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Tennis for Beginners

Tennis - Footwork and Balance

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Doug Kegerreis

Doug is the President of CIT. With 25 years of professional tennis teaching and management skills to his credit, Doug is the consummate tennis expert. In addition to his duties with CIT, he is a physical education specialist at Oakton Elementary School, and fitness director of the 4-Star Jr. Tennis Academy in Merrifield. "CIT has at its core a commitment to develop players who will continue to play tennis." Doug said. "With first-timers we emphasize fun. We've learned that when they have fun, they keep coming back and stay in the game." Doug has earned a Master of Science in Sports Management from the University of West Virginia. He is a current member of the USPTA and certified through its professional standards. He has had several articles printed in USPTA publications. The Mid-Atlantic Professional Tennis Association awarded Doug the honor of Greater Washington Professional of the Year in 1994, and just recently awarded him High School Coach of the Year in 2005. International Country Club, Fairfax Racquet Club, Mid-Town Tennis Club in Chicago, and Sea Pines Racquet Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina, all have had the pleasure of Doug's tennis expertise.

Tennis - Footwork and Balance

In this video Doug Kegerreis, Tennis Coach, teaches you how to play tennis. This video is intended for Beginners.

This series: 135,193 views

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Doug Kegerreis: Hi! I am Doug Kegerreis, President of Chantilly International Tennis, and today you are learning how to play tennis.

We are now concentrating on the forehand and backhand and youve now developed a pretty good forehand and backhand. Youve learned the four essentials, that is, racquet face awareness, lifting racquet path, body rotation and beginning by learning to control your swing speed.

Now, were going to add to those four essential skills. By this time you are now going to start moving further back on the tennis court, closer to the baseline and judging the ball will become more challenging. So, in order to judge the ball, first you have to determine where do I have to move in order to hit the ball in my strike zone? My strike zone on forehands and backhands is off to the side of my body with my arm comfortably extended about waist level. So, my next step is to move my feet in relationship to the ball, so I can be still and balanced when I strike the ball.

If the ball is coming to me with a very high net clearance or very high arc, I probably need to move back and allow the ball to drop to waist level. If the ball is coming in a very low arc, I might even have to move forward in order to hit the ball in my strike zone at waist level; that requires lots of footwork, so, I need to take lots of little steps to get in the right position, and finally balance. Balance is essential when hitting forehands and backhands. It's essential for all the shots when you play tennis. You need to whenever it's time to hit, to plant your feet and be still. Why is balance so important? Because if I am moving it all while I am hitting it changes the angle of my racquet face, and we learned earlier that racquet face awareness is an essential part of hitting forehands and backhands.

If I am off balance moving backward, you can see how it turns my racquet face up towards the sky. If I am moving left to right, it moves my racquet face left and right. So, again, to judge the ball properly, watch the arc of the ball, be trying to strike the ball in your strike zone, waist level, move your feet and be still and balanced while you are hitting.

That is our last clip on our series for forehands and backhands. Next, well move on to the skills involved with hitting volleys.

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