Classic Strokes Tennis Lessons

Our services are pretty simple: we give great tennis lessons that are also fun!

The lessons are also good exercise, however, and can be comparable to the sort of workout that you might get when working with a personal trainer - and are both a LOT less expensive and more enjoyable as you are outdoors and not stuck in a gym.  One of my clients who doesn't need any more lessons keeps scheduling more, however, as he says that the workout is much better than working with a personal trainer.

But, back to the tennis lessons.  As mentioned on our home page, we teach great fundamentals which goes along with our name "Classic Strokes."  I learned from an Australian pro who grew up in an era when Australian players dominated the game with perfect groundstrokes (you really needed them too when playing with wooden racquets - and on grass courts).  From how I learned to play, I can teach you the same consistent and repeatable classic strokes that can take your tennis game as far as you would like to go.  More about our classic strokes and lots of pictures can be seen on our Technique page.

The location is very convenient for most of San Francisco as we use a private court that is about three blocks north of the Civic Center (on Franklin between Turk and Eddy) and a map is on our contact page.  We can give lessons at a court of your choice, however, but there is a $5 surcharge per lesson for the additional time and transportation expense.

Listed in the section below are the different prices for individual lessons or for various packages that you might find interesting.  The following may also be helpful as a reference for how many lessons may be needed to achieve your goals:

• Beginner: six to eight lessons to reach a point where you have good footwork, grooved strokes that you can continue to improve on your own (and the ability to sometimes hit six or eight good shots in a row), and a basic reliable serve that you can continue to improve for more speed and accuracy.
• Intermediate (2.5 to 3.5 rated): two or three lessons can have a big impact on your groundstrokes by emphasizing consistently repeatable fundamentals, good footwork, and hitting lots of different types of shots to you with varying pace and spin.  Allocating 20 minutes or so of each lesson to your serve will also typically result in more pace, control, and variety on your serve within three or four lessons.  Precise technique is also taught on more specialized shots such as volleys, serve returns, and overheads which can also usually be improved quite a bit within three or four lessons.
• Advanced (4.0 rated): Individual sessions that are essentially hitting practices can help you work on parts of your game on which you would like to focus.  As mentioned in other sections, I can hit a wide variety of shots to help you continue to work on and improve any areas in which you would like to be more consistent and have more powerful shots.

Classic forehand (note the racquet angle) and below is a classic backhand with the same racquet angle (see Technique page for more photos) and I can teach both a two-handed or a one-handed backhand. 

Client Comments

Although there is a separate page for client comments, since this web hosting service is such a great deal, comments are also repeated here:

Beginner comments:

"The instructor makes learning tennis very simple and straightforward. I feel that I am learning consistent strokes that will allow me to continually get better the more I play. Each lesson is getting more and more fun as I am now sometimes hitting good shots five and six times in a row and I am also hitting consistent serves that are also getting faster and faster" - Felicity S. (28 years old, after nine lessons)

"I never thought tennis would be so simple! I feel that I am being taught great fundamentals and I can already hit really crisp shots on both my forehand and backhand and with a lot of power." - Sherry P. (26 years old, after three lessons)

"I had a couple of other lessons but I felt I was just swatting at the ball and couldn't even hit a backhand at all. I was immediately shown a very easy way to hit forehands and backhands and the instructor is very patient and thorough but also fun. He also emphasized good footwork that makes me feel a lot more confident and that wasn't even mentioned in any of the other lessons." - Margaret K. (29 years old, after three lessons)

Parent Comments:

"My son had already played in some junior tournaments and would beat poor players but was too inconsistent against better players. The instructor worked with what my son was doing on his good shots (other new instructors would want to change everything!) but thoroughly emphasized basic fundamentals such as a good ready position, good footwork, early shot preparation, and consistent strokes on every shot. He also simplified my son's serve and showed him how to put spin and a lot more power in his serves. It is very exciting to now see my son hit eight and ten good shots in a row and he is really looking forward to more tournaments" (Nadia T., mother of a 12 year old boy)

Intermediate/Advanced Comments:

"I had kind of learned to play on my own with friends telling me this and that and occasionally taking some lessons at Golden Gate Park but it seemed like everybody was always telling me something different about needing to do such and such with my hands, arms, whatever. I was first described a really simple way to always hit consistent strokes starting with a good ready position and good footwork and shown that all the other stuff would just follow from a full shoulder turn on my shots. He was also very helpful with my volleys and showed me how to do a lot less with my hands for hitting much better volleys. I have improved so quickly that my doubles partners are amazed and asking who has helped me but I am not so sure I am ready to tell them yet!" (Anna W., 3.0 rated, 52 years old)

"My backhand had seemed like it was just getting worse and worse even though I play a lot. The instructor quickly described that my lack of confidence caused me to be very defensive with the shot. Although I first felt pretty silly going back to having the instructor stand next to me and drop balls for me to hit, I also very quickly regained the feeling of how to hit a full shot and was hitting six to eight good backhands in a row and with a lot more power by the end of the first lesson. In the second lesson, he also helped me a lot with my forehand by showing me that power and spin is based more on using my upper body and core section and changing my racquet angle than using a lot of wrist action with my hands when hitting the ball and I am also now much more consistent with my forehand." (Mike S., 3.0 rated, 47 years old)

"My volleys had always been very inconsistent but a combination of showing me proper footwork, keeping my racquet in front of me, and crisply punching volley shots instead of trying to hit them, has led to very quick improvement. I also now have much more range and versatility as I was given a wide variety of balls to hit with differing pace and trajectory." (John M., 3.0 rated, 43 years old)

"My groundstrokes were really unpredictable with some good shots but then a lot of balls that I would just spray all over the place. In one lesson, I was given a very clear description of good stroke dynamics, better footwork, and was able to simplify my strokes for much more consistent shots - and haven't needed another lesson!" (Chris R., 3.0 rated, 28 years old)

"I had chronic shoulder pain and my serves were a lot less consistent than I thought they should be at my level. After hitting only about ten serves, I had my grip adjusted and the shoulder pain went away and I was getting in probably 50 percent more first serves and with more pace too. My groundstrokes were also helped too from earlier shot preparation and much smoother strokes instead of using a lot more wrist action as I did before." (Henry C., 4.0 rated, 33 years old)