Coaching level guide

Beginner courses

Choose a beginner course if you are new to tennis or returning after a long break. Courses focus on: 

• Developing the fundamentals of forehands, backhands, volleys and serves.
• Sustaining short rallies with a coach or another player.
• Learning basic court positioning and movement.
• Understanding scoring and the basic rules of singles and doubles.
• Building confidence serving and starting point.

Improver courses

Choose an improver course if you’ve learnt the basic techniques and are ready to develop consistency and confidence. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain rallies of 6-10 shots with another player from the baseline.
• Rally both cross-court and down the line with increasing consistency.
• Serve overarm from the baseline and start points confidently.
• Keep score independently in singles and doubles.
• Demonstrate an understanding of basic tactical concepts, including shot selection and court positioning.
• Participate in recreational matchplay.

Intermediate courses

Choose an intermediate course if you have solid technical foundations and are looking to improve control, consistency and tactical awareness. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain rallies of 10 or more shots consistently from the baseline.
• Rally confidently with both groundstrokes and volleys.
• Serve consistently and use a variety of placements.
• Apply good technique across all keystrokes.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of scoring, positioning and matchplay tactics.
• Construct points with purpose and adapt their game to different opponents.

Advanced courses

Choose an advanced course if are an experienced player seeking a high performance training environment. Players will typically be able to:

• Rally consistently at a high tempo and maintain strong ball quality.
• Use a variety of spins, trajectories and shot patterns effectively.
• Serve with pace, accuracy and tactical intent.
• Handle faster-paced balls confidently in both rallies and return situations.
• Demonstrate advanced tactical awareness and court coverage.
• Adapt strategy during matchplay and execute under pressure.

Note: Players may need to complete more than one course before progressing. E.g. an improver course is not necessarily for players who have just completed our beginner courses.

Beginner classes

Choose a beginner class if you are new to tennis or returning after a long break. Beginner classes focus on: 

• Developing the fundamentals of forehands, backhands, volleys and serves.
• Sustaining short rallies with a coach or another player.
• Learning basic court positioning and movement.
• Understanding scoring and the basic rules of singles and doubles.
• Building confidence serving and starting point.

Improver classes

Choose an improver class if you have learnt the basic techniques and are ready to develop consistency and confidence. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain rallies of 6-10 shots with another player from the baseline.
• Rally both cross-court and down the line with increasing consistency.
• Serve overarm from the baseline and start points confidently.
• Keep score independently in singles and doubles.
• Demonstrate an understanding of basic tactical concepts, including shot selection and court positioning.
• Participate in recreational matchplay.

Intermediate classes

Choose an intermediate class if you have solid technical foundations and are looking to improve control, consistency and tactical awareness. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain rallies of 10 or more shots consistently from the baseline.
• Rally confidently with both groundstrokes and volleys.
• Serve consistently and use a variety of placements.
• Apply good technique across all keystrokes.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of scoring, positioning and matchplay tactics.
• Construct points with purpose and adapt their game to different opponents.

Advanced classes

Choose an advanced class if you are an experienced player seeking a high performance training environment. Players will typically be able to:

• Rally consistently at a high tempo and maintain strong ball quality.
• Use a variety of spins, trajectories and shot patterns effectively.
• Serve with pace, accuracy and tactical intent.
• Handle faster-paced balls confidently in both rallies and return situations.
• Demonstrate advanced tactical awareness and court coverage.
• Adapt strategy during matchplay and execute under pressure.

Our junior tennis courses are organised by age groups and follow the five LTA Youth stages - Blue, Red, Orange, Green, and Yellow. You can find the LTA’s description of each stage below:

Blue Stage (Age 4-6)

This introduction to tennis focuses on building strong foundations. Through fun, active games, kids will develop balance, agility, and hand-eye coordination while exploring the basics of the sport. It’s not about winning – it’s about learning new skills and having a blast.

Red Stage (Age 6-8)

Get ready to see rallies, volleys, and overarm serves. At this stage, kids will continue to improve speed, coordination, and reaction time. Relaxed, friendly competition is introduced to help develop confidence and teamwork.

Orange Stage (Age 8-9)

This is where strategy comes in. Kids will explore tactics, problem-solving, and sportsmanship. They’ll sharpen their match play skills while developing leadership qualities that benefit them on and off the court.

Green Stage (Age 9-10)

Stepping up to a full-size court - kids will refine their skills and techniques while learning to handle more competitive situations. These sessions help them grow their game and master the mental side of sports.

Yellow Stage (Age 10+)

With full-size balls on regulation courts, just like the pros. Here, kids continue exploring different styles of play. They’ll focus on developing a game that’s uniquely theirs while building confidence and resilience.

Beginner courses

Choose a beginner course if you are new to padel, have never played a sport before, or have played a racket sport in the past but not for many years. Courses focus on building confidence with the basics, including technique, serving, scoring and understanding the rules.

Improver courses

Choose an improver course if you can take part in rallies and simple match play. Players will typically be able to:

• Rally with the coach for around 10 shots.
• Serve without regular double faults.
• Understand the rules and know how to score a match.
• Hit with consistency, including off the back glass and into court.
• Start to use correct positioning, communicate with a partner and apply basic tactics.

Intermediate courses

Choose an intermediate course if you already play with consistency and control, are comfortable using the glass, and want to develop stronger match tactics, positioning and point construction. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain longer rallies with consistency and control.
• Hit comfortably off the back glass.
• Use the side glass on a first serve.
• Volley consistently and build the point.
• Apply match tactics and positioning with confidence.

Note: Players may need to complete more than one course before progressing. E.g. an improver course is not necessarily for players who have just completed our beginner courses.

Beginner classes

Choose a beginner class if you are new to padel, have never played a sport before, or have played a racket sport in the past but not for many years. Beginner classes focus on building confidence with the basics, including technique, serving, scoring and understanding the rules.

Improver classes

Choose an improver class if you can take part in rallies and simple match play. 

• Players will typically be able to:
• Rally with the coach for around 10 shots.
• Serve without regular double faults.
• Understand the rules and know how to score a match.
• Hit with consistency, including off the back glass and into court.
• Start to use correct positioning, communicate with a partner and apply basic tactics.

Intermediate classes

Choose an intermediate class if you already play with consistency and control, are comfortable using the glass, and want to develop stronger match tactics, positioning and point construction. Players will typically be able to:

• Sustain longer rallies with consistency and control.
• Hit comfortably off the back glass.
• Use the side glass on a first serve.
• Volley consistently and build the point.
• Apply match tactics and positioning with confidence.