Do You Play Tennis, or Just Take Tennis Lessons?

Last week, I asked my group of junior players a simple question: How often do you play tennis? Predictably, almost every hand shot up enthusiastically. But then I rephrased: How often do you play tennis without your coach?

Suddenly, most of those hands came down. I continued: How many of you have played tennis without your parents on the court? At this point, only a few hands remained. Out of a group of 25 so-called “performance” players, only five had played in a tournament, and none of them had played tennis just for fun—without structure or supervision.

This struck me. The vast majority of these players don’t actually play tennis. Instead, they take tennis lessons. Their entire experience of the sport is wrapped in structured lessons, practice drills, and coaching guidance. And I’m sorry to say it, but this isn’t playing tennis. Not even close.

What Does It Mean to Play Tennis?

To me, play is about exploration, creativity, and discovery. It’s about using your imagination to find new ways to engage with the game, solving problems as they arise, and making your own decisions. These are exactly the qualities that structured tennis lessons often strip away in favor of rigid drills and instructions.

Tennis has a real problem: no one seems to play the game anymore. When was the last time you walked by a court and saw players just having fun, without a coach orchestrating every shot? Look at the court booking system at your local club. How many of those bookings are for people just hitting the ball around for fun, as opposed to being tied to structured lessons or team practices? I’m willing to bet the vast majority are the latter.

The Battery Farm Approach to Player Development

Tennis is an individual sport, yet we’re seeing fewer unique styles, personalities, and game strategies in today’s players. Why? Because we’ve adopted what I call the “battery farm” approach to player development. Players are churned out like factory products, taught to adhere to pathways, frameworks, technical models, and patterns of play. The illusion that you need a coach to learn how to play tennis has taken over the sport.

We’ve forgotten that tennis is, at its heart, a game. And games are meant to be played, not micromanaged. When I look around most clubs, I see a troubling disconnect: how many members are actively taking lessons, and how many of those members are actually competing or playing outside those structured environments? The numbers don’t add up.

The Power of Unstructured Play

There’s a reason sports like pickleball and padel are growing rapidly: you just play those sports. You don’t need a coach or a structured practice plan to get better at them. You step onto the court, try things out, and figure it out as you go. And that’s exactly what makes them so appealing.

The power of unstructured play is enormous. It allows players to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. You learn to adapt to different opponents, styles, and challenges. You win, you lose, and through that, you grow as a player and as a person.

Yet, in tennis, we’re increasingly moving away from this kind of free exploration. Instead, players are told how to play, who to play against, and when to play based on the coach’s theme of the week. The individuality, the creativity, the freedom—all of it is stripped away. Players are becoming more like chickens in a battery farm, rather than free-range, organic thinkers on the court.

Why Do You Take Lessons if You Never Play?

So here’s my question for you: Why do you take tennis lessons if you never actually play? Only you can answer that. Lessons are valuable, yes, but they are not the end-all, be-all of player development. They should be a part of a broader picture that includes real, unstructured play. Lessons should serve to enhance your ability to play the game, not replace it altogether.

If we want to see a resurgence of unique playing styles, personalities, and creativity on the court, we need to bring play back into tennis. Stop relying solely on lessons to teach you the game. Get out there, hit with friends, experiment with your shots, and make your own decisions. Because that’s how you truly learn to play tennis—not by following the same regimented routines week in and week out.

The next time you step onto a tennis court, ask yourself: Am I playing tennis, or just going through the motions? You might be surprised by the answer.