How To Become a Tennis Coach in Five Steps: A Guide on Side-Hustling Tips and Tricks

Learn five useful tips and tricks to build your tennis coaching career on the side!

Are you a former tennis player who still loves the sport? Are you also looking for ways to make some extra money on the side? We have the perfect solution: coaching tennis lessons as a side hustle! The five things you’ll need to start a career in coaching are equipment, a court, clients, a lesson plan, and resources from Play Your Court!

According to the USTA, tennis participation has grown by 27 percent since 2020. There has also been a 44 percent rise in players new to the sport; many are looking for someone to teach them a little strategy and technique.

Tennis is a fun and inspirational game, and so many valuable memories are made when people learn and play it. Tennis is a highly social sport, and beginners of all ages are interested in taking lessons across the country. While coaching on the side may seem intimidating, we’ve broken down all the steps to ensure your side hustle is successful and fun.

Step 1: Purchase Your Equipment

The first step on your coaching journey should be to purchase all the necessary equipment for your lessons. There is a wide range of products out there, and you might wonder which ones you need. Based on feedback we've collected from coaches, here’s a list of what you should invest in:

Must-Have Equipment for Tennis Coaches:

• Ball Hopper – foldable hoppers transport more easily than non-foldable models. Waist-level models are easiest on your back as well.
• Balls – 75 balls that fill a ball hopper and are an ideal quantity. Please see the table below for the type of balls to buy according to the player's age. Ball type also varies for players at different levels, so consider a separate hopper for each ball type.
• Cones – 5 to 10 cones work well to set up targets for your lessons.

Other Equipment to Have:

• Speed Ladder
• Court Lines
• Extra tennis rackets – for clients that don’t have their own
• Pop-Up Targets
• Prizes for students– such as fun dampeners, grips, stickers, etc. Kids absolutely love the little things, so think of fun ways you can reward them for reaching those milestones!

Products featured: Red Dot, Orange Dot, Green Dot, Yellow, Eco-Friendly

This might seem like a lot of equipment to purchase for lessons, but it will make your practice more efficient and effective. A great package to consider purchasing is Wilson’s Minions Coaching Bag Pack, which includes four 25” Minions junior rackets, four 23” Minions junior rackets, and Minions court lines and marker spots all in one.

Step 2: Find Your Court

Now that you have all the equipment needed to kick-start your side hustle, you will need to figure out where you want to coach your lessons. Court regulations for public courts vary from city to city, so it’s important to check with the community to see what their rules are regarding giving lessons.

Step 3: Select Your Clients

Equipment? Check. Courts? Double check. Now you need to decide what type of player you want to coach. This is totally up to you and who you feel comfortable teaching. Do you want to coach younger kids/beginners exclusively? Or would you prefer coaching a wider range of levels? Are you thinking about group lessons or just coaching individuals? These are all things you should think about on your coaching journey.

If you are new to coaching and don’t have much experience working with people on their tennis game, it is advisable to start out by teaching younger players. Once you get more experience and are more confident in your coaching, then you can consider working with clients who play at a higher level.

Below are a few examples of the types of clients out there for you to teach:

Beginner Tennis Players:

• Young kids between 5-10 who have never played the sport and are looking for group/individual lessons
• Adults looking to learn the sport individually or with friends

Intermediate Tennis Players:

• Adults who compete in seasonal leagues who want to practice with their team
• Middle/High School players looking for individual lessons

Advanced Tennis Players:

• High-performance players looking for individual lessons
• Juniors/adults competing in tournaments

**When coaching advanced players, it is highly recommended to acquire tennis certifications, such as USPTA and PTR, before providing these lessons. These credentials will show clients that you went the extra mile and understand these organizations' best practices for tennis coaching. Check out theUSTA websitefor more information about coaching certifications.

Step 4: Plan Your Lessons

You are so close to being ready to give those lessons. You’ve answered the who, what, and where questions, and now you must answer the how: how are you going to run your practices? Players of all levels love structure and organization, and it’s important for you to think about how you want your practices to run. Think of drills you can work on with your student and understand what they want to get out of the practice.

Are you coaching a young kid who really just wants to run around the court and hit a couple balls every now and then? Great. That lesson might not need as much planning as the one where your student wants to improve their strokes so they can keep getting better and better.

A great way to plan your practices is to talk with your tennis friends about drills they enjoy doing, search the web (thank you, YouTube), or reach out to former coaches on ideas they use with their players. Write down your ideas and take note of what your students like about the structure of the practice. Below are tips on improving your client's strokes along with an example of a planned-out practice:

• 5 Tips to Improve Your Forehand
• 6 Tips to Improve Your Backhand
• 5 Tips to Improve Your Serve
• One-Handed Backhand Tips with Grigor Dimitrov
• Forehand Tips with Kyle Edmund
• Footwork Tips with David Goffin

Step 5: Join Play Your Court

You are finally ready to kick off this coaching gig. Now all you need are clients to work with. No need to worry; Play Your Court has all the resources you need to get as many lessons as you want. All you need to do is join the “Play Your Court Team” and answer a few questions about yourself and the players you want to coach.

No extra effort is needed to think of these answers because you’ve already mapped out your coaching plan. Simply fill out all the questions, and a Play Your Court representative will get back to you with information on players, pricing, and availability.

When figuring out how much you want to charge, it’s important to factor in your own coaching experience along with the price people typically pay for lessons. You don’t want your lessons to be much more expensive than others in the area because your clients might switch to an instructor that is a bit cheaper!

You Are Ready!

And that’s a wrap. You are more than prepared to hit the courts and teach others the love of the game. Tennis is a great sport for people to get up and get moving, and your students will be excited to learn it! Just remember the five steps to help you along your coaching journey, and you will be good to go!

Updated September 19, 2023