If you are starting to learn to play tennis or you are a already keen club player you are probably approaching training as a beginner.

Firstly you should approach the training understanding what you want to achieve. Then develop a process or routine that suits your lifestyle and capabilities. Reputable clubs such as Tennis World North Sydney have professional coaches that can devise a personal training schedule for you.

Tennis is a sport that calls upon a whole range of muscle groups, movements and motor skills. Your training should encompass all of these areas.

Footwork / Agility

Benefits for tennis:

Training Tips – Ladder drills, using a combination of footwork and stepping patterns. Open drills, get a partner to direct balls at different heights and positions to you so you can work on your footwork. Reactive lateral movement, whilst moving along the baseline push off as quickly as you can to the direction of the ball.

Speed

Benefits for tennis:

Training tips -Power gym work, utilising squats and leg presses. Any activities that mimic areas of play such as sprints and ladder agility runs.

Core Strength

Benefits for tennis:

Training tips – Sit-ups. Pilates, start with a 30 minute session once a week then progress to longer sessions more times a week.

Power

Benefits for tennis:

Training tips – Sprint work, from a standing start push off hard into a sprint. Bounding, start in a semi-squat position with arms high then thrust forward as you bring your arms down to jump forward.

Circuit Training

Benefits for tennis:

Training tips – Set up a circuit, cardio tennis

These training tips and exercises are specifically designed to help your agility, speed and power on the court. They will also help you keep injury free as you are building muscle groups that are used in tennis.

Obviously it is most important to do the correct warm up’s and down’s to prevent muscle pulls and strains. Even if you are purely a social player it is advisable to do some form of warm up before a match, you are more at risk of serious injury than somebody who performs a tennis fitness regime.