10 Values Tennis Teaches Kids for Life

1. Build self-confidence

One of the first things you learn in tennis practice is to trust yourself and your instincts. Having faith in your own judgement is a vital thing for every child to practice

2. Accept responsibility.

There’s more to tennis than just signing up for lessons. It requires a commitment to practice, to show up for your games, and to be the best player you can be. In doing so, your child learns the importance of being accountable

3. Increase problem-solving skills

Sometimes you prepare a strategy for a match and it simply doesn’t go the way you had planned. Dealing with adversity in a match is a great way for your child to improve their problem-solving skills. Tennis teaches children to stop, reassess a situation, and apply a new strategy to win.

4. Learn sportsmanship

This may be an obvious one, but learning sportsmanship is paramount to life and tennis. Your child is going to win and lose playing tennis, that’s just a fact. But either way, tennis teaches your child to treat your opponent with respect and the game with honour.

5. Improve mental strength

Since tennis is a sport based on angles, geometry and physics, your child will have to develop a mental game to be able to compete, which will only improve mental strength off the court.

6. Learn dedication

To become good at tennis, your child will have to practice. And by practicing every day, your child will develop their ability to fully dedicate themselves. Such dedication will serve any child well in school and other extracurricular activities.

7. Improve social skills

Tennis is a sport that demands good social skills. To play tennis, your child will have to play well with others, or they will find themselves constantly looking for someone to practice with and play. As we mentioned, tennis helps develop good sportsmanship qualities in your child, which will also help your child improve their social skills.

8. Learn strategy

When playing tennis, everyone needs a winning strategy. This lesson easily carries over to life and is especially true for children. Your child may not know his or her opponent’s strengths, but your child knows his or her own best tennis shot and can play to win relying on that strength.

9. Practice honesty

In many junior matches, there is no umpire, which means the same children playing the match are the ones making the calls on their opponent’s ball being out or in. In doing so, children learn the importance of being honest in tennis and life.

10. Learn a complex Scoring System

Tennis is not an easy game to score. Compared to sports like basketball or baseball, it’s downright complicated. By playing tennis children can learn math as they learn the ins and outs of one of sports most complex scoring systems.