Dynamic Stretches for Tennis

In the article, Are Your Players Stretching Correctly?, we discussed the benefits and appropriateness of dynamic stretching prior to tennis matches and practices instead of the traditional static stretches used by most coaches. The USHSTA was one of the first tennis organizations in the world to share this with its members:  other American magazines and tennis associations noted and then published this information to their readers and members.

In this article, coach Ricky Davis of the The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, shares a variety of specific dynamic warmup exercises you can teach your players.

There are two types of stretches: static and dynamic (or ballistic). Static involves a stretch-and-hold with very little to no movement. A sitting toe touch is an example of a static stretch. Dynamic is a movement stretch that is specific to a sport or movement pattern. A lateral shuffle is an example of a dynamic stretch specific to tennis. Sports medicine experts have determined that dynamic stretching is best when immediatley before a match or practice and static stretching is best after a match or practice. Below is a list and descriptions of simple dynamic stretches for a warm-up beneficial to high school tennis teams.

Start with a 2 Minute Jog

Dynamic Stretches

Lower Body (20 yards each or from singles sideline to singles sideline and back again)

• Toe Walk – walk on toes with heels as high as possible

• Heel Walk – walk on heels with toes as high as possible

• High Knee Hug Walk – walk with an exaggerated high knee and pull the knee up with both hands and hug into the chest; when pulling knee up, push up on the toes with the opposite foot; maintain good upper body posture and hold the stretch for a couple of seconds

• Walking Leg Cradle – similar to high knee hug except when the knee is brought up to hug, turn the knee out and pull the foot toward opposite hip; remember to maintain good upper body posture and hold the stretch for a couple of seconds

• Walking Lunges with a Twist – walk to a forward lunge position and twist the upper body to side the leg that is forward; keep the back straight and in a perpendicular position to the court surface; walk forward to the other leg and repeat

• Jogging Butt Kicks – with a slight forward lean, jog forward and flex the knees bringing the heels back to make contact with the buttocks; it is important that a slight forward lean is maintained while staying on the balls of the feet

• High Knee Skip – perform an explosive, exaggerated high knee skip getting good elevation off the ground; emphasize good height and a big arm swing

• Lateral Shuffle Right – similar to the basketball slide; keep the feet as far apart as possible during the shuffle

• Lateral Shuffle Left – similar to the basketball slide; keep the feet as far apart as possible during the shuffle

• Carioca Right – shuffling laterally to the right, step with the right foot, step with the left foot and cross it over in front of the right and plant, step again with the right foot, step again with the left foot and cross it behind the right and repeat; emphasize speed and as much hip rotation as possible

• Carioca Left – shuffling laterally to the left, step with the left foot, step with the right foot and cross it over in front of the left and plant, step again with the left foot, step again with the right foot and cross it behind the left and repeat; emphasize speed and as much hip rotation as possible

• High Knee Backward Skip – high knee skip backwards lifting the knees up and rotating them out as in trying to step over a hurdle

Upper Body (stationary)(8 repetitions each)

• Arm Circles Forward – large arm circles with arms straight

• Arm Circles Backward – large arm circles with arms straight

• Wrist Rolls – holding both arms straight out in front of the body at shoulder height, rotate the wrists clockwise for 8 repetitions and counter-clockwise for 8 repetitions

• Goal Posts (up and down)- this will help warm-up the rotator cuff in the shoulder; with arms raised out to the side and with elbows flexed at 90 degrees, slowly rotate them forward and down and then rotate them up and backward and repeat; rotate the shoulder on the axis of the shoulder joint

• Arm Hugs – stretch arms out to the side and hug yourself

• Figure 8 Serve w/ Racket – with the serving arm, make the figure 8 pattern and lead into the serving motion