Tennis Conditioning

Many tennis coaches limit their conditioning to fitness, believing that if their players can withstand punishing workouts and long-distance running, they will be prepared for tough, three-set matches.

In fact, this is the wrong approach to training for tennis, not only because it does not address all of the important attributes need for tennis (including strength, agility, power, flexibility, speed and injury prevention), but actually trains the body in the wrong way.

Tennis is NOT an Aerobic Sport

While the recovery portion of tennis does have an aerobic component (players DO need an aerobic base), tennis is a quick, high-intensity sport, and your training should reflect that.

Stamina

While interval training can help build an aerobic base, many coaches still like to start the first two or three weeks of the season with some long-distance running. Once your players have their aerobic base, it’s important that they maintain it. Remember — it’s more important to train your players’ ability to recover between points (and be ready for the next one), than it is to train them aerobically. Points last less then 10 seconds in tennis, but they are very intense.

After you have concluded any aerobic training you wish to use in the beginning of the season, make sure to continue with high-intensity, short-duration conditioning drills. Some examples of these can be found in our Articles Database. Having players run from sideline to sideline for two or three minutes trying to run down and hit groundstrokes is not only frustrating, but not realistic. In fact, it’s detrimental to a player’s strokes if her or she is training past fatigue on a regular basis.

Strength and Power

This type of training should be done early in your season. It works the body’s low-twitch (slower) muscle fibers and should not be done during the competitive season. Build muscles before or early in the season, then train them to be quick during the course of the season.

Speed, Agility, Quickness

These types of drills promote the type of footwork and movements that your players will be using during their matches. Depending on the intensity and duration of this type of training, it will also help your players develop and maintain their aerobic bases.

Flexibility

Stretch, stretch, stretch! Please see the article on stretching in the Articles Database section of this Web site. Doing the correct stretches before and after practice not only will make your players more flexible (which will improve their strokes), but it will help prevent injury!

Principles of Conditioning

Physical Education experts have developed six principles for conditioning:

1) Adaptation – – Physical changes occur in the body to meet goals

2) Specificity – – Adaptation is specific to ability (aerobic for tennis)

3) Variety – – Cross train so kids don’t burn out (on court soccer, hockey, etc.)

4) Individuality – – Respect different athletes’ physical attributes and needs

5) Progression – – Ability improves with training (try charts to show progress)

6) Recovery – – Within each session and day to day (huge for tennis!)

Review the articles on planning a season in the Coaching section of our Articles Database, and make sure your conditioning is appropriate during each of the three phases of training (pre-season; pre-competitive; in-season) and respects the six principles of conditioning.

If done correctly, conditioning can be fun for your players as they see themselves improving. Running players into the ground not only doesn’t help tennis players win, but it makes them come to dread practices.