If you understand what goes on inside most people's minds while they play tennis, you'll realize that you can win matches simply by having a “thicker skin” than your opponent, meaning the ability to withstand errors—and your reactions to them. Here's what usually happens: a person comes on the court and starts playing. He is usually in a neutral state—neither positive nor negative—but after a while, he or she starts to become more and more negative and there's a very simple reason for that: making errors.

Players that have not mastered their inner game and has not reached the state of acceptance (meaning that he accepts his imperfections as normal and that it's impossible to play tennis without mistakes), those mistakes will irritate and upset him. And the more mistakes he perceives that he’s making, the more upset that player will be. And if you are his opponent, you may win many more free points without really doing anything spectacular! 

Most players will react (even if only slightly) to each mistake they make. This negative feeling will accumulate more and more and their level of play will drop more and more. So if you understand this process and you can observe it in your opponent, you need to focus on being strong and positive when you make mistakes (if you still perceive them that way). If you develop thicker skin than your opponent, you'll be able to stay close to your peak play for much longer periods of time than your opponent— and win more matches! Click here from more tips and step-by-step instruction from the Tennis Mind Game.

Imagine your opponent is just about to hit his shot. The first question in your mind is "Will I be able to hit a good ball?" How can you know? By many factors:

• were you on attack, good ball, preventing ball or defense?
• how far was your opponent from reaching your shot?
• is he still moving or is he balanced?
• is that his better or weaker stroke?

After he has hit the ball, you need to confirm your initial anticipation and ask again "Can I hit a good ball?"  How to decide?

• can you get to the ball comfortably or under pressure?
• is the flight of the ball high, low or just right?
• is ball coming towards you going fast, slow or just right?
• is your stroke reliable enough to hit a good shot?

Reading this takes time but in reality your decision can be made in a split second. For a beginner this takes practice and your perception of the situation will improve and so will the speed of decision making. And the sooner the decision the more sure you can be, that you'll make the shot. If you decide that you cannot hit a good ball, then you play back the preventing ball. When is that?

• when you are on the run
• when opponent's shot has pushed you well beyond the baseline
• when opponent's ball is very fast, very high or very low
• when you feel yourself out of balance
• when the ball is going straight at you and you have to move away

So play back the ball and either it's a good shot or a preventing one and start another cycle by anticipating what your shot has done to your opponent, what he will probably reply with and then see and correct if necessary your anticipation and reaffirm your decision – then do it! Once again, ask yourself: Can I hit a good ball?

• if your answer is Yes, then DO IT!
• if your answer is No, then play a preventing ball.

Click here from more tips and step-by-step instruction from the Tennis Mind Game.

This type of tennis training is almost NEVER used in tennis clubs and academies—and yet it is crucial to improve the feel and timing of shots and the overall body and hand-eye coordination. In order to improve feel and timing, we must become aware of the current state—in other words, how we feel the shot and our body at the same time before, during and after the contact with the ball. To become aware of all that info flowing into our brain and awareness, there must be NO other goals/tasks at that moment. That means that there shouldn't even be non-competitive closed or open drills. The only goal is to hit the ball consistently over the net down the middle (in most cases).

The key is to get into the rhythm and consistent rallying and then focus inward and become more aware of:

• How comfortable do I feel hitting the ball? Is there any tension anywhere in my body?
• How clearly do I see the ball—before the bounce, after the bounce and right before contact?
• Did I hit the ball cleanly in the sweet spot? If not, where on the racquet face did I hit the ball?
•  Can I hit the ball with the same speed but less effort? (If you watch the pros in practice, they hit the ball effortlessly but still very fast.)
• What contact point gives me the best energy transfer and speed of the shot? How much in front?
• Do I feel balanced and grounded during the shot or do I feel losing balance?

These are the key questions— key areas of focus that will improve your technique, timing, smoothness of your movement and energy expenditure. Get more Tennis Mind Game tips like this here.

When playing lefties, generally try to deprive them of angle on the forehand side. In other words when rallying, hit more shots down the middle of the court, this reduces their angle of return on what is presumably their stronger groundstroke. It also prevents you from being pulled out wide on your weaker backhand side.

If you go wide it will generally (but not always be) to their backhand side, this can sometimes open up the court and allow you to hit your return to their (now open) forehand side. It is imperative that you keep your opponent guessing and not to be too predictable in your strategy.

Likewise on the serve— do not give them too much angle when they are returning from the advantage side. Serve down the "T" to their backhand or use the body serve, which if executed correctly, automatically narrows the angle of return. When serving to the deuce court, serve out wide (to their backhand) or use a body serve to tie them up.

When lobbing (particularly with topspin), lob crosscourt to their backhand. This gives you more court to hit into and you are playing their weaker side. Remembe, a high backhand smash is difficult to execute. Information by by john f shannon.

The biggest danger for a beginning tennis player is learning a stroke the wrong way. Once the body learns a movement pattern, it's hard to unlearn it. Erasing muscle memory, by replacing it with a new correct movement, is a frustrating and painstaking process. And the hardest things to unlearn are those we learn as a raw beginner. Flaws you acquire at this stage are deeply ingrained. Don't let this happen to you! Get on the right track now, as a beginner, and you'll soon enjoy your tennis game with great looking strokes and the ability to hit them consistently, time after time, with accuracy and power.

Tennis pro Tomaz Mencinger has taught hundreds of beginners from 4 to 74 years old how to play tennis with this modern and proven way of teaching tennis. This How to Play Tennis beginner's package fills the gap by teaching you how to play tennis as well as how to swing. It shows you exactly how to speed the motor learning process, so that you improve much faster than beginners normally do. The step by step video instruction provides drills to improve your ball judgment skills. It shows you how to get rid of the tension that slows your improvement. Get more information here on How to Play Tennis. 

Did you know that the modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century and was then called lawn tennis? After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class, English-speaking population before spreading around the world. Tennis is now played at all levels of society and by all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs. The rules of tennis have not changed much since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1960 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and then 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. Whether you're young or old, male or female, tennis is great exerise not only for your body, but for your mind as well. Ask anyone teaching tennis and they'll confirm what a mental work-out it is, too! But with the right tennis training equipment, you'll learn the game and the strokes the right way, right from the start. And once you can play a powerful game of tennis well, that's the time when you really want history to repeat itself!