picking up new participants? It became increasingly clear, we need to make tennis a viable sport for everyone. Not just top athletes or young kids. It needed to be taught thoughtfully with deep foundations in mind. So adults learned correctly so they could continue to improve and actually feel confident to actually play the game. Not only enter the game and pay for tennis lessons. People wanted to actually feel confident to play with others! The leading motivator being - able to play - with others - which is where the payoff happens. Having fun.

Adult Tennis Camps: Gaining Clarity in Your Game

I've been teaching solely international adults since 2012. I’ve yet to meet an adult tennis player who didn't want to improve their tennis game. I don´t care whether you play at public courts or private clubs. Adult tennis players who’ve caught the tennis bug, want to improve. It’s having the time to do it that puts them on pause.

What I’ve found over the years, is how many adults need more clarity around their singles or doubles games. They’re always wanting more confidence. But by the weeks end, with deeper clarity of the tennis court, court positioning, where to be & why to hit certain shots. Your confidence automatically gets a charge!

Recycled Tennis Balls: When you know more you do more {it’s a global thing}

Tennis players love time on court hitting tennis balls likely as hard as possible! They get smacked over and over again at tennis classes, private lessons, tennis holidays, & tournaments all around the world. The moment the bounce threatens your game out goes the durable trio to the trash can. When we should all be recycling tennis balls. This international game you love so much is taking a massive toll on the planet. Problem is, most don’t have a clue. And with all DIY’ers out there, this should be right up a tennis players alley. Lucky for us, some have already taken initiatives to make it easy for us to recycle court side. Will you help take this on?

UTR Tennis: What it is, why you want one & how to improve it {newbie friendly}

When you're getting started in tennis, the goal is to have fun, obviously! The more you like it, the more you want from it. Enter the world of tennis competition, where things get a little fuzzy. Especially if you have a young player and you as the parent, don’t play tennis. It’s a complex world you’ll need to figure out. And Universal Tennis' UTR rating system is where you’ll want to start. A popular rating system that brings the tennis world together and levels the playing field of competition for both juniors and adult tennis.

To keep it simple. Imagine a new junior player, we’ll call her “Susie”. Little Susie is entering 12 & under tournaments in the USA for the first time. Her parents aren’t tennis parents and have no idea how this UTR rating system works. They just want little Susie happy and playing because she shows talent and wants to compete.

junior tennis, High school tennis, Adult tennis trainingRhonda CostaApril 11, 2022IndieTENISUTR tennisComment

The Perfect Beginner Forehand: Swing for the fences!

There’s 3 core strokes every beginner learning how to play tennis needs to learn with confidence. The tennis forehand, backhand and the serve. It's the forehand tennis stroke that’s really fun, gets adults hooked on the game and THE shot you’ll hit more than 70% of your time on court. In my experience teaching tennis to adults on tennis holidays in Mallorca, Spain, I feel players frustration around consistency & power on these 3 important strokes. These 3 tennis strokes use 2 different grips. A forehand eastern or semi-western grip and a continental grip for the backhand AND serve. The frustration from players is right there. Not having more than 1 tennis grip. Without learning with a good degree of competency the continental grip, tennis will be tricky at best to advance your level. Because so much of the game requires using the continental grip. For now let’s stick to the topic at hand - the forehand tennis stroke using the eastern grip.

Tennis in Mallorca: Best clubs, coaching & professional events (Mallorca Open 2022)

Since 2012 I've been hosting adult tennis holidays in Mallorca, Spain. The sun shines almost 300 days per year. The clay courts slow the ball perfectly so you can improve your game. International players add dimension to each others daily tennis experiences. Professional tennis events hosted on Mallorca offer tennis lovers a dreamy week of sophistication and tennis excellence. And the number of eye dropping beaches to enjoy after tennis make it the perfect tennis escape on a sensational Mediterranean island.

What could go wrong? Well, to have the best tennis experience during your visit to the island - location is everything! Take it from me. Someone’s whose made my fair share of mistakes.

Single Tennis Holidays: Getting off the Grid on Mallorca

Tennis on Mallorca’s west coast is the best coast for your tennis game. Why the west? Well, FAR from Magaluf sits a lovely little bay where you can get away, for real. The temperatures feel milder in this little slice of refreshing. So hitting a mountain of tennis balls doesn’t feel like you’re hitting them inside a Bikram’s yoga studio. It helps having the base of the Tramuntana mountains to your back and the sea in front. Prices are fair for travelers on Mallorca (another draw) compared to other tourist gouging spots to play like France & Italy. And while Port de Soller’s still a wee bit bougee & special, Sí … it’s also totally down to earth😎.

tennis training, Adult tennis trainingRhonda CostaSeptember 1, 2020single tennis holidays, adult tennis holidaysComment

Adult Tennis Lessons: Mallorca´s west side steals the show

Tennis holidays can be a commitment. Yep, a full week of tennis allows you the time and leisure to focus on your game if you don't have time at home. But if 15 hrs. of an adult tennis camp is too much, than Adult tennis lessons a la carte may fit your holiday easier. I totally get how exploring the island begs for your attention to share your time! Believe me. It’s why I moved here. Or it maybe your traveling with another who doesn’t play tennis and you want to spend more time together.

Beginner Tennis: Stop Chasing Your Ball Toss!

Having problems with your serve? The ball toss in tennis is extremely underrated in my coaching opinion. Players come to me on tennis holidays desperate to improve their serves at the intermediate or even higher. It’s always the ball toss I find is a big issue to consistency and accuracy problems with their serve. So often the toss isn’t even on their radar to look for and find fault. The serve is certainly the hardest shot in tennis and it all begins with a ball toss. So this should be your 1st of observation.

But as always, less is more.. Let’s take a deeper look.

A Winning Mindset for Beginner Tennis Players

How much of tennis is mental?

More than 80% of tennis is mental even though most believe it´s a technical and physical game. Having a winning mindset for beginner tennis players means acknowledging where you´re at - NOW. You won’t be there forever but it will take time to feel confident. Build your grit but softly because no one is expecting too much from beginners, so you shouldn’t either. Generate your momentum with small steps which feel like small victories as you learn to play tennis. Trust that with that grit you WILL find success in this game. And show up for your next practice, no matter how rough the last one was.

Is Yoga the Key to Avoiding Tennis Injuries?

Whether you´re an adult beginner tennis players or competitive adult playing league tennis, repetition is the name of this game. Repetition using bad technique, improper grips & poor balance can find you quickly with tennis injuries sidelining us for months. Tania Rada shows us simple power yoga poses specific to tennis players to help keep us aware of our body, alleviate pain & keep tennis injuries at bay. She also guides us on how using the breath to calm nerves, tap into the subconscious mind and find opponents strengths & weaknesses easily helps us to be in control of our emotions and our total game.

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