The fast track to playing great tennis with 30-minute instructional t e n Step-by-step coaching and inspirational photography tennis to get you started or improve your game n Fully integrated DVD demonstrates the key techniques, i s using real-time footage, freeze-frame graphics, and slow-motion sequences b READ IT WATCH IT DO IT o WITH LIVE-ACTION COACHING o k w i t h c o a £9.99 c h ISBN 1-4053-1504-0 i n g 9 781405 315043 (cid:57)(cid:94)(cid:104)(cid:88)(cid:100)(cid:107)(cid:90)(cid:103)(cid:21)(cid:98)(cid:100)(cid:103)(cid:90)(cid:21)(cid:86)(cid:105) Rolf Flichtbeil www.dk.com Jacket imagesFront: Corbis: (c); Getty Images: Dennis O’Clair (b). Back: Getty Images: Peter Marshall (c); Corbis: (b). tennis Rolf Flichtbeil London, New York, Munich, Melbourne, Delhi Project Editor Nicky Munro Project Art Editor Jenisa Patel DTP Designer Vania Cunha Production Controller Melanie Dowland Managing Editor Stephanie Farrow Managing Art Editor Lee Griffiths Photography Gerard Brown Produced for Dorling Kindersley by XAB Design, London Design Beverley Speight, Nigel Wright Editorial Liz Dean DVD produced for Dorling Kindersley by Chrome Productions www.chromeproductions.com Director Gez Medinger Camera Neil Gordon Production Manager Portia Mishcon Production Assistant Jolyon Rubinstein Voiceover Kevin Harris Voiceover Recording Mark Maclaine Music Scott Shields, produced by FMPTV First American Edition, 2006 First published in the United States by DK Publishing, Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright © 2006 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN-13: 978-0-7566-1942-8 ISBN-10: 0-7566-1942-4 DK books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 or [email protected] Color reproduction by Icon Reproduction, UK Printed and bound in China by Hung Hing Discover more at www.dk.com contents The ready position 46 Stepping 48 Bending and weight transfer 50 How to use this book & DVD 10 Introduction 12 The ball Adding spin 52 GO GET READY 14 Ball flight 54 Coming up... 16 Making practice fun Equipment Joining a club 56 Racquet anatomy 18 Your first practice session 58 Choosing a racquet 20 Ball facts 22 On the court Get the gear 24 What is singles? 60 Tennis shoes 26 Playing singles 62 What is doubles? 64 Field of play Playing doubles 66 Zones of the court 28 Court surfaces 30 GO PLAY 68 Coming up... 70 Scoring and basic rules Game, set, and match 32 Enhancing the serve The scoring system 34 Powering the serve 72 Types of serve 74 GO LEARN THE BASICS 36 Coming up... 38 Improving ground play Perfecting the forehand 76 Getting started A stronger two-handed backhand 78 The serve 40 One-handed backhand with topspin 80 Groundstrokes and grips 42 A better backhand slice 82 Net play 44 Mastering net play Keeping your opponent guessing Effective forehand volleying 84 Angled and dink shots 122 Backhand volleying 86 How to lob 124 Smash attack 88 Drop shots 126 Approach shots 128 Moving like a pro Passing shots 130 Split-step and return 90 Split-step and volley 92 GO FURTHER 132 Side-step and forehand 94 Coming up 134 Side-step and backhand 96 Crossover steps 98 Shaping up Crossover and smash 100 Pre-play warm-ups 136 Recovery steps 102 Building your tennis muscles 138 Being a competitor 140 GO PLAY SMARTER 104 Coming up... 106 Styles of play Baseliner 142 The early advantage Net player 144 Using your serve 108 Returning the serve 110 Tennis and travel The major tournaments 146 Sound strategies Great locations 150 Rallying 112 Shot selection 114 More stuff Working the point 116 Tennis on the web 152 Tennis talk 154 Putting the pressure on Index 156 Attacking and defending 118 And finally… 160 Winners and unforced errors 120