In This Guide
Tennis
Once a simple medieval pastime called jeu de paume, involving a ball and the palm of one's hand, tennis has evolved into one of the most physically challenging sports, not to mention an immensely popular event for spectators around the world. Whether you are a parent looking to help your child start playing, a sofa spectator looking to learn more about your favorite professional players, or a college student looking to test your game in some stiffer competition, the Web provides a multitude of sites catering to every breed of tennis enthusiast.
Expand All Guide SectionsLearn About Tennis
Below we'll introduce a few sites that will get the beginner familiarized with the basics of ... read more »
Professional Tennis
The world of professional tennis is more than just popular spectator events around the world; it's ... read more »
Attend a Professional Tennis Tournament
The WTA and ATP tours participate in dozens of tournaments a year, many of which serve as ... read more »
Improve Your Tennis Game
Whether you're looking for lessons, injury advice, or simply want to take advantage of the Internet's technology to get video tips on your serve and volley, the sites in this section aim to jumpstart your game.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Many of the tennis magazines and other publications like BBC Sport, mentioned earlier in this guide, feature interactive tips and tricks for your tennis game that are free, frequently supplemented, and incorporate the expertise of coaches and players.
- The USTA, as the national tennis governing body, is the best place to start if you're looking for a lesson program, club, or partner.
- Classifieds sites like Craigslist feature sections for lessons, and often you can find ads from tennis instructors. But the reputability of such people is not guaranteed; you're best off finding an instructor's or organization's Web site to learn more about the instructor's background and experience.
- Word-of-mouth is a good way to find instructors with whom friends and colleagues have found success. Check out the forums we list in the final section of this guide to get recommendations from other tennis players and find out how they came across their instructor or club.
- Although magazines, bloggers, and online instructors or coaches can be great sources of advice on injuries, they may not be as reliable as the advice you'll find at a general medical or sports injury specialist site, where the articles published are often bolstered with medical research as well as professional experience.
Dulcinea's Picks
For tennis lessons...
The USTA
program finder lets you enter your zip code to see what tennis schools and instructors operate in your area. This is one of the most thorough and widely used listings on the Web.
TennisLessons.com
may resemble a fake site, with its long lists of links to each state, but it is fully operational. It is a classifieds listing of tennis instructors by state and city/town. Instructors simply post their ad or redirect users to the instructor's own site or organization where applicable. The site covers many urban areas but is not as complete as your local phonebook may be.
For coaching tips ...
TENNIS Magazine
, alongside news and multimedia coverage of the pro circuit, features free video instructions in six areas of your game: serve, net game, forehand, backhand, return of serve, and strategy. Be sure to check out the "Article Instruction" area located at the top of the page above as a written supplement to these video tips.
Tennis4you
is a free resource with many avenues, including forums, videos, classifieds, and a particularly good "Ask the Experts" section, where you can e-mail one of five seasoned tennis professionals with your questions. Many of these experts also run coaching programs, and their Web sites and e-mail addresses are both listed on Tennis4you. Consult the site's "Lesson Lounge" area, too, for free online lessons.
British Tennis Parents
is a U.K.-based site with good advice for parents looking to get their kids started at tennis and improve their children's game. The site covers all the bases including the emotional and mental part of the game, coaching, partnering, competition, and supplemental fitness. The site also highlights different age brackets, starting from age three.
For injury prevention and care ...
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
's Sports Medicine department publishes a simple bulleted article explaining some of the most common tennis injuries and ways that simple stretches, warm-ups and a deeper knowledge base can prevent you from falling victim to them. Much of the advice is compiled with the help of Andy Shupe, a professional player who also coaches the men's and women's varsity tennis teams at UMass-Lowell.
The Sports Injury Bulletin
is an online publication that presents its helpful articles in a simple, text-based format, bringing research and expertise to the particularities of sports and their associated movements and injuries. This site gives you a general overview to the practices that can prevent a tennis injury. Consult the Archive Directory for a complete list of articles arranged by category.
PhysioRoom
combines the efficiency of online shopping with useful written advice in several areas, including tennis. Read about common injuries, get advice in the "Ask the Experts" section, and find braces, bands, and other devices for injury minimization and rehabilitation.
Buy Tennis Equipment
There are plenty of tennis-specific online retailers carrying thousands of products, frequent price ... read more »
Connect with Other Tennis Enthusiasts
In this section are sites and suggestions that can help you connect with players and fans, whether ... read more »
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
