3 Tennis Fitness Pillars

I believe tennis is the most complex sport you can play….. Would you agree with me on that? It is a reason why it can be so frustrating at times and so wonderful at other times. When you are on, it feels incredible and when you are off you want to scream (and sometimes do I’m sure).

The complexity of the game whether you realize it or not is the main reason many players keep coming back for more. There is so much to learn and improve on and we are all chasing those moments when everything comes together, and you play your best tennis.

Those “tennis bliss moments” we all wish we had more often! Hopefully, after reading this, you will realize some areas you can work on to help get in the Tennis bliss moment more often.

At Tennis Fitness when we look at the game of tennis and how we can best support players on their journey, we break it down into 3 areas. We encourage every athlete no matter their age or level of play to do work in these areas, to make progress in them, and focus on them as equally important.

The 3 areas support each other and ultimately will help create the best version of you as a tennis athlete.

We call these 3 areas, “The 3 Pillars of Tennis Success”

I can honestly say that after 25 years of working as a tennis fitness trainer at all levels from pros to emerging juniors and everyone in between that these 3 pillars need to be consistently worked on.

If not, you will never reach your true potential as a player and if you are ok with that, then that’s your call. I would encourage you to think outside the ordinary and have more of an extraordinary outlook on your game and how you can boost it.

Let’s read on and find out what these pillars are all about….

When these 3 pillars are consistently worked on and are improving then your success rate will be much higher than if you spend time working within just 1 pillar.

To become a complete player, you need to be working on all 3 pillars. Let me explain….

Now given this is a blog and not a detailed book I am only going to touch on these pillars today, I hope I get my message across and do them just us.

Pillar 1

Technical: This relates to on-court play - lessons, squads, matches. Most players spend most of their time on this pillar. It is the main focus for most players. In fact, many players do not do any work outside of this pillar and for those that do it is often unstructured and ineffective (sorry but it is true).

Pillar 2

Physical: This relates to Tennis strength and conditioning training – Strength, endurance, power, speed and agility, warm-up, flexibility, recovery, hydration, nutrition. There is a bit going on here right! Hence why I believe the game is super complex. Getting this pillar right is tricky, especially for young players, navigating through the development pathway is challenging and you do not want to get it wrong, you only have one chance at it. Every player should be doing work in this pillar. This is the best way to support your technical pillar by making you a more robust, resilient, and capable athlete, which in effect will enable you to play at a much higher level on the court. That makes sense, right?

To improve in this pillar, check out what we have here - CLICK HERE

Pillar 3

Mental: This relates to mental tennis fitness – Emotional control, mental resilience, your mindset, coping mechanisms, choking in matches, anxiety, confidence. When you look at what the Mental pillar covers you may be thinking, wow I need help in a few of those areas, you are not alone.

You are reading this, and you know you will benefit from improving in this pillar. It is a game-changer, yet not many players spend any time at all working on it.

(To improve in this pillar, check out what we have here - CLICK HERE )

I am sure this is making sense to you. Working in all 3 pillars will make you a more complete player, in my opinion, it is a given, in fact, I see it daily with the players we help. When players learn how to pull it all together, they realize they can get in those “tennis bliss moments” more often and they actually enjoy their tennis much more.

We recently launched a new training system for young players and parents. It educates them and supports them on their tennis journey. It provides them with the opportunity to work on and improve their Physical and Mental pillars, whilst helping them structure their whole tennis training and supporting their technical pillar. We have only just launched it to our community and have not opened it up to the public yet. So, if you would like to know more about the 3 pillars register for our free webinar where we discuss the 3 pillars in more detail - CLICK HERE.

I believe that the technical pillar is extremely important, that’s obvious, as a player you need to dedicate most of your time to this pillar, there are so many aspects to work on! I totally get that and fully respect it…. But you need to also be doing work in the other 2 pillars to compensate and balance you out as an athlete and player.

How much time you spend in each pillar and what you do in that pillar will be different for every player, depending on your strengths and weaknesses you will need to work out how you can best work in each pillar and make progress collectively.

I strongly urge you to put some thought into this. If you need further help working out the best way to get it going, let us know and we can give you some support.

I hope this has lit a flame for you that will encourage you to look at working within each pillar. Just think about where you are at now and what you need to improve the most in each pillar, then get the help and support to improve in those areas. Do that as a starting point and you will find yourself in more moments of Tennis Bliss…..