Tennis for Beginners: A 30-Day Starter Plan

TL;DR: Pick up a racquet, spend 20–30 minutes a day for four weeks, and you'll go from zero to rallying comfortably. Here's exactly what to do, day by day.

You don't need a membership at a fancy club to start playing tennis. A public court, a ₹600–₹900 racquet from a local sports shop, and a can of balls is genuinely all it takes for the first month. The 30-day plan below builds your skills in layers — grip and stance first, then groundstrokes, then putting it all together in something that actually resembles a game.

Before you start

Equipment (keep it under ₹1,500):

• Beginner racquet (pre-strung, 270–290g): ₹600–₹900
• One can of pressurised tennis balls (3 balls): ₹150–₹250
• Non-marking court shoes or any rubber-soled trainers you own: ₹0 if you have them

That's it. Don't buy a bag, don't buy wristbands, don't over-invest before you know you love it.

Finding a court: Most municipal parks in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai have free or ₹50–₹100/hour public courts. Check your local sports complex — many are under-booked on weekday mornings.

Before Day 1, read up on the basic rules — scoring (15, 30, 40, deuce), the service box, and what a fault means. For a quick primer, How to Play Tennis: Rules, Technique & Getting Started covers everything you need before your first session.

Week One — Just Get Comfortable

Aim for 20 to 25 minutes per session — the focus is Grip, stance, and racquet feel. No pressure to hit hard.

• Day 1 — Eastern forehand grip: Hold the racquet like you're shaking hands with the handle. Tap a ball against the court 50 times to feel the weight.
• Day 2 — Ready position: Stand with knees soft, racquet in front, weight on your toes. Practice stepping into a split-step (small hop) 20 times.
• Day 3 — Forehand shadow swing: No ball. Practice the unit turn (rotate shoulders), swing low-to-high, finish with racquet above your shoulder. 30 reps.
• Day 4 — Forehand groundstroke (self-feed): Bounce the ball and hit it over an imaginary net. Focus on watching the ball, not where it lands. 30 hits.
• Day 5 — Continental grip for backhand: Rotate your grip slightly so the knuckle sits on the top bevel. Practice the two-handed backhand shadow swing.
• Day 6 — Backhand groundstroke (self-feed): Same as Day 4 drill, now on the backhand side. Alternate forehand and backhand, 15 each.
• Day 7 — Rest or light rally: If you have a wall or a fence, try hitting 10 forehand groundstrokes continuously. Otherwise, rest. Your arm needs it.

Week Two — Start Adding Technique

Aim for 25 to 30 minutes per session — the focus is Consistency on groundstrokes, introduction to serve mechanics.

Days 8–10 — Forehand and backhand consistency drill: Drop-feed yourself 20 forehands and 20 backhands per session. The goal isn't power — it's getting 15 out of 20 over the net (or your target line). If you have a partner, stand at the service line and rally gently. Track your personal best consecutive hits.

Days 11–13 — Flat serve basics: Start with the trophy position — feet shoulder-width apart, side-on to the net, racquet pointing up, ball hand pointing at the target. Practice the toss alone: 20 tosses, landing the ball on your front foot. Then combine toss and swing without worrying about power. Aim to get 10 serves in the service box from 20 attempts by Day 13.

Day 14 — Combine groundstrokes + serve in one session: Rally from the baseline for 10 minutes, then spend 10 minutes on serves. Just putting it together, no pressure on results.

Week Three — Putting It Together

About 30 minutes per session — the focus shifts to movement, direction, and mini-games.

Days 15–17 — Footwork and recovery drill: After every groundstroke, practice recovering to the centre mark (the T at the baseline). This is the split-step recovery pattern — hit, recover, split-step. It's the single biggest habit gap between beginners and intermediate players.

Days 18–20 — Cross-court vs down-the-line drill: Self-feed or partner-feed 10 balls. Hit the first 5 cross-court (diagonally), next 5 down the line (straight). You're training direction, not just getting the ball over. Notice how your body position changes for each shot.

Day 21 — First scoring practice: Play a tiebreak (first to 7, win by 2) with a partner, or play against a wall counting consecutive hits. The point is to make decisions under mild pressure for the first time.

Week Four — Playing Your First Match

Aim for 30 to 40 minutes per session — the focus is Putting everything into a real game context.

Days 22–24 — Full rally with targets: Place two water bottles on each side of the net as targets — one cross-court, one down the line. Rally with a partner and aim for them. Misses don't matter; the aiming habit does.

Days 25–27 — Serve + return game: One person serves, the other returns. Play out points from the return of serve. This is where it starts to feel like actual tennis. Aim for at least one clean ace attempt and one clean return per set of 10 points.

Days 28–30 — Full set (simplified scoring): Play a full set — first to 6 games, no-ad scoring (sudden death at deuce) to keep it moving. You'll make tons of errors. That's fine. At the end of 30 days, you're meant to know what a real game feels like, not win it perfectly.

Common mistakes to avoid

Gripping too tight. A white-knuckle grip kills your wrist snap and leads to tennis elbow fast — hold the racquet at about 5 out of 10 tension, firm enough that it won't fly out, loose enough that your forearm can rotate.

Swinging at arm level, not low-to-high. Most beginners swing flat or even downward, which sends the ball into the net; the fix is to start your swing below the incoming ball and finish high, above your shoulder.

Standing flat-footed. If your heels touch the ground before you hit, you lose the kinetic chain entirely — stay on the balls of your feet the whole time you're waiting for the ball.

Watching where you want the ball to go, not the ball itself. The head comes up, the eyes drift to the other side of the court, and the contact point falls apart; keep your eyes on the ball until you've made contact.

Taking full swings from the start of Week 1. Trying to hit hard before you have a repeatable technique just reinforces bad mechanics — spend the first two weeks at 50–60% effort and let the form settle.

Tossing the ball forward on the serve. A toss that lands in front of your body causes you to lean into the court and lose control; practise tossing straight up over your front shoulder until it becomes automatic.

Skipping the recovery step. Hitting the ball and then watching it is satisfying but useless — the split-step recovery after every shot is what separates players who rally from players who scramble.

When to move to a class

After Week 4, you'll have enough feel for the game to actually benefit from coaching. Before that, most feedback goes over your head because you haven't had the reps to feel what's wrong.

A good beginner coach will correct your grip, your stance, and your swing path in the first two sessions — things that are hard to self-diagnose. Group classes (₹500–₹1,200 per session depending on city) work well at this stage because you'll also get partner drilling built in.

Looking for courts near you? Tennis in Delhi and Tennis in Mumbai have city-specific listings to help you find coaching options.

Beginner-friendly studios to explore

• Jtc Tennis Academy — South Delhi, Delhi
• Tennace Academy — Bandra & Khar, Mumbai
• Exclusive Table Tennis Academy in Gurgaon — Gurugram Central, Gurugram
• Indian Table Tennis Academy — Noida Central, Noida

Frequently asked questions

How many days a week should a complete beginner practise tennis?

Five to six days a week works well for the first month because you're building muscle memory, and consistency matters more than intensity at this stage. Sessions don't need to be long — 20 minutes of focused drilling beats an hour of aimless hitting.

Do I need a partner to follow this plan?

Not for the first two weeks. Most of the Week 1 and Week 2 drills are self-feed or shadow work. A partner becomes useful from Week 3 when you start rally and direction drills, but a wall or backboard can substitute in a pinch.

What size racquet should a beginner buy?

For adults, a 27-inch standard-length racquet in the 270–290g strung weight range is the most forgiving. Avoid heavy racquets (over 300g strung) until your technique is stable — they load your elbow too much before your swing mechanics are consistent.

Will 30 days make me good enough to play a real match?

You'll be able to sustain a rally, serve the ball in, and keep score — which is a real match by most definitions. You won't be beating experienced club players, but you'll be able to play socially and enjoy it, which is the actual goal.

Is it too late to start tennis as an adult?

Most coaches say adult beginners often progress faster in the early stages than kids do, because they can process tactical feedback and self-correct between sessions. The physical peak for professional tennis is another matter entirely, but recreational play has no age ceiling.

]()Find your next step: Find Tennis classes near you and book your first session this week.