More About the Game

Let's learn more about the game of tennis. While some sports rely more on mental or physical skill, tennis is a mixture of both. You need to be able to strategize quickly on court, have tough mental game, and have the skills to pull the right shots off. Of course first you need to know what the shots are and when you use them. The table below gives a summary of the three main locations on the court and basic shots at each location.
Types of Tennis Shots
Baseline Shots Service Line Shots Net Shots
forehand slice volley
backhand approach shot overhead

Here is a helpful diagram of the court to show what I mean by baseline service line, and net.

Diagram of Court

In a typical game, the players begin back at the baseline where they exchange a rally of forehands and backhands. A point could consist of all shots played back at the baseline, or a player could be brought up to the service line with a short ball. At the service line, the player could slice the ball, causing it to curve away from the opponent when it bounces on the other side of the court. Or, the player could hit an approach shot (probably down the line) which is meant to draw the opponent off the court or off-balance as the player approaches the net. At the net, the player could volley, which involves stepping and blocking the ball back over the net with the racquet, or s/he could hit an overhead (literally a shot hit over the player's head) if the opponent tries to lob. In singles, most of the matchplay takes place near the baseline, while it doubles the service line and net are a lot more involved because a common strategy is to rush the net and not allow any balls past the players onto the court.