If you want to know how to film tennis practice on a phone, here's the short answer: put the phone side-on for groundstrokes and behind the baseline for the serve and footwork, record at 60 fps (slo-mo for the serve), keep each clip under a minute, and keep the phone in the shade between clips. Before you film at a public court in Singapore, ask the staff on duty and keep other players out of frame. This guide gives you a shot list by stroke, the settings to use on iPhone and Android, and a ten-minute routine that fits inside a normal session.
I'm Zhanna, co-founder of ContentGenZ, an ITF tennis coach and a tennis content creator. Video is the fastest feedback a beginner can get. You'll see in ten seconds what I've been saying for a month.
Why film your tennis practice at all
Most beginners feel their swing is fine and then watch it back and see something different: the elbow stuck to the body, the feet planted, the head lifting before contact. You can't feel these things on court. You can see them on a screen.
Filming also gives you a record. In our 8-week beginner plan, I suggest one clip a week from the same angle. By weeks six to eight you'll see changes you couldn't feel. That before-and-after is also the most watchable content a beginner can make.
Where to put your phone: a shot list by stroke
The two angles that matter are side-on and from behind. A coaching service that reviews uploaded videos, TopSpin Pro, describes them simply: for the side view, the camera sits parallel to the sideline, in line with where you make contact; for the rear view, it sits directly behind you, centred on your body, looking at the other side of the court.
Here's the shot list I give my own beginners. Film one row per session, not all of them.
| What you're working on | Camera position | Height | Mode | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forehand | Side-on, level with your contact point, 2–3 m outside the sideline | Waist | 60 fps | Contact in front of the body, a full finish over the shoulder |
| Backhand | Side-on from the backhand side, same distance | Waist | 60 fps | Shoulder turn before the ball arrives, balance after contact |
| Serve | Behind the baseline, centred, 3–4 m back | Head | Slo-mo | Toss placement, reaching up to the ball, not pulling down early |
| Footwork and recovery | Behind the baseline, wide enough to see the whole half-court | Head | 60 fps | Split step as the other player hits, getting back to the middle |
| Rally or points | Behind the baseline, higher if you can | Head or above | 30 or 60 fps | Where your shots land, whether you recover between shots |
| A clip for TikTok or Reels | Side-on or a low front-corner angle, vertical | Waist | 60 fps | One clean shot, full body in frame, nobody else's face |
Two rules for every angle:
- Get your whole body in frame, including your feet. Most beginner faults start at the feet.
- Don't move the phone between clips. Same spot, same height, every week. That's how you get a fair comparison.
Phone settings for filming tennis
You don't need a new phone. You need the right mode.
On iPhone. Apple's guide to recording a video says that, depending on the model, you can set the frame rate to 24, 25, 30, 60 or 120 fps by tapping the values at the top of the screen in Video mode. For slow motion, Apple's video settings page says Slo-mo records at 1080p and 240 fps from the back camera by default, and you can switch it to 120 fps in Settings > Camera > Record Slo-mo.
On Android. Menus differ by brand. On a Google Pixel, the Pixel Camera help page says you can turn on 60 fps under Video Settings, and switch to Slow motion mode for high-speed clips. On other phones, look for "Pro video", "Slow motion" or the frame-rate setting in the camera's video options.
My defaults:
- Normal practice clips: 1080p at 60 fps. Smooth enough to pause on contact, small enough not to fill your phone.
- Serve and contact point: slo-mo at 240 fps, or 120 fps if your phone tops out there.
- Avoid 4K for practice. It eats storage and battery and heats the phone faster, and you won't see more on a phone screen.
- Lock exposure and focus on yourself (on most phones, press and hold on the screen) so the camera doesn't hunt when the sun goes behind a cloud.
Tripods, clamps and where to put the phone
A cheap phone tripod or a clamp that grips the court fence is enough. Fence clamps are handy for the behind-the-baseline angle because they lift the phone above head height without a tall tripod.
