KS3 · Physical education · Year 9
Basic strokes and gameplay
Net and wall games: overcome opponents in tennis challenges
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/10
Your learning goal
I can keep a rally going in the service box.
1 of 10
Basic strokes and gameplay: slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
What you’ll learn
I can keep a rally going in the service box.
Key learning points
- Move: gentle strokes with a short backswing and follow through improves accuracy.
- Move: the ready position is assumed quickly between shots to make it quicker to respond to the next shot.
- Think: knowing control is more important than power but topspin helps keep the ball down in the court increases success.
- Feel: challenging yourself to be consistent and avoid mistakes requires self-discipline.
- Connect: cooperation with others is required to maintain a consistent rally.
Words to know
- ground stroke
- a shot hit after the ball has bounced, either on the forehand or backhand
- topspin
- a shot that puts forward rotation on the ball by hitting from low to high
- slice
- a shot that puts backspin on the ball by hitting from high to low
Common mistakes
Pupils rush to play full court from the baseline before they have the racket skills to direct the ball accurately and keep a rally going.
Tennis can be a frustrating game with a lot of fetching mis-hit balls. It is best to start slow and build your confidence with racket familiarisation and close touch control before building in more power to your shots.
For parents, carers and teachers
- If pupils are confident with a tennis racket in hand, you can progress them more quickly to the final learning cycle of this lesson whilst others build their skills up gradually.