Sick of being the friend who always loses?
The complete beginner’s tennis handbook: every rule, grip, stroke and tactic explained step by step, with the photos, frame-by-frame sequences and diagrams next to the words, so the next time you play the mate who “doesn’t even try”, the score tells a different story.
£12.99 one-off, incl. VAT, yours forever
PDF for every device · 200+ illustrations · Read tonight, play better this weekend
Sound familiar?
You’re not bad at tennis. You’re missing the manual.
Nobody actually teaches you this stuff. You get dragged to a court, handed a racket, beaten 6–1, and told “you’ll pick it up”. You won’t, not like that. Every “natural” you know simply learned the basics you were never shown.
Your mate wins every time
And not because they’re talented. It’s because they know where to stand, when to split step, and that you can’t resist going for the lines. Chapter 12 alone fixes half of this.
YouTube made it worse
Forty contradictory videos about grips, each assuming you already play. You need one path, in order, that starts from “which end do I hold?”
Lessons cost £40 an hour
And half of every lesson is the coach explaining things a book explains better: rules, scoring, grips, positioning. Spend the coaching money on the bits that need a coach.
What’s inside
13 chapters. Zero to match-ready.
One clear path, step by step, from the geometry of the court to walking off after your first won match. Every lesson has the pictures next to the words that explain them.
- 1Welcome & how tennis works — the court, the point, and the geometry that explains every tactic
- 2Scoring & the rules — love, deuce, tie-breaks and the moments that decide sets
- 3Your gear — the only three racket numbers that matter, and why shoes are a safety item
- 4Grips — the bevel map demystified, with photos of every grip
- 5Stance & footwork — the split step, the shuffle, and the recovery habit that wins ugly
- 6The forehand — built in five pieces, with the physics of why low-to-high works
- 7The backhand — the two-hander with training wheels welded in
- 8The serve — why the toss is 80% of it, and how spin turns second serves from prayer to policy
- 9Returning serve — borrow pace, don’t add it; the shot that wins beginners most points
- 10Net play & volleys — the catch-with-strings, plus the overhead that answers every lob
- 11Keeping a rally going — the margin mindset and the bounce-hit rhythm
- 12Your first match — where to stand, what to say, how to beat the friend who always wins
- 13Beyond the basics — warm-ups, injury-proofing, and plugging into UK tennis
- AAppendix A — your 4-week practice plan, session by session
- BAppendix B — full answer key to every chapter self-test
See inside
Five pages, exactly as they appear in the book
Every stroke is shown frame by frame, every rule gets a diagram, and the picture always sits next to the words that explain it. These are unedited pages from the PDF.
Every chapter, six layers deep
Not a pamphlet. A proper handbook.
Step-by-step lessons
All 26 lessons broken into numbered pieces you can practise one at a time, with photos, frame-by-frame sequences and diagrams sitting next to the words they explain.
Cues and checkpoints
Short phrases to say to yourself on court, and simple tests at the end of every lesson so you know a skill has stuck before you move on.
Going Deeper essays
Three per chapter, going beyond the lesson: the geometry of the court, why one grip can’t do everything, what nerves actually are and how to use them.
Mistakes & fixes
The faults every coach sees, in a table with the exact correction for each: the stuff coaches repeat forty times a season.
Weekly drills
Three or four per chapter, most needing no partner: wall ladders, toss-only sessions, shadow split-steps, depth-zone games.
199 key terms, 135 self-test questions
The vocabulary of tennis as quick-reference tables, and a quiz at the end of every chapter with a full answer key.
What changes
Read tonight. Different player this weekend.
You’ll stop giving away free points
Most beginner matches are lost, not won. The margin mindset in Chapters 11–12 (a metre over the net, crosscourt, deep) beats “talent” at every park in Britain.
You’ll sound like you belong
Call the score with confidence, know why it’s 40–15, claim your let. The vocabulary and etiquette that make club players take you seriously.
You’ll know exactly what to practise
No more aimless rallying: every chapter ends with this week’s drills, and the 4-week plan turns them into a schedule that ends with a real, scored match.
Questions
FAQ
What format is the handbook?
A 171-page illustrated PDF (6×9″ book format) delivered instantly after checkout, with more than 200 photos, frame-by-frame sequences and diagrams. It reads perfectly on phones, tablets, laptops and e-readers, and prints cleanly if you like paper. Many readers print just the drills pages.
I’ve literally never played tennis. Is it for me?
It’s written for exactly you. Chapter 1 assumes nothing: not the rules, not the scoring, not even which end of the racket to hold. Each chapter builds on the last.
How long will it take to work through?
Read cover to cover in three or four evenings, or follow it as designed: one to two chapters a week alongside the drills, reaching your first scored match in about six weeks.
Do I need any equipment to start?
A racket, a few balls and any court. Chapter 3 tells you exactly what to buy at every budget (you can start properly for under £50), and Chapter 13 shows you how to find and book courts near you.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. The 6×9″ page size was chosen because it reads comfortably on a phone screen without zooming. It works in any PDF reader, iBooks, and on Kindle via Amazon’s Send-to-Kindle.
£12.99. One evening of reading.
A lifetime of actually knowing what you’re doing.
Next weekend, someone on that court is going to know where to stand, what the score is, and exactly why that crosscourt ball keeps landing in. Make it you.
Instant download · Incl. VAT