- Behind the baseline: clamp to the back fence at head height or higher, centred on the court.
- Side-on: a small tripod on the ground outside the sideline, well away from where you'll run. Never on the court itself.
- Wind: hang your bag or a water bottle from the tripod's centre to keep it steady.
- No tripod? Lean the phone against your bag behind the fence, or ask your hitting partner to hold it still at chest height.
I haven't found an ActiveSG rule that mentions tripods or fence clamps either way. Ask the staff on duty, which you should be doing anyway (see below).
Filming at ActiveSG and public courts in Singapore
Ask first. The ActiveSG Rules and Regulations for tennis courts say that unauthorised filming or photography in ActiveSG facilities is not permitted, and ask users to respect other users and approach staff on duty with any questions. The rules don't say what counts as authorised, so the safe move is to ask at the counter before you set up. Rules can change without notice, so check each time. Our ActiveSG court booking guide covers booking, rates and who has to be on court.
Keep other people out of the shot. The Personal Data Protection Commission's advisory guidelines note that a person in the background who can't be identified (too small or obscured) isn't personal data in a photo or video. These guidelines are written for organisations and aren't legal advice for you, but the courtesy is simple: frame your own court, crop or blur anyone recognisable on the next court, and ask before you post a clip that shows your coach or hitting partner. If you're under 18, talk to a parent before posting.
If you have a coach, ask them too. ActiveSG's rules also say coaching on its courts needs prior written approval, so coaches are used to questions about what's allowed.
Singapore heat and your phone
Your phone struggles in the heat before you do. Apple says iPhones work best at ambient temperatures between 0 and 35°C, lists leaving the phone in direct sunlight and using the camera for a long time as causes of overheating, and says camera features may be temporarily disabled when it's too hot.
On a Singapore court in the afternoon, that means:
- Film short clips (under a minute), not the whole session.
- Keep the phone in shade between clips: under your bag, behind a towel, or in the shelter.
- Don't charge the phone from a power bank while you're recording in the sun.
- Book early morning or evening slots if you plan to film a lot. They're kinder to you and the phone.
For you, the heat stress advisory from NEA and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment uses the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature with low, moderate and high risk levels, and you can check it on the myENV app or weather.gov.sg. Our guide on what to wear and bring has a full heat and rain plan.
A 10-minute filming routine inside a 1-hour session
| When | What | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Ask the staff on duty about filming. Set up the tripod or clamp at your fixed spot | 3 min |
| After warm-up | Film 3 clips of this week's stroke from the shot list, 30–45 seconds each | 3 min |
| Water break | Watch one clip with your coach or partner. Pick one thing to fix | 2 min |
| Last 10 minutes | Film the same angle again to see if the fix held | 2 min |
| At home | Put this week's clip next to last week's, side by side | Optional |
That's it. Ten minutes of filming, fifty minutes of tennis.
Learn with a coach, on camera
If you're a young woman aged 15 to 25 who has never held a racket and you'd like to learn this way, ContentGenZ is running an open call for ten complete beginners to learn over six Saturday sessions with me as their ITF coach, filming their progress from the first swing and getting feedback on their edits as well as their strokes. See the programme and apply.
Sources
- ActiveSG Rules and Regulations, ActiveSG (read 10 November 2026)
- Advisory Guidelines on the PDPA for Selected Topics, revised May 2024, Personal Data Protection Commission, chapter 4 (read 10 November 2026)
- Record a video with your iPhone camera, Apple Support (read 10 November 2026)
- Change video recording settings on iPhone, Apple Support (read 10 November 2026)
- If your iPhone or iPad gets too hot or too cold, Apple Support (read 10 November 2026)
- Record a video on your Pixel phone, Google Pixel Camera Help (read 10 November 2026)
- New Heat Stress Advisory launched, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, 24 July 2023 (read 10 November 2026)
- Video upload coaching: how to film, TopSpin Pro (read 10 November 2026)
