Games

These are some basic rules for some games you can play that should help improve your tennis skills.  These games might also go by different names than the ones I use.  There are probably other variations of these games, and it is probably a good idea to create your own variations.

Mini Tennis

This is tennis played only within the service box areas.  It is played as a singles game.  There is no serving.  Points are started out by one player hitting a ground stroke to the other player.  You usually don't keep any sort of score because the point of the game is to keep the ball in play for as long as possible.  You also want to keep the ball in the air as long as possible to (minimize the number of times it hits the ground).

Alley Tennis

In alley tennis, you and another player play in the doubles alleys.  The object of the game is to hit the ball inside the doubles alley (which can be very difficult for beginners).  A ball hit on the initial hit (the one to get the rally started) do not count towards your scores.  Every time a player hits a ball that lands in the alley or on the lines of the alley they get a point.  Usually, the first player to score twenty points is the winner.

Scramble Tennis

This is a doubles game that is played only inside both service boxes.  On both sides of the net there will be three tennis balls placed directly in the middle of the net at the base of the net.  Whichever team goes first will take one ball from their side, place it on the net, then drop the ball on the opponents' side of the court.  The times when a ball is dropped from the net are the only times the ball is allowed to hit the court.  After the ball is dropped, the other team will try to return the ball and start a rally.  If a team is unable to return a ball or a ball bounces on their side of the court, or a team hits a ball out-of-bounds, they lose the point.  When a team wins a point they take a remaining ball from their side, set in on the net, and drop it on the opponents' side to start a new point (Note: The only time during the entire game that you have to wait for your opponents to get ready for a point is on the very first point of the game).  The first team to win a point after they have gotten rid of all their balls wins the game (Note: this game can be physically brutal when played competitively).