How Should Tennis Players Train Differently After 40?

If you've been playing tennis for years, you probably already know that your game changes as you get older.

Maybe you don't recover quite as quickly after a long match.

Maybe your hips, shoulders or back feel tighter than they used to.

Maybe getting to a wide ball takes a little more effort.

Or perhaps you've noticed that you can still play great tennis — but you need to be more deliberate about how you prepare your body.

That doesn't mean you need to stop pushing yourself.

It means your training needs to become smarter.

For tennis players over 40, the goal isn't simply to train harder. It's to develop the physical qualities that help you move well, stay strong, recover properly and continue playing the sport you love.

At Tennis Fitness, Tennis Fitness, we’ve spent more than 20 years working with players of all ages and levels.
I had the privilege of working with Martina Navratilova when she won a Wimbledon title at 46. At that stage, Martina didn’t need to learn how to play tennis — she needed to make sure her body could keep doing what her tennis demanded.
My job was to help her move well, stay strong and remain injury-free.
The way I trained Martina was very different from how I trained Sam Stosur.
That experience reinforced something we strongly believe:
Every player is different, and as we age, the way we train needs to change.

So, what should actually change after 40?

 

1. Strength Training Becomes More Important

One of the biggest mistakes an older tennis player can make is assuming strength training is only for younger or competitive players.

It's not.

Maintaining strength becomes increasingly important as we age.

A tennis player doesn't need to train like a bodybuilder. The goal is to develop tennis-specific strength that supports the movements and demands of tennis.

Strength can help you maintain the physical foundation required to accelerate, change direction, hit with power and stay stable when you're reaching for difficult balls.

It can also help you maintain muscle mass and support joint and bone health.

The key is how you train.

You want enough stimulus to improve, without turning every workout into another source of fatigue that interferes with your tennis.

Here are some example exercises you could try in your weekly program: (see video below)

• Single-leg strength
• Core strength
• Lower-body strength
• Upper-body strength
• Balance and stability
• Rotational strength
• Deceleration control

 

2. Don't Stop Training Speed and Power

There's a common misconception that once you reach 40, you should stop doing explosive movements.

That isn't necessarily the case.

In fact, if you stop challenging speed and power completely, you may gradually lose some of the qualities that make you athletic on the tennis court.

Tennis still requires you to:

• Accelerate
• Decelerate
• Change direction
• React to the ball
• Push off one leg
• Rotate
• Recover into position

These demands don't disappear because you're over 40.

Your training may need to become more carefully managed, but that doesn't mean eliminating speed and power work.

The emphasis should be on quality rather than simply doing more.

A few well-designed explosive movements performed with good technique can be more useful than exhausting yourself with endless repetitions.

See below a few examples of some acceleration and deceleration exercises. 

 

3. Mobility Should Be Part of Your Training

Mobility is another area that deserves more attention as you get older.

Think about the positions tennis requires.

You need to:

• Reach wide for balls
• Get low
• Rotate your trunk
• Extend overhead
• Push off your ankles
• Move your hips freely
• Reach and recover repeatedly

If you're restricted through your ankles, hips, thoracic spine or shoulders, your movement can become less efficient.

You may also compensate by asking other parts of your body to do more work.

That's why mobility shouldn't simply be something you do for five minutes when you're already feeling stiff.

It should be part of your overall training approach.

And mobility doesn't necessarily mean spending 30 minutes doing static stretches.

Tennis-specific mobility should help you move through the positions your sport actually requires.

Below video gives you some basic mobility and flexibility exercises you can try after your next tennis match. 

 

4. Your Warm-Up Matters More

When you're younger, you may have been able to walk onto the court, hit a few balls and immediately start playing.

You may find that approach doesn't work quite as well anymore.

A good tennis warm-up exercises prepares your body for the movements you're about to perform.

For tennis, that can include:

• Raising body temperature
• Mobilising key joints
• Activating muscles
• Preparing the nervous system
• Gradually increasing movement intensity
• Rehearsing tennis-specific movement

A progressive tennis warm-up can help you feel more prepared before the first point rather than asking your body to go from zero to maximum intensity immediately.

This becomes particularly important when your first few minutes on court involve explosive movement.

Below has some great Warm Up exercises you can try before your next match...

 

5. Recovery Needs to Be Part of the Plan

Training isn't just about what you do during a workout.

