A method of teaching and illustrating tennis strokes is described. The method consists of teaching and illustrating tennis strokes by dividing each stroke into five specially chosen stroke components, four of which cannot be seen without slow motion photography, and developing each component individually until the student is able to execute the full stroke. Typically, the components are taught in reverse order of their execution. The five stroke components are 1) the take-back, 2) the contraction; 3) the rotation; 4) the acceleration and 5) the strike. The instructor begins by observing the student's attempts to hit a tennis ball determine which components are missing. Once missing or deficient components are identified, the instructor and student can narrow their focus to just the missing component(s) without regard to constructing a entire tennis stroke.