Can one learn tennis without a tennis coach? In this piece we look to answer this question and the various pros and cons associated with this decision.
One of the most common questions that any tennis player would have asked at some point in time is this – do I need a tennis coach? Will I benefit from private lessons? Can I learn the game without a qualified coach? Obviously, there is no doubt in the fact that being taught by a qualified coach is considerably better than learning the game by yourself.
But then, what if you don’t want a coach? What if it is expensive for you and you prefer learning in a different manner?
The bottom line – is it possible to learn tennis without a coach?
The short answer is yes, the long answer is it depends, really. To understand the same, we have prepared this article where we chalk out the intricacies of working without a tennis coach, and how to achieve your desired objectives. With that, we have also listed the best ways to go about learning tennis without a coach!
Define Your Tennis Goals
Before we get into dissecting the whole getting-private-lessons-for-tennis subject, you first need to realise your objectives.
Ask yourself why is it that you want to play tennis? How serious are you about the sport? How often do you want to play it? Chances are, your answer would fall into one of these three categories:
- As an exercise routine to stay fit
- You love the sport and have caught a tennis bug
- You want to become a tennis pro and follow the paths of Serena Williams and Roger Federer
If you are playing tennis to stay fit and incorporate some cardio into your workout routine, then you don’t really need a professional coach on a regular basis.
At the very most, you might want to ensure that you are playing your shots correctly so that you don’t risk physical injuries in the long run. A monthly or bi-monthly consultation may be the best way to go about it.
On the other hand, if you are much more serious and passionate about tennis, then working with a coach may produce better results. It all boils down to the following:
- How far do you want to progress in your tennis career?
- What is your preferred learning style?
- Your age and fitness
If you want to compete professionally and win tournaments, then sooner or later you will need to work with a qualified tennis coach.
The frequency, duration, and intensity of classes would ideally depend on your career objectives – do you want to become a pro on the ATP or WTA Tour? Or are you content playing in club-level or city-level tournaments?
Tennis coaches, with their expertise, can help you sharpen your specific tennis skills and strokes – forehand, serve, lob, court movement and footwork, fitness, et cetera. They have access to a world of knowledge that they will be willing to share and discuss with you in one-on-one lessons.
You can address your questions to them and get personal attention and feedback to improve your game.
What you could also do is to sign up with TopCourt.com here for 14 days of free tennis coaching online with them!
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Learning Style Matters
Another question you might want to ask yourself before consulting a tennis coach is this – what kind of a learner are you?
There are people who enjoy being taught and guided throughout the learning process – they prefer frequent interaction with the coach to get the best outcome and knowledge possible.
Then there are those who rather do things by themselves and seek out the knowledge by playing the game, using the internet to research or by simply watching countless matches and imitating others. This approach of teaching yourself is just as great, given the abundance of information available to us.
Combine this with your tennis objectives and you should be starting to see a clearer picture of your answer.
In our opinion, a mixed approach can work – consulting a coach every now and then to ensure that you are getting your shots right while absorbing the game from other available resources (more on that below).
Even if you are playing tennis regularly just for fun without the thought of winning silverware, consulting an accredited tennis instructor can help you better your shots and excel at the game.
Also Read:
Preparing to Learn Tennis – What You Need
This section is mainly for those who are just starting to explore the exciting world of tennis and haven’t had a lot of exposure to the game before. If you are well-versed with the game and have been playing for some time, you can skip this and move to the next section.
As a tennis beginner, you will need to do the following before getting started:
- Familiarise yourself with the rules of the game
- Buy the basic equipment – shoes, racquet, balls
- And lastly, find a place to play and practice your game!
Understanding the rules of the game is not that difficult, especially if you have been watching professional matches. If you aren’t aware of them, fret not – there is plenty of excellent videos, blogs, and tutorials that explain tennis rules in a simple, easy-to-digest manner.
Coming to the shoes and racquets, you might want to start with something inexpensive – gears suited for novice and beginners. There is no point in spending big bucks right off the get-go when you haven’t even mastered your forehands or backhands! Just get a durable racquet, proper tennis shoes, and you are good to go.
