Tennis clubs Mallorca and Andalusia

The usual reference is to restring as many times a year as you play days per week, and tension governs the balance between control and power, with higher tension giving control and lower tension giving power and comfort.

A clay court requires daily watering and brushing and a periodic top up of material, and its behaviour produces a higher and slower bounce than hard courts, which lengthens rallies and reduces joint impact.

Club membership pays for itself from about four or five hours of court time a month, since the monthly subscription usually runs thirty to eighty euros and includes priority booking and reduced or free court rates.

An individual tennis lesson costs thirty to sixty euros an hour and a group of four costs ten to twenty per person, with the frequency that produces sustained improvement in an adult being one lesson a week plus one session of free play.

Weight and balance determine how manoeuvrable and powerful a racket is, and the grip must allow a finger to fit between the fingertips and the palm when held, because the wrong size forces over gripping and causes elbow problems.