Though canines love tennis for its bouncy yellow balls, humans appreciate the freedom to bark loudly with each swing and bury their favorite rackets all over the court. Become a tennis beast with today's Groupon: for $79, you get an eight-week Fundamental Tennis 101 or 201 group class at Hillcrest Racquet Club (a $159 value). Class sessions begin on March 21 and June 13.

Hillcrest Racquet Club serves up immersive instruction of tennis fundamentals for racquet wielders of all ages and levels of expertise. In Fundamental Tennis 101, new players and one-time volleyers perfect basic strokes such as the forehand, backhand, serve, and desperate lunge. Net novices receive additional tutorials in keeping score, simple strategies, and celebrating victories without sullying their capris with grass or clay stains.

For those further up the learning curve, Fundamental Tennis 201 helps court corporals improve mechanics and rally skills with a combination of drills and live ball play. Both the 101 and 201 classes include one 90-minute group class with a club pro and one 90-minute practice session with a classmate every week to test the lessons in a competitive environment.

Indoor facilities at Hillcrest include six hard courts and four har-tru courts enclosed in a heated bubble to keep out chilly breezes and racquet-loving ice falcons. The har-tru courts use a green "American" clay that is slightly harder and faster than the red clay seen at the French Open. Spontaneously generating fan clubs cheer lobs and slams from the observation lounge, and tuckered-out tennis ballers freshen up in men's and women's locker rooms or hit the fitness room, stocked with weight machines, treadmills, and free weights.