tennis, one skill per page
Twenty-nine skills from first racquet to first match: the starter gear that is actually worth it, the court decoded in feet and lines, the scoring words that confuse everyone (love, deuce, ad in, tiebreak) read once and settled, the serve from stand and toss to lets and faults, the rally rules (one bounce, lines are in, calls on your honor), the court manners in The Code that make strangers glad to play you, and the habits (a wall, a ten-minute warm-up, a weekly slot) that keep you in the game for a lifetime.
A diagram, the mechanism, and one thing to do this week. That's a page.
tennis, one skill per page
Twenty-nine skills from first racquet to first match: the starter gear that is actually worth it, the court decoded in feet and lines, the scoring words that confuse everyone (love, deuce, ad in, tiebreak) read once and settled, the serve from stand and toss to lets and faults, the rally rules (one bounce, lines are in, calls on your honor), the court manners in The Code that make strangers glad to play you, and the habits (a wall, a ten-minute warm-up, a weekly slot) that keep you in the game for a lifetime.
Set in Space Grotesk, Inter and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License).
General information only, not coaching or medical advice; consult local professionals before acting on anything in this book. Every fact in this book is as the official sources state it, fetched and read during this build: the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 (itftennis.com, English edition: Rules 1-31 and cases, court and racket specifications, alternative scoring), USTA officiating and instruction pages (usta.com: Scoring Points and Tennis Sets, Playing a Tennis Point, The 10-minute Warm-up), the USTA Gear Up guides (racquet size, weight and length; first-time racquet budgets; hard-court shoes), USTA Midwest's How to Start Playing Tennis, and The Code, the USTA players' guide for matches without officials. Demand evidence from live beginner threads, reconfirmed at dispatch; no facts are sourced from Reddit. Gear prices are USTA and TENNIS Magazine ranges in US dollars, stated as such, never recommendations. An independent guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by the ITF or USTA.
Your purchase is for personal use only. You do not have redistribution rights: please do not share, resell, or republish this book or its pages.
© 2026 Steve Hodgkiss. All rights reserved. Personal use only; no redistribution rights.
Edition 1.0 · stevehodgkiss.net
Contents
Per the USTA Gear Up guide (usta.com): most beginners should use a racquet head size between 100 and 115 sq. inches, a weight between 9.5 and 11 ounces, and a standard 27-inch length. Per the USTA First-Time Players' Guide: aluminium frames are usually pre-strung, about $30; graphite frames from about $60 upward are more powerful and accurate; older discontinued models can be found for less than $100.
The starter racquet
The USTA's beginner numbers are exact and forgiving: a head of 100 to 115 square inches, a weight of 9.5 to 11 ounces, and a standard 27-inch length. A bigger head forgives; a mid weight stays steady.
The money advice is just as calm: an aluminium frame, usually pre-strung at about thirty dollars, is great while you are unsure. Commit later, to graphite, and last decade's model plays beautifully for under a hundred.
The racquet does not make the beginner.
Hold two racquets in the USTA's beginner ranges this week and note the grip feel. Buy the aluminium one, or ask about demo programs first.
The score
The words that scare beginners away, read once and settled: love to game, deuce and the ads, sets and matches, the tiebreak, and the racquet spin that starts every match fairly.
- 01Love to game
- 02The tiebreak
Per the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 5 (Score in a game): a standard game is scored with the server's score called first: no point is Love, then 15, 30, 40, Game; if each player has won three points the score is Deuce; after Deuce the score is Advantage for whoever wins the next point; a player needs two consecutive points after Deuce to win the game. Per the USTA Scoring guide: 40-40 is deuce; Ad-In when the server wins the deuce point, Ad-Out when the receiver wins it.
Love to game
The strange words are a stable ladder: love, 15, 30, 40, game, and the server's score is always said first. Thirty-all means 30-30; fifteen-forty means the receiver leads.
Four points win a game unless you both reach three: that is deuce, and per the ITF you need two consecutive points from there, advantage then game. Ad-In: the server leads. Ad-Out: the receiver.
It is counting with ceremonial names.
This week, score a practice game out loud with a partner, saying the server's score first every point. One honest game settles the words better than reading ten explanations.
Per the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 5b: in a tie-break game points are scored zero, one, two, three; the first player to seven points wins the game and set with a margin of two; the player whose turn it is to serve serves the first point, the opponent serves the following two, then alternate two each; players change ends every six points (Rule 10); whoever served first in the tiebreak receives in the first game of the next set. Per the USTA Scoring guide: first to seven points by two; the set goes to the winner 7-6.
The tiebreak
The tiebreak is scoring with the costume removed: zero, one, two, three, first to seven points by two, per the ITF. The winner takes the set 7-6. That is the entire arithmetic.
The rotation is the only ritual: the due server takes one point, the opponent two, then two each, and everyone changes ends every six points. Whoever served first in the tiebreak receives first in the next set.
