TennisAndHealth.com

I’m sure you’ve had the chance to play on a clay court by now, either European-style red clay or the more common North American green Har-Tru surface.

In the past, I’ve mostly been a hard-court player. So I scrambled to get a few practice matches in on clay before the big summer tournaments (on clay). It was never really adequate. I’d still find my footing was a bit dicy, and more importantly, my shot patterns were never really ready for prime time on the clay.

This year, I finally joined an outdoor clay court club for the summer and it has been a delight. Playing on clay does so many things for your game and body you just don’t experience on hard courts.
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Tennis is a great sport. But it can be a little frustrating at first. You have to get to an intermediate level – able to keep a rally going with your forehand and backhand – before you can really start to have fun playing with other people.

A lot of people give up before then. Or they don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars in lessons and clinics to get to the intermediate level. And that’s a shame, because tennis is one of the best ways to exercise if you’re over 35. It’s social, it’s fun, it gets you out in the sunshine, and you hardly feel like you’re exercising.

Well, I’m about to reveal a little secret that very few beginning players ever try. But, ironically, that practically all good players have used.

You won’t hear about it from your local tennis pro because it doesn’t involve lessons. It doesn’t involve court time. In fact, it won’t cost you a cent!

But it’s so useful that I’ve even seen professional players use it.
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