Summer season start
Your perfect start into the tennis summer season
Your perfect start into the tennis summer season
Finally playing tennis again in the fresh air and with sunshine on your face. All tennis players look forward to this in spring at the latest. But especially during the first matches, disillusionment often sets in, because the balls bounce differently, it is sometimes very windy, and in general I played much better indoors.
Thus it goes to tennis beginners frequently, if you change from the winter into the summer season, but this does not have to be, because with the correct expectation attitude and the correct exercises also already the first hour makes again enormously much fun.
In the following, we explain to tennis beginners how to get off to the perfect start in the summer tennis season: from the right mental attitude to the right equipment, the first exercises to the first match and typical mistakes and tips.
1. Mental attitude
Many tennis beginners enter the summer season with the mental attitude that there are few differences between the winter and summer seasons after all, but the opposite is true:
a) Bounce of the tennis ball
The tennis ball bounces higher outside, especially on the red tennis ash, especially when the opponent plays with topspin, than on the indoor courts. Thus, you should move accordingly even better to hit the tennis ball not too high or too low but at the ideal hip height.
Furthermore, on the always the same indoor courts there are no so-called “court errors” that lead to the tennis ball bouncing away. On the red tennis ash, on the other hand, there are “court errors” every now and then, so that the tennis ball does not bounce as expected. The better the tennis courts are maintained the less this happens, but it cannot be avoided completely – especially at the start of the season, so just be prepared for it.
b) Weather conditions
It goes without saying that the weather conditions outside in summer are different from those indoor courts in winter. However, there are a number of factors that can have an influence on the game.
i) Sunshine
The sun shines and is at an unfavorable angle, blinding a tennis player directly in the face. Sun protection, such as a tennis cap or sunglasses, can help against this under certain circumstances.
In addition, the sunlight can cast a shadow on the tennis court, causing the tennis ball to alternate between sunlight and shadow, which is unpleasant to play. However, you can of course take advantage of this unpleasantness in the tennis game and always play the opponent on the edge between the sun and the shade.
ii) Rain
In rainy conditions on the tennis court not only the grip tape gets wet and should be changed if it slips too much but the tennis courts also absorb the wetness accordingly. As a result, the tennis courts become soft and the tennis ball does not bounce as high as it normally would.
iii) Wind
There is actually no tennis player who likes to play in wind. The trajectories of the ball change and tennis balls that normally land inside the tennis court suddenly fly out. Against this it helps not to place the tennis ball too close to the lines, so that a gust of wind does not let it fly out of the field.
In addition, you should move yourself accordingly and be prepared for reflexive changes in your own stroke sequence, so as not to miss the tennis ball.
c) Background noise
Tennis is a coordinatively difficult sport and the sound of the tennis ball, in addition to visual perception, helps us a lot to find the right hitting point for the ball after bouncing.
On the indoor courts, which are self-contained, you can perceive the sounds very well, but outdoors there is no echo and also other distracting sounds such as birds chirping. This is what you have to adjust to first, that the visual perception comes back into focus.
In summary, you should mentally adjust to the change between winter and summer season so that your own expectations are not too high the first time you play tennis outside, then not much more can go wrong.
2. Equipment
Of course, you should not buy new equipment especially for the start of the summer tennis season, but there is still one point to consider:
Ash tennis courts are often still very soft due to the damp weather at night at the beginning of the season, so often in the first week after the opening of the tennis courts in many tennis communities is initially only allowed to play with indoor tennis shoes.
Thus it is to be prevented that the tennis players find directly into the natural sliding movements on the red tennis ash and the tennis court prepared before with difficulty again into an unfavorable condition. An unfavorable condition, i.e. unevenness etc., often provides the basis for the “court faults” mentioned above. These must be avoided, especially at the start of the season, otherwise they will be carried through the entire summer season.
Therefore, it is often advised to do without clay court tennis shoes and to play very loosely from a standing position at the beginning of the season.
3. First exercises
Playing tennis from a standing start is the keyword. Especially when playing tennis outside for the first time after the winter season, you should get used to the environment and focus on finding the right stroke rhythm.
Both forehand and backhand strokes should be practiced consecutively longline and cross. It is important to note that this should be done from a standing position or with as little walking as possible.
Ideally, you should be able to hit each tennis ball at least 20 times from a standing position and thus find the right point of impact.
First volley and serve exercises as well as playing points should be postponed until the next but one tennis session.
4. Typical mistakes and tips
Finally, three typical mistakes and tips for a perfect start into the tennis summer season:
a) Warm up extensively
Warm-up exercises are not very popular with tennis beginners, because they would rather hit the tennis ball. Especially with fresh temperatures in spring, you should do extra warm-up exercises. Please do not misunderstand: From our point of view, you should warm up appropriately before every tennis game, but especially at the start of the summer season, an injury would be doubly annoying, because tennis in bright sunshine is still the most beautiful.
b) Play the tennis ball at least 2m over the net
Many tennis beginners and also experienced tennis players play the tennis ball a little flatter over the tennis net in the hall, but this is the wrong way in the summer, where more topspin is played, to let the tennis strokes come to full development. Therefore, train as always, but with a special focus at the start of the season, safety before speed.
c) Don’t overdo it in the first tennis lessons
Many tennis beginners remember the end of the last summer season when they chased the yellow tennis ball for more than three hours and had a cold drink at the end. That would be the wrong approach at the start of the season, because the rule here is: less is more. Please get used to the new surroundings and the external conditions in the first few hours and play loosely for an hour from a standing start and be happy that you get used to the outside tennis courts better with every match.
5. Summary and conclusion
When playing tennis outside for the first time after the winter season, the potential for frustration increases for many tennis beginners because certain things don’t work right away. This doesn’t have to be the case if you approach it with the right mental attitude and slowly get used to the new conditions.
The intensity of the exercises and the duration of the tennis training can be increased from match to match and should be well-dosed, especially in the beginning. The right warm-up with loose hitting from a standing position with the awareness of safety before speed helps to lay the foundation for a successful summer season.
We hope you enjoy the perfect start to the new summer tennis season.