Tennis: Expert Guides and Resources

Knowing your way around the court is one of the first things to master as a tennis player. Familiarity with tennis lingo comes with playing the game, and one of the terms you need to know is tiebreaker so that you can play one when you get to six games all.Explaining the singles tennis courtA familiarity with the singles tennis court is a must-have for every tennis player.

Slice, or backspin, causes the tennis ball to spin back toward the source of impact (you). When a slice shot bounces, the ball stays low, forcing your opponent to really stretch to get to the ball. If players like to attack the net and volley, they slice a lot. The slice can be a useful weapon, but it does have some disadvantages.

Yes, you can dust off that racquet that you played with five years ago and give it a glorious return to the court — if it feels good in your hand and it gets your shots where (and how) you want them to go. If you're in the market for a new weapon, however, you need to understand the build of a racquet so that you know what's up when you set out to select your new tool.

Tennis challenges you to improve, to hit your strokes and develop your strategy to become a more efficient, effective player. When you improve your game, you don't just become a better player. You also get the satisfaction that comes from mastering a skill. That's where pros — teaching professionals, not pro players — and tennis lessons come into the picture.

Lefties are a real pain in the neck for righties on the tennis court. Left-handed players enjoy certain natural advantages. The biggest one is that for reasons nobody can really explain — at least not in lay terms — lefty spin serves are especially deadly. Lefties also serve more comfortably in the ad court while righties naturally prefer the deuce court With most of the key break points contested in the ad court, lefties enjoy a slight advantage over righties, provided they can exploit it.

When tennis players win six games each, they generally play a tiebreaker to decide the winner of the set. (Tennis rules governing tiebreakers differ for team tennis and for the Wimbledon Championship and may differ for local tournaments as well.) If you're playing a tiebreaker, follow these steps: The player due to serve the 13th game serves the first point into her opponent's deuce court.