Taking up tennis

Hello everyone, new to the forum here. I am a 42 years old and would like to eventually join an adult league. I have only played tennis recreationally with friends but it has been years since I have done that. Is it better to take lessons or attend clinics for beginners or what? Any information would be helpful. Thanks

[tennis-n-sc]

Hey Sham. Welcome back to THE game. You'll get a lot of different answers and they'll all be right. My two cents, take a weekly private lesson and a weekly clinic if you can work it in. The clinic will allow you to meet other beginners who may also be looking to play tennis. Good luck.

By the way, where are located?

[Cindysphinx]

Welcome to the game!

I don't think it matters whether you take lessons or clinics, so long as you get some instruction if you think there are things about your game that need correcting. Just try to play *a lot.*

In our area, the spring leagues start in April and teams start forming as early as late February. Start meeting people now and networking. Ask players in drill classes if they know any teams seeking players. Contact your league coordinator to be added to the list of players seeking teams.

Consider captaining your own team. I did that as a brand new 2.5 player because my skills were so very marginal that there was no way any existing team would have me. Captaining wasn't difficult, and it guarantees that you'll get on a team and will play. And of course it guarantees you'll be on a team that is run the way you think it should be run.

Lastly, beware the perils of self-rating. Ask a pro what your level is, and if possible play some matches against people of that level. Do not just go by the descriptions of what players of various levels can do; they are way off. Do not, whatever you do, rate yourself too high. You can always play up if you rate too low, but life is miserable if you rate yourself too high.

Good luck!

[LoveThisGame]

Take some lessons and clinics to brush up and begin developing anew, BUT play also. Afterall, playing is the object of tennis and the reason one finds tennis interesting and exercise. Drills are not the purpose.

[Sakkijarvi]

Join a 3.0 singles league and start whacking away. I came back to tennis after 20 years off and went 7-5, then 12-2 to win my 3.0 league, then moved up. If you're anywhere in decent shape and have some athleticism, you'll at minimum hang with 3.0ers and get a lot more reps (and more for your $$ and time) than ******* around with lessons at this point. Once you play a season, if you find you want to commit to the game, then go for a lesson or two...you'll have identified what you need to work on by then.

By all means do NOT 'start your own team' (yikes!) unless you are insane for WORK instead of FUN. Getting back into tennis should be about YOU having a good time, not being camp counselor to a bunch of middle-agers. If you go around the bend later, that can happen if you like. I've run sports teams so speak from experience...even successful ones are a LOT of work.

While you are PLAYING (with the emphasis on PLAY), by all means watch tennis, avail yourself of books/video resources, hit with pick-up partners, etc.)

You sound too young to 'have to' play doubles...singles is a MUCH GREATER workout.

Sakki

[Geezer Guy]

I agree with the others. I started at 40 and have been playing 12 years now. It's a great sport. It's important to start with good habits, so definately take some lessons and drills. Get instruction on the best way to play - don't just get someone to feed you balls.

If you developed some bad habits when you were "hitting recreationally with friends", don't think twice about dropping those habits and picking up new ones. You'll suck at first, but you'll be building a solid foundation for the future.

Good Luck - Have Fun.