Now, the most important part of it – you need to find a place to play the game. You can only hit the ball or do the drills so many times – you will need to step on a court and get the matches going.
The preferred way to go about it would be to join a tennis club where you get to play with other fellow players and interact with tennis instructors. Alternately, you can book a tennis court and just play the match there but then, your chances of meeting other players or coaches may not be that great.
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You will need a Court and Practice Partner!
No amount of theory in the world can help you improve your game unless you put it to action. You can only play so much tennis against a wall, after all.
In other words, you will need a sparring partner or partners to play tennis with.
If you are just starting out, then you might want to stick with a regular partner who is willing to practice the shots and strokes with you. This way, you are consistently playing tennis and you also have an accountability buddy of sorts.
However, you will eventually want to play with other players too.
Ultimately, the more people you play with, the more you will learn and boost your game. You may have won 10 games in a row against your regular tennis mate but against a new player, you may very well lose by a huge margin. It is important to diversify your approach and play with as many people as you can – ideally of varying age, experience, and even fitness.
You will pick up on new skills, new shots, and better movements with time by watching how your opponents play. You can even share notes post-match and receive feedback and helpful tips to improve your accuracy and the game itself!
What we are trying to say here is there is no substitute for this. You will need someone to play with, period. Just like everything else in life, you will get better at it with experience and time.
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Learning Tennis Without a Coach
Let us get right into it – you have decided to learn tennis without a coach. Now, this may have been quite difficult, let’s say in the 1990s or 2000s when the internet was nowhere as developed, fast, or vast as it is right now.
But now, it is just as easy as counting to three. The only limitation lies in your head – how much of it can you absorb? How can you go about implementing your newly-learned knowledge into routines and practice drills?
That is something for you to answer but to help you answer that question, mentioned below are the few best ways to learn tennis without a professional instructor.
Watching Professional Games on TV or the Internet
Thanks to the internet and all its wonderful advances, we can watch the highlights of almost every professional tennis game played in the last couple of decades. For the big games involving legends like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Williams, Halep, Osaka, and others, you can also listen to professional commentary by former tennis pros themselves!
This approach of watching and learning has stood the test of time and continues to be really popular even today.
It can help you understand and decode strategies and approaches taken by the pros, combined with the commentary by tennis announcers. Even if you can’t practice any specific shot or skill, just watching them play regularly can implant the images in your head well enough for you to attempt the same subconsciously on the courts.
Play-Pause-Rewind-Repeat-Practice – this is a mantra that can help you emulate (or at least, try) the shots taken by your favourite tennis athletes in their games.
Of course, this approach doesn’t work by itself. It needs to be in unison with other ideas and tactics.
YouTube Lessons for the Win
There are plenty of creators on YouTube that have created phenomenally detailed videos on how to play tennis and improve your game. Think of this as an online class, minus the accountability, tests, or personal interaction. That said, the world of tennis knowledge out there is mind-boggling.
Whether you are just starting out and are learning the fundamentals, or are looking to learn advanced shots and understand the finer intricacies, you will find it all and then some more on YouTube.
There are countless videos of coaches and pros demonstrating shots of kinds, often in slow-motion. Watch and study them as many times as you like. When you feel comfortable, practice the same on the courts till you get them right.
You also have channels that talk about techniques, tennis equipment and gears, playing on different surfaces, foot movement, among other things.
In other words, there is something for every tennis player on YouTube, irrespective of age, playing level, or experience. If you are not inclined towards working with an accredited tennis coach, then learning from YouTube is undoubtedly your next best bet. Thousands across the world have achieved proficiency in their respective fields with its help – there is no reason why you can’t join that club either.
Check out our guide on Best Tennis Coaching YouTube Channels for more details.
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Online Tennis Coaching
Think of this as YouTube’s paid counterpart, except you will get value for your money. There are plenty of websites online that undertake tennis coaching classes.
