Learning tennis as an adult?
Is it possible to learn tennis in old age?
Learning tennis as an adult?
We are often asked: “Can you still learn tennis at 40 or 50?” and the answer is always clear: Yes, tennis can be started and learned at any age. Therefore, no false modesty and just give it a try. And even if the tennis fever doesn’t grab you, you can simply stop again.
We have already explained the best way for adults to start playing tennis, but to set the right expectations for your tennis career, we have answered some common questions below. Tennis is not something you learn overnight, but we hope you have fun playing tennis, you won’t regret it.
1. How long does it take to learn tennis?
Basically, in tennis there is no time when you can say: Now I can play tennis. Even the best tennis players of our time are constantly developing and learning on the tennis court every day, because there is no such thing as unlearning in tennis.
Nevertheless, there are of course differences in learning progress and this depends of course on a variety of factors:
a) Previous experience
If you have already had a tennis racket in your hand and hit your first tennis balls over the net – even as a child – it is of course a small advantage over absolute tennis novices. You might be able to estimate the bounce of the balls better, probably stand a little better when hitting and your subconscious remembers one or the other stroke technique.
b) Ball feeling
A decisive factor in learning tennis is your own feeling for the ball. The better your feeling for the ball, the easier it will be for you to learn tennis. For example, if you have already played another backstroke sport, such as table tennis or badminton, it should be a little easier for you to start playing tennis.
For juggling you also need ball feeling and juggling can be trained. This means that you can improve your ball feeling independently of tennis training. By the way, we also recommend this to newcomers with ball feeling.
c) Training discipline
At the beginning of their tennis career, all tennis beginners are very motivated and show up on time for training, make appointments to play in addition to the actual training and practice independently at home.
Over time, however, many tennis beginners lose a little discipline. This of course means that there is a risk that fellow players will make faster progress. Therefore, one should regularly set clear stage goals in tennis again and again, so that the self-discipline does not weaken and the own ambition is continuously awakened.
d) Fitness
Tennis matches can sometimes last longer than two hours. At tennis tournaments, it is also common for several matches to take place in one day. Therefore, a certain basic endurance or condition should be present so that one does not run out of breath during the tennis match. It is very annoying to be in the lead in the 3rd set and possibly have to give up because of a cramp and lose an important match.
e) Mental strength
Tennis matches are often not won by the better stroke technique or the better condition, because from a certain level both are very pronounced. Tennis matches are won in the mind.
With tennis beginners, it is often seen that they play very good shots from the baseline in practice. But as soon as it is an official match they become nervous, produce many unnecessary mistakes – unforced errors – without need and lose the match carelessly.
Tennis professionals often talk about the so-called momentum for a player, but this can change frequently in a match. The player who manages to have the momentum in the important moments on his own side decides the tennis match more for himself.
2. How many times a week do I need tennis training?
There is no right or wrong number of tennis training sessions per week. However, it is very important that you can consciously absorb and also process the points taught during the training.
For this it is important that you come to tennis training without aches and pains, otherwise you will be very distracted. This includes illnesses, of course, but also sore muscles. Since especially tennis beginners are sometimes over-motivated, we recommend to plan tennis-free days for regeneration and not to have the tennis racket in your hand 7 times a week.
A 20-year-old tennis beginner naturally regenerates much faster than a 50-year-old tennis beginner – you have to find your own rhythm. To start, we recommend 1-2 hours of tennis training per week and 1-2x independent tennis play with like-minded people.
In the long run, this is probably the healthy mix to win the sport of tennis for yourself in the long run. Because tennis beginners who overplay themselves at the beginning often stop playing tennis after 1-2 years and we want to avoid that at all costs.
3. Is there a special beginner course?
The majority of tennis clubs offer beginner courses through their own tennis coaches. The best time to find like-minded people to start your own tennis career is at the start of the summer season.
Usually there is the possibility of a so-called trial training to get to know the coach and the fellow players once before a decision about your own participation must be made.
What other questions should be asked when finding a beginner course can be found here.
4. What tennis exercises help in the beginning?
To learn the various stroke techniques, there are of course corresponding stroke exercises for tennis beginners. Basically, you should start with the basic forehand and backhand strokes. Then you can move on to the volley, serve and smash.
It is important to mention that it is essential to use tennis balls that are suitable for your own playing level. With the right tennis balls it is possible to play successful rallies at an early stage, which increases the fun factor and the pleasure of tennis enormously.
The wrong tennis balls, on the other hand, can lead to frustration on the tennis court and of course we don’t want that.
5. How much does it cost to learn tennis as an adult?
Tennis often still has the reputation of being a rich man’s sport. However, these times are long outdated. A club membership is comparable to a gym membership fee, for example.
We have calculated an overview of the one-time tennis costs for starting and the regular costs with some assumptions here. It should be noted that tennis costs differently in different regions – as always, supply and demand determine the price.
6. Summary and conclusion
We really recommend everyone to go to a tennis court once in their life and play shots over the net. Tennis is a multi-faceted sport that well millions of players have taken to their hearts across the world.
You won’t regret it and hopefully you will quickly get to know and love the advantages of our favorite sport. We wish you a lot of success, but most of all a lot of fun on and off the tennis court.
