How to Play Tennis: A Beginner’s Guide from LA’s Coaches
Tennis is played by hitting a ball over a net into your opponent’s court so they cannot return it legally, scoring points to win games, games to win sets, and sets to win the match. That one sentence is the whole sport in miniature. Everything below simply fills in how each piece works so you can walk onto a court and rally with confidence.
This guide covers the essentials in the order you will actually use them: the court and equipment, the grips and strokes, the rules and scoring, and the mistakes that slow most beginners down.
When you are ready to feel it under your own hand, the fastest path is a coach. Book a private beginner tennis lesson in Los Angeles and put every step here into practice on a real court.
What are the basic steps to play tennis?
Learning tennis is less about talent and more about doing a short list of things in the right order. Here are the core steps, from your first visit to the court to your first full point.
- Get the gear. You need a racquet, a can of tennis balls, and court shoes with good lateral grip. A beginner-friendly racquet is lightweight with a larger head for a bigger sweet spot.
- Learn the court. A singles court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide, divided by a net in the middle. The lines that matter first are the baseline, the service boxes, and the sidelines.
- Hold the racquet correctly. Start with the continental grip for serves and volleys and the eastern forehand grip for groundstrokes. Grip is one of the biggest levers on your early progress.
- Master the three core strokes. The forehand, the backhand, and the serve are the foundation of every point.
- Learn to score. Tennis scoring runs points, games, sets, and then the match, using the 15, 30, 40, game sequence explained below.
- Play a point. One player serves, the other returns, and you rally until someone misses or hits a winner.
Work through these in sequence and you will be rallying within a few sessions. Rush past grips and footwork, and progress stalls. That is exactly why the next sections slow down on technique.
The tennis court and equipment
The court is your reference for everything, so it is worth knowing before you swing. A tennis court measures 78 feet baseline-to-baseline and 27 feet wide for singles. For doubles, the outer doubles alleys make it 36 feet wide. The net stands 3 feet high at the centre. The two service boxes on each side are your targets when serving.
For equipment, three items get you started:
- Racquet: Beginners often do well with a head size around 100 to 110 square inches and a lighter frame for easier swinging.
- Balls: Standard pressurised tennis balls are fine; low-compression balls are also excellent for first-timers and kids because they bounce more slowly.
- Shoes: Dedicated tennis shoes support the side-to-side movement that running shoes do not.
What are the grips and core strokes?
Every shot in tennis starts with how you hold the racquet. The three grips beginners need are the continental grip for serves and volleys, the eastern forehand grip for forehands, and an eastern or two-handed backhand grip. From those grips come the three strokes that make up almost every point.
| Stroke | What it is | Beginner focus |
|---|---|---|
| Forehand | Groundstroke hit on your dominant side | Turn your shoulders early and swing low to high |
| Backhand | Groundstroke on your non-dominant side, one- or two-handed | Two hands give many beginners more control |
| Serve | The shot that starts every point, hit from the baseline | Build a consistent ball toss before adding power |
Groundstrokes share one rule of thumb: swing low to high to lift the ball over the net and bring it down inside the court. That single habit fixes more beginner errors than almost any other cue.
How does tennis scoring work?
Tennis scoring climbs four levels: points build a game, games build a set, and sets build the match. Within a game, points are counted 15, 30, 40, game rather than 1, 2, 3.
- Points: 0 is called love, then 15, 30, and 40. Win a point past 40 and you win the game; you must win by two, and a 40-40 tie is deuce.
- Games: The first player to win 6 games by a margin of two wins the set.
- Sets: Most recreational and professional matches are best of three sets.
- Tiebreak: At 6-6 in games, a tiebreak to 7 points usually decides the set.
If the deuce and tiebreak rules feel fuzzy at first, that is normal. Most players absorb them by keeping score during real games. You can also review common beginner questions in our tennis FAQs.
What are the most common beginner mistakes?
Most early frustration stems from a handful of fixable habits. Here are the ones coaches correct most often, and the fix for each.
| Common mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Gripping too tight | Relax the hand; a looser grip adds racquet-head speed and feel. |
| Watching your opponent instead of the ball | Track the ball all the way to your strings. |
| Standing flat-footed | Stay on the balls of your feet with a small split step as they hit. |
| Swinging arm-only | Rotate your shoulders and hips; power comes from the body. |
| Rushing the serve | Set a repeatable ball toss before adding pace. |
None of these require athleticism to fix, just attention and repetitions. The catch is that it can be difficult to see your own mistakes, which is where coaching pays for itself.
Where can I learn to play tennis with a coach in Los Angeles?
You can learn to play tennis in Los Angeles by booking lessons with a local coach who builds your grips, strokes, and scoring from the ground up. A few sessions of guided practice can be more effective than months of guessing on your own.
Start with private tennis lessons for individual coaching, join group tennis lessons to learn alongside other new players, or explore kids tennis lessons for younger players. Adults who want a programme built around their starting point can also explore adult tennis lessons.
Ready to play? Call 310-989-1989 to book your first lesson.