During the Covid-19 pandemic, tennis was one of the sports that grew in terms of participation because people were looking for ways to stay active and engaged while stuck at home.
According to a study by the USTA, an estimated 23.64 million Americans played tennis in 2023. It is not surprising, given that it is an outdoor activity you can play while maintaining social distancing.
Many people, kids, and adults, wanted to start learning tennis. However, not everyone had access to a tennis court or a coach, so some opted to take online tennis lessons instead.
One of the most popular online tennis lessons is the Serena Williams
Read the complete Serena Williams
Who is Serena Williams?
Serena Williams is an American tennis player born in Michigan, U.S.A., to Richard Williams and Oracene Price.
She began playing tennis with her sister Venus Williams when she was four years old. They quickly gained a lot of attention with their strong serves, groundstrokes, and athleticism. Soon after, they attended Rick Macci’s Tennis Academy, where they developed their natural abilities and talent.
In 1991, Serena Williams won 46 out of 49 United States Tennis Association Junior Tour matches and was ranked first in the 10-and-under division. Williams turned pro in 1995. In 1998, Serena began her tennis career with a win at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in mixed doubles alongside her sister Venus.
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The following year, she won the U.S. Open Grand Slam singles tournament, defeating Martina Hingis in the finals. She is the second African-American woman to accomplish the feat.
Serena had a great year in 2002 when she won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. She took over as world number one upon defeating her sister from the top position due to these victories. She won the Australian Open in 2003, becoming only the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles at once.
Serena Williams is one of the most successful athletes in tennis history, with a stunning 73 singles titles and an additional 23 doubles wins under her belt. The 40-year-old has also accrued a record-breaking 23 Grand Slam titles throughout her impressive career.
Williams became noted for bold outfits that highlighted her strength and challenged traditional and typically conservative dress codes. In addition to playing tennis, she also has fashion, beauty, and accessory businesses. Her autobiography, “On the Line,” was published in 2009.
Overview of the Class
The Serena Williams
Early in the lessons, Serena Williams teaches one of her best weapons, the top spin on groundstrokes. She instructs her students to use their body weight to propel the shot when hitting the forehand instead of using the arms. She also shares the importance of the follow-through to give a deep ball return.
More on the basics of tennis, Serena Williams shares how to have a powerful serve. Aside from the groundstrokes fundamentals, she discusses the importance of footwork. Here, Serena touches on the split step, balance, and how the legs give power to the strokes. She discusses the toss, when to release the ball, how to practice it, and how to track your throw if it goes wrong.
Also included in her serve lessons is the importance of high contact points to give the serve consistency and power. She shares how to make the most out of the second serve and provides service variations depending on the opponent’s position and skills.
The rest of her lessons zoom in on court techniques, like court coverage, lob shot, and approach shots. She also added more advanced lessons such as the role of the back and the posture.
After her lessons on the foundations of tennis, she emphasizes that if your strokes aren’t working, you shouldn’t seek more analytical instruction. Instead, you should stick to practicing and continue doing what works for you.
Aside from physical preparations, Serena Williams also highlights the importance of mental toughness. She shares that 70% of playing high-level tennis is psychological, and she attributes winning all Grand Slam finals to mental toughness.
She gives tips on being in the opponent’s head to make them doubt their chances of winning the match. One crucial piece of advice she gave is overcoming fears, playing one point at a time, and staying focused to face the opponent head-on.
One of the advantages of this tennis
What’s great about her MasterClass is that Serena Williams walks her viewers through each technique while demonstrating it herself. Viewers not only get to see her execute each move, but she may also slow down the video so they can take note of all of the actions, including the back swing, reach, and long follow-through.
As it was her
The course isn’t a generic tennis course with a Serena Williams voiceover. It feels like an intimate chat as we learn about her training methods and habits that other classes won’t teach.
To give you a complete overview of the Serena Williams
- Introduction: Focus and Desire
- Groundstroke Fundamentals
- Mastering Groundstrokes
- Controlling the Court
- Mental Toughness
- NetPlay
- Training
- Game Day
- Making of a Winner
Aside from the video lessons, the Serena Williams
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- You will get tips and insights from the tennis great
- Serena Williams’ straightforward, honest, and charismatic teaching style
- It includes topics that are usually not included in other tennis instructional videos
- Lessons have physical preparations as well as other aspects of tennis as a mental game
- High-quality production value, with different camera angles for better view and appreciation
Cons:
- Some lessons need more explanation
- Beginners may find it hard to understand tennis lingo. You might get confused with the jargon.
Who is This Class for?
- Serena Williams fans
- Tennis players who are looking for ways to improve their tennis skills
- Beginners or people who are looking to learn a new sport
How Much Does the Class Cost?
If you want to access Serena Williams’
The Individual subscription plan for MasterClass costs $120 per year and provides access to use one device at a time. The Duo subscription grants access to two devices simultaneously for an annual fee of $180, while the Family option allows up to six devices simultaneously for a yearly cost of $240.
Apart from Serena Williams’ tennis lesson, Masterclass offers courses from top professionals in different fields. You may take gardening lessons from Ron Finley, cooking classes with Gordon Ramsay, comedy classes from Steve Martin, or fashion design lessons with Marc Jacobs.
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