Billy Schwartz

Tennis and Agility

The game of Tennis is one of concentration, coordination, and cooperation. It

involves power, accuracy and endurance. Above all the techniques that one requires to play

the sport, the most important component of fitness in the game of Tennis is agility.

RULES:

1. The game can be played in singles or doubles. To get a point, the opponent(s) must

hit the ball out, into the net/on their side of the court, miss the first bounce, or miss the

ball entirely.

2. The player who is serving must serve the ball into the opposite box on the opposite

side of the court. If the player does not do so, it is called a fault. If the player misses the

opposite box twice, the opponent gains a point. He or she must also be behind the base

line (the line vertically farthest from the net) when serving.

3. The boundaries are, in singles, the singles line, in doubles, the doubles line, the net,

and the base line. If a player hits the ball further than any of these lines (excepting the

net), it is considered out.

 Billy Schwartz

4. To win a match, a player must win the “break point”. The “break point” is an

opportunity in a match, when a player has 40 points or, in the case of “deuce” 1, has the

“advantage point” 2, to win.

5. For a player to win, he or she must win the best out of 3-5 “sets”. A “set” consists of

multiple matches. In order to win a “set”, a player must be the first to win 6 matches out

of the maximum possible 11 matches.

 Billy Schwartz

Agility is the ability to move with speed, efficiency and flexibility. It is an essential

component of fitness when playing tennis because it consists of many other critical

techniques that one needs to have a successful game. For example, to ensure that one

doesn’t hit the ball out of the court or anywhere that is not within the boundaries, he or

she must move around the court to a place where it is easy to know that the ball is going

to bounce in the court. One must be agile to do this because if he or she has to run up to

the net and hit a volley, they might have to run backwards towards the baseline if the

opponent hits a lob over his or her head. To be agile also means to be strategic. When

one plays tennis, he or she must set patterns around the court to ensure that he or she

doesn’t give the opponent a point. Much like Example 1, if one is on the left side of the

court and close to the net, there is a very good chance that the opponent will hit the ball

on the right side of the court and farther towards the base line. In this scenario, one may

be setting themselves up for a point loss. This is where it is good to be agile, because

one may need speed to run back towards the base line to be able to hit the ball back and

over the net to continue the rally. A point may go on for a fairly long time. In this case, it

is good to be agile because if the ball is being hit from side to side, one will constantly

have to run from left to right in order to keep the point going and hopefully defeat his or

her opponent. This is why it is good to be agile; because being agile means that one has

the ability to move back and forth with speed and efficiency.