Seven by two, in plain numbers. Even the pros just count.
Play one seven-by-two tiebreak this week as your whole session-ender. Count out loud. You will never fear the word again.
Per the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rules 19 and 20: the service is a fault if the server misses the ball when trying to hit it, or breaks the serving rules, or the ball touches a permanent fixture or the server; if the first service is a fault, the server serves again without delay from behind the same half. Rule 24a: the point is lost if the player serves two consecutive faults. Per the USTA service placement guide: a consistent serve is the best way to get more balls in play and start each point right.
The second serve
The serve is the only stroke with a spare. Per the ITF, a first fault costs nothing but a repeat from the same half, without delay. The second serve is the real one: miss it and two consecutive faults lose the point.
That asymmetry shapes every server's strategy: the first can be ambitious, the second must be certain. The USTA's coaching truth is that a consistent serve starts each point right, getting more balls in play, which is all a beginner needs.
Practise the second serve first. It is the one that cannot miss.
Serve thirty second-serves this week at 70 percent effort, counting the ones that land. When the count passes twenty-five of thirty, your first serve can start taking risks.
Per the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 12: if a ball touches a line, it is regarded as touching the court bounded by that line. Per the USTA, Playing a Tennis Point: continue to play a ball that lands on or touches a boundary line of the court; a ball that lands on any part of the line is good. Per The Code item 7: if any part of a ball touches a line the ball is good; a ball 99 percent out is still 100 percent good; do not call it out unless you clearly see space between ball and line.
Lines are in
The rule is absolute and strange and wonderful: any part of the ball touching any part of the line is good. The Code's famous line: a ball 99 percent out is still 100 percent good.
Flip it and it becomes a calling rule: per The Code, never call a ball out unless you clearly see space between the ball and the line. Doubt means it is in.
Generous lines keep rallies alive and opponents friendly.
In your next rally, call two of your own close balls good, out loud, even if a part of you suspects out. You are training the habit that unofficiated tennis runs on.
Per The Code items 3 and 4: warm-up is not practice; a player should provide the opponent a warm-up of five to ten minutes, including serving, and each player should try to hit shots directly to the opponent; all warm-up serves are taken before the first serve of the match; the receiver returns warm-up serves at a moderate pace. Per the USTA 10-minute warm-up drill: ten shots, one minute each, from mini-tennis through groundstrokes, volleys and serves.
Warm-up, not practice
The Code is explicit: warm-up is not practice. It lasts five to ten minutes, you hit directly to your opponent, and you take all practice serves before the first serve. Returners take them at a moderate pace.
For a beginner this is the slot to get the body moving, not to test winners. The USTA's ladder shapes it: mini-tennis, baseline, volleys, then serves.
A generous warm-up is the cheapest good reputation in the sport.
Before your next session, follow the USTA's ladder for ten minutes: mini-tennis, middle, down the line, crosscourt, volleys, then serves. Then start the match. Your body will thank you by set two.
Staying in
What keeps a beginner becoming a player: the practice wall that never cancels, the ten-minute warm-up drill, programs and partners near you, formats for a lifetime, and the weekly slot you actually book.
- 01Find a wall
- 02Book the court
Per USTA Midwest's How to Start Playing Tennis: at the most basic you need a racquet and balls; a court is ideal, but a wall next to a concrete surface can do in a pinch. Per the USTA's instruction pages: hitting against a wall lets you practise stroke mechanics and improve consistency. Per the r/tennis beginner thread Getting started: a wall is the classic free practice partner that never cancels.
Find a wall
The sport's oldest training partner is free and always available: per USTA Midwest, a wall next to a concrete surface can do in a pinch, and the USTA's instruction treats wall work as straight mechanics practice, building consistency one returned ball at a time.
The wall's virtues are exactly a beginner's needs: it never cancels, never judges, and returns everything you give it, which means your errors come straight back as feedback.
Every champion's story starts with a wall. Find yours this week.
Find one practicable wall near you this week: a school, a park, a handball court. Take your racquet and one ball. Twenty forehands and twenty backhands, that is the whole session.
Per the USTA and its Tennis in the Parks and program pages: the key to improving is regular court time; public courts are often free and programs exist for every level. Per The Code items 1 and 2: tennis is a game that requires cooperation and courtesy, and shaking hands at the end of a match acknowledges the match is over. Per USTA Midwest: tennis is super fun, not intimidating, and a great way to socialise.
Book the court
Everything in this book compresses to one habit: a standing court slot, same time every week. Not ambition, not new gear: the routine. Improvement in tennis is mostly attendance.
The closing courtesy is also the closing motivation, per The Code: tennis runs on cooperation and courtesy, and the handshake ends the match. The people you meet at your weekly slot are the reason the slot survives.
Book the court. Show up. Shake hands. Repeat next week.
Open your calendar right now and book one recurring weekly court slot for the next two months, with at least one standing partner invited. This is the last page; that is the whole ask.