Tennis is a physical game. It uses all the energy systems, most of the joints and many of the muscle groups in the body, especially the larger muscle groups. So is preparation and recovery an important factor in the success rate of any player at whatever level? No question, warming up and cooling down properly for matches and practice will help improve your performance regardless of the standard you play at.
There are three main areas for players to think about in order to play tennis well: be ready to play, able to play and reduce the likelihood of injury. Being ready to play means knowing how to warm up and cool down properly - for every practice and match. From a fitness perspective, being able to play means undertaking tennis specific physical training and exercise in order to play as well at the end of practice and matches as you do at the beginning. Finally, combining good physical fitness with a proper warm up and cool down will reduce the chance of injury too.
In this article, intosport.com’s tennis programme director, Anne Pankhurst, takes a closer look at the warm up and cool down. You can find out more about all aspects of tennis including skills, drills, tactics and physical conditioning for free at the David Lloyd Leisure Tennis School at intosport.com.
Many club players would be forgiven for assuming two things when they watch matches on TV! The first is that a warm up is going on the court; hitting forehands and backhands to the opponent, first from the baseline, then volleying at the net and finally serving a few balls. The return of serve is not practiced and there is certainly not much running about! The second thing is that after the match the players walk off and do not cool down first. What we don’t see on the TV is the real physical warm up that was done on the practice court (and maybe in the gym) or the post match recovery program – the important cooling down. Conversely, in many clubs the players warm up either does not exist or is a brief gentle jog around the court. The cool down is at best a shower and at worst a drink at the bar!
An effective warm up has several different intentions and components . It is preparing the player to take part in vigorous activity that uses the whole body. It should begin with a physical and mental preparation for practice or play and then move into an on court preparation of all aspects of the game. The warm up should be dynamic and not static – that means the body should be moving, that different joints should be moving through the full range of movement and muscle groups should be stretched and relaxed – in other words, the body is preparing for what is to come. A few minutes spent on a short jog, a few stretches while standing still and a few hits of the ball is not a good enough preparation.
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Combining good physical fitness with a proper warm up and cool down will reduce the chance of injury
The structure of the warm up is important. It should be physical and then move to rallying and serving. The full warm up should take at least 25 – 30 minutes.
- Begin with a jog across or around the court in order to get warm and raise the heart rate. This will also increase the blood flow to the muscles and prepare them for more activity.
- Then move to a dynamic joint and muscle group warm up, making sure that as many as possible are tennis specific. For example, in tennis you use the shoulders and knees a lot – make sure you work them in the warm up.
It is very important for the player to do dynamic stretches in the warm up. Research is very clear – the old way of warming up by jogging and then standing still and holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds is out of date. Static stretching should be done after the practice or match and not before, because the muscle response to dynamic and static stretching is different. In the warm up the correct stretching is dynamic stretching – with different joints being moved in different directions all the time. The stretch is not held, but the joint range is increased as you move through the warm up. So as you jog, swing your arms up and over your head, as you run faster pump your arms backwards and forwards. Try some high knee skips and some low lunges. As you lunge, twist the top half of your body and touch your rear ankle. There are many different dynamic stretches that will help players with their dynamic warm up and also keep the warm up interesting and challenging. While many books are available, there are also websites that have video and verbal descriptions of many different exercises. It’s worth looking at intosport.com, it’s a free website that includes the most important points as well as a full range of video guides showing tennis specific dynamic stretches.
Remember that the priority for the warm up is to make sure that every joint and muscle group is warm and ready to go, so doing things well and getting the best results is also important.
- After the dynamic stretches and when the body is really warm, try a few short sprints to get prepared to move quickly on court. Try not to do fast sprints before you are warm because the risk of injury is high.
This part of the warm up should take about 15-20 minutes. Think of it as time invested in playing well from the start of practice and be sure not to cut it short or leave things out.
- The final part of the warm up is on court with the racket and the ball. This should take about 10 minutes. Think of this as both tennis and mental warm up. So practice concentrating on the ball and making good contact on every stroke. Practice using the footwork patterns that are appropriate to each shot before, during and after every shot.
Some players like to do a ‘short court’ warm up before moving to the baseline to hit because they can control the ball better and get more ‘feel’. While that is can be of benefit, sometimes the footwork becomes too static and it is easier for the player to get lazy and lose the benefits of a good warm up.
- After the warm up, the player should hydrate and then move into either the full practice or move over to the match-court without cooling down.
The warm up is important to get the player warm, reduce the likelihood of injury and be prepared to play well from the start. The next concern is what happens at the end of practice? After vigorous activity, the worst thing is to just stop! The body needs to recover gently and slowly.
- First the player should jog gently – think about track athletes who jog for a lap or two after a race. It is not just to soak in the crowd’s encouragement at victory, but to help the body slow down.
- Then it is time for 20 – 30 second static stretches of all muscle groups. Try to work through the muscle groups in a logical manner – perhaps working from head to feet. Again, intosport.com has a range of free video guides with suggestions of stretches for all the major muscle groups.
- A shower and dry clothes are also a must to help the cool down and help the body recover more quickly.
- Hydration to replenish lost fluid levels is vital, and good nutrition within an hour or less of playing helps recovery.
So being ready to play is vital – the warm up should be seen as an essential part of the preparation to play. A good recovery routine is also essential and is a necessary part of being a tennis player at whatever level.
As for the pros that we see on TV – rest assured that they do similar warm up and cool down routines – except that many of them use alternate hot showers and ice baths to recover! You have that choice too!
Article written by Anne Pankhurst, intosport.com’s Tennis Programme Director, former LTA Coach Education Director and ex USTA Coach Education Coordinator