Casual Tennis Oxford

Join us once per week for a fun and friendly casual tennis session! Our sessions are designed to be inclusive and enjoyable for all abilities.

Event Details

• 🕒 When: Saturdays, 11 am to 1 pm
• 📍 Where: Botley Park Tennis Courts, Botley Road, Oxford OX2 0BT
• 🛠️ Equipment: All equipment is provided including the court, nets, rackets and shuttlecocks. 
• 🚗 Travel: Limited free parking is available
• 💷 Price: £7.50 per session

🎯 What to Expect

Our sessions focus on:

• Socialising: Meet new people and enjoy the community spirit while building into the session with an easy ~10 minute warmup consisting of rallies.
• Casual Play: Engage in friendly doubles matches to a game with constant rotation after every game so you can play with and against whoever you like.
• Skill Development: Opportunities to improve your game in a supportive environment. The event lead will ensure you play on a court with other players at your level. Equally, if you'd like to take it easy or push yourself feel free to jump on a court with whoever you like. 

📘 Basic Rules of Tennis

Before jumping straight in it is always helpful to know the basic rules of tennis:

• Scoring: Scoring builds from points to games, then games to sets, and sets to a match, from 0 ("Love"), to 15, to 30, to 40 then game. If you win two points when both opponents are on 40 then you also win a game. To win a set, you must reach six games with a two-game lead (for example, 6-4); if tied at 6-6, a tie-break game is played. Matches are best-of-three or best-of-five sets.
• Serving: The server must start with both feet behind the baseline right at the back of the court. They should serve overhead across court to their opponent. The ball must cross over the net and land within the service box on the opposite side. If the ball does not first land in this box then the server is allowed a second serve. If the ball hits the net but still goes over and lands in the service box this is considered a "let" and the service is retaken.
• Faults: Includes failing to hit the ball within the service box on second serve, hitting the ball outside the side-lines during play (narrow for singles, wide for doubles), not hitting the ball over the net, hitting the ball more than once with your racket to get it over the net, the ball bouncing more than once or touching the net during play.

For a comprehensive overview, see the LTA's Tennis Rules & Scoring (2 min read) or view this video. If you have any questions about the rules please reach out to the session lead.

📝 How to Sign Up

Joining is easy:

• Online sign-up: Visit our homepage and click "join" on an event you like. For tennis in Oxford simply join one of the events at the top of this page.
• Payment: Secure your spot by completing the online payment process through Stripe. Memberships will be coming soon. 
• Confirmation: You'll receive a confirmation email with session details and a link to the WhatsApp group chat.
• WhatsApp: After you've joined you will be emailed a link to join our WhatsApp groups. Feel free to pop any questions you may have in these.

Note: Limited spots available to ensure quality playtime for all participants.

🧍 Who Can Join?

Our sessions are open to:

• Relaxed players: Players of all levels looking for a chill, judgement free environment to play in.
• Beginners: New to tennis? We'll guide you through the basics.
• Intermediate: Looking to refine your skills? Join us for slightly more competitive yet friendly games.

All abilities are welcome, please note you must be at least 18 years old to attend.

🏆 Top 3 Benefits of Playing Tennis

Engaging in regular tennis sessions offers numerous health benefits, here are our top three:

1. Physical and Cardiovascular Health: Increases aerobic capacity while reducing body fat percentage, blood pressure and cholesterol[1]. 
2. Mental Well-being: Found to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression[2]. 
3. Social Engagement: Feelings of community are a central benefit of tennis[3]. 

📞 Contact Us

For any queries or further information:

Email: andy@thesocialsport.com.

Social Media: Follow us on Instagram and TikTok for updates.

Please note there are only 11 spaces available to ensure everyone gets plenty of gametime. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis.