KS4 · Physical education · Year 10
Serves, returns, sprinting and sweating
Health and wellbeing: cardio tennis
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/10
Your learning goal
I can hit shots with power and adjust court position quickly to capitalise on opportunities.
1 of 10
Serves, returns, sprinting and sweating: 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 hit shots with power and adjust court position quickly to capitalise on opportunities.
Key learning points
- Move: overarm serves generate power from a full swing, wrist snap and body weight transferring forwards into the shot.
- Move: fast leg acceleration and deceleration enable balls to be hit whilst stationary improving accuracy and control.
- Think: overarm serves require careful timing to strike the ball overhead and slightly in front of the body.
- Feel: getting the timing right for consistent and powerful serves is a rewarding feeling.
- Connect: helping teammates to find their rhythm and have success requires supportive comments.
Words to know
- serve
- the shot that puts the ball into play at the start of a point
- return
- hitting the ball back after a serve
- sprint
- a run over a short distance that requires maximum effort and speed
Common mistakes
Pupils think it is not cool to sweat or that it shows they are working too hard or are unfit.
The sweating response is essential to homeostasis and keeping your core body temperature stable. An increased sweating response is actually an indicator of better aerobic fitness and is required when seeking a cardiovascular benefit from training.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Giving pupils the opportunity to self-select the court they work on based on whether they can hit an accurate overarm first serve, or not, is a great way to organise your courts by similar ability.