Tennis tips for beginners from Katie Boulter

Tennis tips for beginners

What tennis tips for beginners would a professional player offer? During the following exclusive interview, top British female tennis player Katie Boulter shares with us a handful of insights into her sport for beginners of all ages. The Lexus ambassador has strong memories of what it was like starting out in the sport as a child, and actively supports us in encouraging grassroots tennis through our multi-year partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association.

Tennis tips for beginners: interview with Katie Boulter

What should you wear to play tennis?

Katie Boulter: “Personally, I love mixing and matching different kinds of sports and athletic leisure wear. I particularly love Nike yoga leggings, so I wear them a lot. I think you can play tennis in pretty much anything ‘athleisure’. However, with trainers I would be more cautious. Tennis shoes are designed specifically for tennis movements, so I wouldn’t recommend wearing anything else on court.”

What other tennis equipment, kit or training aids are useful for beginners?

KB: “I recommend that beginners use warm-up equipment and resistance bands. I think it’s particularly important to exercise the shoulders before practising as this will help prevent injury. But in terms of training aids, try using different coloured tennis balls – each of which has a different speed and bounce characteristic. Start with a soft and spongy red ball – which is oversized, bounces slowly and stays in the air longer – and then progress through orange and green balls before transitioning to a full-pressured yellow ball.”

Do you need to be super-fit to start playing tennis?

KB: “Absolutely not! That’s the best part about tennis; anyone can play, at any age, any level, and in any shape. It’s great to get out and play tennis. Anyone can enjoy it. That’s why it’s a unique sport and challenges everyone.”

How can local clubs help people get into tennis and cater for all abilities?

KB: “Local clubs have the opportunity to make tennis quite a social event. I think that for some generations, such as older people or kids, creating time for people to sit and chat about the game they’ve just enjoyed playing makes it more of a social activity than an intense, serious session. For kids, tennis clubs can provide different equipment and games like balloon tennis, which is lots of fun and can encourage them into the sport more easily.”

What are the most important shots to practice as a beginner?

KB: “As a beginner, I would start with the forehand. But then I would move to overhead serves. I think it’s a good idea to build strength in using your arms above your head. As mentioned earlier, balloon tennis is a good idea to help start with that shot. You throw the balloon up in the air and it stays there for a relatively long time, so naturally you have to swing over your head and perform an overhead serve without even without even trying. After that, practise the ball toss. Just throw the ball up right in front of you, then try to make contact with it if you can.”

What goals should you set yourself as a beginner?

KB: “Hmmm… I feel goals are very specific to the individual. But I would say that your greatest aim should just be to have fun and enjoy the learning process; enjoy the challenge. Even a tennis player at the top of their game makes mistakes. No one has perfect days.”

Is it possible to practise on your own?

KB: “Absolutely you can! All you need is a wall to hit the ball against – that’s exactly what I did when I first started. It’s a great starter for someone who wants to practise hitting a lot of balls.”

Is it possible to gather tennis tips for beginners by watching pros at a tournament?

KB: “Yes, it is and I think it’s a great idea. Don’t worry too much about the strokes; watch the footwork instead. Observe how the players move to get themselves into position. The adjustment steps they take are some of the most important to get themselves aligned with the ball, so look for how many steps it takes to get into position and take a stroke. I think that’s one of the most important things in tennis.”

tennis tips for beginners

What are your earliest memories about learning to play tennis?

KB: “My earliest memories are of playing tennis at my grandpa’s with a makeshift net. My racquet had multicoloured strings and we would have little competitions in the garden – me, my brother, my grandpa and my mum. I also started playing balloon tennis; it was about learning to compete and enjoy playing a sport. Then I moved into badminton and played this a lot in the garden, which is obviously good for hand-eye coordination. I just enjoyed competing and that’s what got me into tennis.”

Did you immediately ‘click’ with the sport?

KB: “My parents introduced me to lots of different sports: tennis, hockey, running, football, rounders… But I naturally loved tennis more as my mum was a tennis coach and my grandparents played a lot, so I enjoyed going down the club on weekends to watch them play mixed doubles together.”

What did you find most difficult when you were learning to play?

KB: “The biggest thing was not being negative. It’s easy to lose focus and begin to think that what you’re doing isn’t the right thing. You won’t always experience the outcomes that you want straight away in tennis, but you must persevere and keep going until the moment when it finally clicks. I found that very difficult, because I expected that when you’re told to do something, you’ll automatically hit the perfect shot. But it’s just not like that. It takes so many repetitions and time to get to a point that you can do it more frequently. You never get to a place where it’s perfect every single day, so learning to be patient was a big lesson for me.”

Katie Boulter (middle) after winning the Trophée Clarins tournament in Paris, with assistant coach Damien Rodriguez (left) and physiotherapist Rory Mee (right)

Tell us a little about your first club or training sessions…

KB: “My first sessions as a little girl were with my mum, because as I mentioned she was a tennis coach. I loved spending time at our local club in Leicestershire, it was such a big community of tennis players of all ages. During the club championships we used to sit on the roof of the club and look out onto all the courts and see everyone playing matches. There was such a buzz about competitions, so it was something I looked forward to every year.”

What is your advice for someone who is keen to try tennis but doesn’t know where to start and is worried they’ll make a fool of themselves?

KB: “I think it’s important to know that every single tennis player, including the pros, have made a fool of themselves at some point. All of us have fresh-aired a shot and done something we were worried about. It’s completely natural. You just have to laugh at yourself and enjoy it, because we’ve all been there. There will always be times when it just doesn’t go quite right, but it’s your mindset that will bring you back and make you enjoy the sport even more. So in terms of tennis tips for beginners, I would encourage you to be very patient but most of all enjoy yourself and have fun.”

Learn more: Wheelchair tennis masterclass with Lexus ambassador Alfie Hewett
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