Tennis Fundamentals - Human Kinetics and Carol Matsuzaki

Tennis Fundamentals

by Human Kinetics and Carol Matsuzaki

NEW, 152 pages

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About Tennis Fundamentals

Learning to play tennis has never been easier—or more fun—than with Tennis Fundamentals. Recreational athletes will enjoy using this resource because they will learn by doing, spending less time reading and more time on the court. With explicit yet succinct instructions and accompanying photographs, this book makes it easy for students to get right into the game.

Tennis Fundamentals covers the essential skills of the game with chapters on grips, footwork, forehands, backhands, lobs, volleys, overhead smashes, drop shots, the serve, and return of serve. It also covers tactical approaches for both singles and doubles play, as well as scoring, equipment, and etiquette. It’s the complete guide to being able to participate on the tennis court right away.

Each chapter teaches a specific skill, leading the student through a simple, four-step sequence:

• You Can Do It: The skill is introduced with sequential instructions and accompanying photographs.
  
• More to Choose and Use: Variations and extensions of the primary skill are covered.
  
• Take It to the Court: Readers learn how to apply the skill in competition.
  
• Give It a Go: Several direct experiences—like drills and practice games—help speed the learning process and make practice more interesting and productive.

Writer Carol Matsuzaki teaches beginning through advanced tennis classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She’s also the head coach of the MIT women’s team. In this book she combines her instructional and coaching abilities to get players up to speed and into the game quickly.

Part of the Sports Fundamentals Series, Tennis Fundamentals teaches the basic skills and tactics to help readers participate in the sport quickly and have fun doing so.

About Carol Matsuzaki

This product was authored by Human Kinetics based on the contributions of:

Carol Matsuzaki is an assistant professor of physical education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she teaches beginning through advanced tennis classes. Since taking over as head coach of the women's tennis team in the spring of 1998, Matsuzaki has led her team to four consecutive Newmac Conference titles (1999-2002). She was named Newmac Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in 1999, 2000, and 2001.

About Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs.

The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" which has close connections to various field/lawn games as well as to the ancient game of real tennis. Up to then, "tennis" referred to the latter sport: for example, in Disraeli's novel Sybil (1845), Lord Eugene De Vere announces that he will "go down to Hampton Court and play tennis. As it is the Derby [classic horse race], nobody will be there". After its creation, lawn tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world.

The rules of tennis have not changed much since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tie-break in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the line (or chair) umpire's call of a point. Players have unlimited opportunity to challenge, but once three incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot challenge again until the next set. If the set goes to a tie break, players are given one additional opportunity to challenge the call. This electronic review, currently called Hawk-Eye, is available at a limited number of high-level ATP and WTA tournaments.

Tennis is enjoyed by millions of recreational players and is also a hugely popular worldwide spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the "Majors"): the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.

Tennis Fundamentals