Cardio Tennis for Beginners

Cardio Tennis is not just a workout, but it's also a technical and mental game. When you start, you may feel overwhelmed with a thousand different things to focus on at once. Tennis looks very simple when you watch the pros play but remember that they have had years and years of practice on and off the court.

When you start, you want to begin to familiarise yourself with your racket, the feel of the ball and various shots. Our brain stores everything, not just stroke movements so as you learn, try and stay positive and remember that even the pros started just where you are now. In this section, we will go through some things to focus on when you're new to hitting the courts.

1. Learning to Read the Ball

Sometimes the ball may go off in a completely different way than what you're expecting, and it can take time to read how fast and where the ball will go. Reading the ball will improve automatically through lots of practice. We can accelerate the process by playing a two-bounce drill for a few minutes. Hit the ball after two bounces instead of one. You'll have more time to see the trajectory of the ball. When you're confident with that, go back to playing with only one bounce to see if your ball judgment has improved.

2. Learning how hard or soft to hit.

A big challenge for most tennis beginners is learning that they hit too hard/soft. Again this will come with more practice. You can start with coming close to the net to get consistency and accuracy with your shot before you start rallying from the baseline.

3. Relax

Learning takes a lot of mental effort. When you begin, you may find that your body may be a little tense or that you're overthinking about what to do next. The right coach will help you focus on one or two tips so that way, you can don't feel overwhelmed. Try and stay in the moment and you'll see that your body can become more relaxed.

4. Change the angle of your shots

The angle of the shots can be difficult to judge or control. You can manage your shots based on the direction facing and the angle of the racket as you hit the ball as well as your follow-through.

5. Learn timing and positioning

Timing and positioning are two of the trickiest parts of tennis. It's easy to feel rushed and hit a poor shot. This may be because you are hitting the ball too late. An excellent way to learn to get to the ball early is to create more space between you and the ball. You can practice by running to the side first, stopping and waiting for your partner to feed you the ball. This helps you become aware of the space and time between your stroke and the ball.

Summary

There we go. Here are five different areas to focus on when you are learning tennis or playing cardio tennis. While Cardio tennis is a great cardio workout, you can focus on the technYical points above to improve your game at the same time! The biggest take away is learning that practice makes perfect. Tennis is a game for life.

Check out the video below breaking down tennis and learning to read the ball.