Tennis Apprentice

Tennis Apprentice is a program for new beginner players who want to learn a fun sport for any age and any fitness level. Tennis is a sport for life!

Players

Love. Play. Compete.

101. Love
If you are brand new to tennis, you will learn that tennis starts with love. We will get you started with the basics and all you need is a pair of tennis shoes. The first part of the program includes a free racquet and 6 lessons. You will learn how to hit groundstrokes, how to serve, how to volley and how to score.

102. Play
Now it’s time to practice what you learned. The second part of the program is supervised play. After you get warmed up with drills, you will play points, games and short sets. You will play singles, doubles and enjoy being part of a team.

103. Compete
If you are ready to join a USTA League, send us a request and we will pay for your first year of USTA membership (a $44 value). You must have participated in Tennis Apprentice 101 and never had a previous USTA account.

Ready to start? Find the coordinator in your Community Tennis Association

More player resources: Introduction to Tennis for Adults

Community tennis associations

USTA Georgia continues to promote and support Tennis Apprentice programs within the state. The purpose of starting an entry level program is to find new tennis players in your area. After the program is completed, you can encourage them to sign up for your local leagues! This will increase membership, participation, as well as bring in new competition! 

What do I need?
You will need a tennis facility to host the program, as well as a pro to teach the clinics. Typically, the sessions are about 6 weeks long. Clinics are one night a week, ranging from 60 to 90 minutes.  Since you are trying to locate NEW players, you can advertise anywhere and everywhere! Grocery stores, local gyms, malls, etc.

Cost
The Tennis Apprentice program caps the player registration fee at $60. Your cost will depend on the tennis pro and court fees at the facility. If the pro charges $80 per lesson, you will need at least 8 players to cover the cost – considering no court fees. If there are 10 players, you will have $120 more to cover other costs, like court fees, promotional items, or marketing materials.

How can USTA Georgia help?
We will provide one racquet per player registered. Please submit this form to let us know when your next program starts and how many players signed up. Please allow at least 7 days for the racquets to be shipped to you.

Once the new players are ready to join your local league, we will pay for their first year of USTA membership.

Pathway

101. Love (capped at $60 per player)
A tennis pro will teach the basics: groundstrokes, serves, volleys and scoring. The pro is free to use their own methodology or use this USTA Guide “Tennis 101 for Adults”.

102. Play (separate registration, no cap)
This is a follow up program with drills and supervised play. CTAs can create a “rookie league” on TennisLink and teach players the basics of being part of a team, exchanging lineups, playing singles and doubles.

103. Compete (transition into USTA League)
Once the players are ready to register for local league, we will pay for their first USTA membership. To qualify, they must have participated in the 101. Love program and not have a previous USTA account or membership. Please email Susan Pierce (pierce@ustageorgia.com) to request the membership. Players are responsible for their own local league registration

Finding a Tennis Pro
If your facility doesn’t have an available tennis pro, try your local varsity players. College tennis players make great teachers for beginner groups.

Not only will the tennis pro have a group of beginners for 6 weeks, they also have the potential to coach the same group going forward and have another steady source of income.