PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION (PHE)

THEME – THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ATHLETICS AND DANCES

CLASS – SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS – SS 1

TOPIC – RACKET GAMES (LAWN TENNIS) 

LEARNING AREAS

1. Introduction to Tennis Games

2. Types of Court Surfaces in Tennis

3. Basic Skills in Lawn Tennis

4. Equipments in Lawn Tennis

5. Officials of Lawn Tennis

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL

1. Tennis racket.

2. The table tennis bat.

3. Diagram of a tennis court

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. list the types of courts in tennis.

2. demonstrate the basic skills in the games of lawn tennis.

3. list the officials of the games of lawn tennis.

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON 

RACKET GAMES

Racket games are sports in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Racket and paddle (bat) are equipments used for playing tennis games.

Rackets an open hoop that is tightly stretched strings with a short or long handle. A paddle is a wide flat surface with a short pole handle.

TENNIS GAMES 

Tennis is a racket or paddle sport that is played by individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). It is one of the major sports in the world. It is played at all levels of competition. Both young and old people play the game but at world championships, it is a young person’s game.

There are two types of tennis games – table tennis and lawn tennis.

1. Table Tennis is a game played with table tennis rackets (commonly known as bat in Nigeria) by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a hard table divided by a net.

2. Lawn Tennis is a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court.

TYPES OF COURT SURFACES IN TENNIS 

Tennis is a sport that can be played on tennis court. Tennis court is a venue where the sport of tennis is played. It has a rectangular surface.

There are four main types of surface for tennis courts – grass, clay, hard and artificial grass.

1. Grass Courts are the fastest type of courts in common use. The ball is very quick but produces a low bounce. The courts are grown on very hard-packed soil.

2. Clay Courts are made of a top layer of fine crushed aggregate such as shale, stone or brick. It slows down the ball and produces a high bounce in comparison to grass or hard courts.

3. Hard Courts are made of uniform rigid materials that are often covered with an acrylic surface layer. The ball is faster than clay but not as fast as grass courts.

4. Artificial Grass is a removable carpet grass. It is generally faster than hard court with low bounce.

BASIC SKILLS IN LAWN TENNIS

Lawn tennis basic skills are as follows: Service and Return, Forehand, Backhand, Slice, Volley Overhead smash and Scoring.

1. Service and Return – A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point while return is hitting back the ball after an opponent’s serve.

2. Forehand is used for rally or continuous play using the forehand side or face of the bat.

3. Backhand is used for rally or continuous playing using the backhand side or back of the bat.

4. Slice is mostly used by the professional tennis players. It is a backhand shot that makes the ball to underpin, stays low and close to the ground.

5. Volley enables the player hit the ball before it bounces on the ground. The ball can be hit by either forehand or backhand.

6. Overhead smash allows the player to hit the ball with more force while standing close to the net.

7. Scoring point is the smallest unit of scoring in tennis. To win a game, a player must win at least four points with a lead of at least 2. The scoring system is as follows: 0 Points – Love, 1 Point – 15, 2 Points – 30, 3 Points – 40 and 4 Points – Game (2 point lead required).

EQUIPMENTS IN LAWN TENNIS 

1. The lawn tennis court

2. The net

3. The lawn tennis rackets

4. The jersey

5. The sock and canvas

6. Dressing code

7. Hats or headbands

OFFICIALS OF LAWN TENNIS 

1. Chair Umpire is the official who officiate all decisions made out on court. The official seat on highchair at the side of the court. He/she has the power to overrule any decisions made by lines umpire.

2. Line Umpire is the official who call the ball in or out during game. The call can be overruled by the chair umpire but it rarely happens.

3. Referee is the on-site authority who made the final decision. In cases where there is an appeal against the decision of an umpire, a referee is appointed and his decision shall be final.

4. Chief of Official is an assistant to the referee who assists the referee in the specific area of the management of Officials.

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher,

1. explains the types of court surfaces in tennis.

2. demonstrates the skills involved in lawn tennis.

3. lists the various officials and explains their functions in lawn tennis.

4. describes serving methods in lawn tennis.

5. supervises the students during practices.

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students,

1. listen to the teacher and take down notes.

2. practice the various skills as demonstrated by the teacher.

3. participate in the class discussion.

4. ask and answer questions.

LESSON EVALUATION

Teacher asks students to,

1. list and explain two types of courts.

2. demonstrate three basic skills in lawn tennis.

3. list three officials of the game of tennis, lawn table and state their functions.