Many of these classes are taught by former pros themselves with years of coaching experience under their belt. Then there are those who are self-taught tennis experts and those who have earned their certifications and accreditations in tennis coaching. Whatever may be the case, let us tell you this – these guys know what they are talking about.
Case in point, there is Serena Williams who has her on MasterClass where she teaches tennis.
Again, you can go for a class that focuses on the basics or choose a more advanced course suited to your calibre. The choice is ultimately yours and you will have plenty of courses to choose from.
In many ways, these online tennis coaching classes are much more detailed than what you would find on YouTube. Don’t get us wrong – we are not implying that what you learn from YouTube is not good enough. However, if you are serious about tennis, then online coaching from a reputed instructor can only benefit your game further.
Plus, there is also the added benefit of being able to interact with fellow ‘classmates’ and discuss your questions with the instructors.
For more information, check out our detailed guide on Best Tennis Coaching Websites and Best Tennis Coaching Apps Online.
Tennis Books
If you are the type of learner who absorbs the best from books, then this approach is for you. Several books have been written on the subject, talking about a myriad of aspects.
Topics range from technicalities of the game to fitness, mental endurance, and plain-old stories from the pros themselves. This is a terrific way to get into the minds of the pros and see the world from their perspective. Their anecdotes and experience can help you better your game and solve the on-court difficulties you might be facing!
Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Billie Jean King, and John McEnroe have all penned books on tennis that have been well-received by the fans.
Check out our list of Top Tennis Books to Improve Tennis & Coaching for a detailed insight into the same.
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The Secret to Learning Tennis by Yourself
Okay, so far we looked at the various ways in which you can learn tennis without a qualified coach.
But all that knowledge does not mean much if you do not know how to use it to become a better player. In other words, you need a plan of action. You need a roadmap that can help you implement and incorporate all the amazing things you learn into bite-sized, digestible actions.
There needs to be a definite order to your practice; if it is chaotic, unorganised or haphazard, you will not get anywhere. A few things for you to consider here would be:
- Decide when you want to practice
- What is it that you want to work on each week – legwork, forehand, serve, volley, fitness, etc.
- Goal setting – set goals that are measurable, achievable and time-bounded
- And most importantly, have a sparring partner
The approach has to be systematic. Decide well in advance what aspect of your game you will be working on, find the best available information on the same and get practicing! If it helps, you can also make a timetable in advance, mapping out what you will be working on when and sticking to it. With time and effort, you will see improvements.
What you can also do is record yourself while playing and study the tapes after you are done. Compare it to your lessons or your favourite players and see where you are lagging behind. You can break this down in many ways – footwork, forehand, backhand, service, hand movement, wrist movement, among others.
Motivation Matters too
When learning tennis by yourself (or anything else, for that matter), motivation is also of paramount importance. If you lose your motivation to learn, your progress will come to an abrupt halt.
That is why having a practice partner comes in handy. When you have someone who is willing to put in the effort and time to practice the shots with you, you feel motivated to keep the tempo going and not give up on the training.
Moreover, you must remember the reasons that are driving you to learn tennis to keep your spirits up. While working with a coach has its benefits of getting that motivational boost, it becomes all the more difficult when you are learning by yourself.
To put it differently, mental discipline and endurance matter just as much.
Parting Thoughts
Just like anything in life, you can self-learn tennis as well, provided you are motivated and your approach is systematic and structure. While it is more than possible to learn the theory of the game, you will need a court and a practice partner to build the skillset.
Then, there is the matter of your seriousness and objectives. If you want to become the best of the best, you will need a full-time coach at some point in time. If you are happy with just playing the game and competing in low-level events, then you may benefit from sporadic consultations.
However, for the best possible results, regardless of what your preferences are, we do recommend consulting a professional coach every now and then.
This ensures that your shots are in order and your game is progressing just as it should. Think of it as a regular check-up with your doctor except, in this case, the doctor is a certified coach. They can help you avoid injuries and keep your general fitness on track.