The short teaching programs are surprisingly effective. The classes are kept small so the construction is often one-on-one. Mistakes are quickly spotted, but that doesn't always mean the remedy is easy. Said Navratil, a former school teacher, "Most of our students are adults and sophisticated, educated, traveled, so we can't yell at them the way we might with juniors. Most grown-ups won't stand too much change in their game because that would take too much work, too much practice. They want to enjoy tennis, so we have to learn to work with the game they've got. Sometimes it's just a question of reminding them if their backhand is weak: The answer is not to move out of the backhand so they can play the shot as a forehand, but instead the solution is to practice their weaknesses, and that's a difficult discipline for all of us."

Another teaching pro, Ben Pigorsch, added, "Too many novices are not prepared to take chances. They're afraid to hit through the ball, afraid to make mistakes. They forget that's how they gradually eliminate errors." The last hour of the basic program pits the students against each other in leisurely doubles. One is saying he's got it, he finally understands tennis: "It is one third fencing, one third golf, one third table tennis with a bit of kamikaze flung in, and the obvious secret of life is that the one who hits the ball one more time wins."

One student is saying he can hardly wait to get home. He came to the tennis school because there's someone back home he's never been able to beat -- his wife. But the middle-aged physician is saying that tennis seemed easier when they played with white balls and before rackets were strung with that newfangled material, nylon. He hobbles off, the winner of the Armpit Award for the most improved player, to enjoy afternoon tea (a glorious end in itself) at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, a ranch-style luxury resort whose existence is one of California's best-kept secrets.

Rancho Bernardo Inn
17550 Bernardo Oaks Dr.
San Diego, CA 92128
858-675-8500 or
800-542-6096
Ranchobernardoinn.com