It's also about what happens between workouts.

As an over-40 tennis player, you may have work, family commitments, matches and other responsibilities competing for your recovery time.

Trying to train hard every day isn't necessarily the answer.

Instead, think about your overall training load.

For example:

Hard tennis day + hard conditioning session + poor sleep + another hard session may not be the smartest combination.

You may benefit more from alternating demanding sessions with appropriate recovery and lower-intensity work.

Recovery can include:

• Rest days
• Mobility work
• Appropriate training volume
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Hydration
• Managing the timing of tennis and fitness sessions

The objective is to create a routine you can consistently maintain, not one that leaves you exhausted after two weeks.

 

6. Deceleration Is Just as Important as Acceleration

Tennis players spend a lot of time thinking about getting faster.

But getting to the ball is only half the movement.

You also need to stop.

Every time you sprint toward a wide ball, you need to control your momentum and get your body into position to hit and recover.

That's deceleration.

Good deceleration requires:

• Strength
• Balance
• Coordination
• Eccentric control
• Appropriate footwork
• Body awareness

This is particularly important for players who want to continue moving aggressively around the court.

Training isn't just about making your first step faster.

It's about being able to accelerate, control your body, change direction and recover repeatedly.

One of the best ways to improve deceleration and acceleration is through plyometric training.

For mature players, I would actually spend more time training deceleration and braking than acceleration — around a 2:1 ratio.

Why? Because being able to accelerate is important, but being able to absorb force, brake efficiently and control your body when stopping and changing direction is where we often see problems and injuries occur.

In the video below, I take you through a simple 4-level plyometric progression to help you improve your ability to absorb force and move more safely and efficiently on court.

 

7. Tennis Conditioning Should Reflect How You Actually Play

Another common mistake is assuming that running more automatically makes you fitter for tennis.

Tennis isn't a continuous running sport.

You play points involving repeated bursts of movement, acceleration, deceleration, recovery and changes of direction, with rest between points.

That means tennis conditioning should account for the way the sport is actually played.

A well-designed tennis conditioning program can combine:

• Aerobic conditioning
• High-intensity intervals
• Movement
• Footwork
• Strength
• Recovery
• Tennis-specific work-to-rest demands

Tennis Fitness uses structured conditioning approaches including Maximal Aerobic Speed testing and tennis-specific movement patterns rather than relying solely on generic cardio.

The goal isn't simply to become "fitter."

It's to become better prepared for the demands of a tennis match.

 

8. You Don't Need to Train Like You're 25

This might be the most important point.

Training differently after 40 doesn't mean training less effectively.

It means understanding what your body needs now. Maybe have more rest day...

You may need to pay more attention to:

Recovery.

Mobility.

Strength.

Training volume.

Warm-up.

Movement quality.

Injury prevention.

 

But you can still work on:

Speed.

Power.

Strength.

Conditioning.

Agility.

The goal isn't to compete with the body you had decades ago.

It's to get the best performance from the body you have today.

 

What Should an Over-40 Tennis Training Week Look Like?

There isn't one perfect schedule for everyone.

Your ideal training week depends on how often you play, your current fitness level, your injury history, your schedule and how well you recover.

But a balanced week might include a combination of:

🎾 Tennis

Your normal hitting, match play or competition.

💪 Strength

Structured strength work focused on the physical qualities required for tennis.

⚡ Speed & Movement

Short, high-quality movement work rather than endless conditioning. This can be included in your warm up routine.

🧘 Mobility

Regular mobility work to maintain the ranges of motion required for tennis. This can be completed before and after workouts. 

❤️ Conditioning

Appropriate aerobic and high-intensity conditioning is important for maintaining your fitness and ability to perform on court.

This can be completed using cardio equipment such as a bike, rower or elliptical. However, if you choose running for your conditioning, I strongly recommend doing it on a softer surface such as grass to help reduce the repetitive impact and load on your body.

😴 Recovery

Enough recovery between demanding sessions to allow your body to adapt.

The important thing is that these elements work together.

You don’t need to do everything every day. When you were younger, you may have only needed one rest day per week, but as we get older, recovery becomes increasingly important.

Listen to your body. If it needs an extra rest day, take it. An additional day of recovery can help you train better, stay healthy and keep playing the game you love.

 

The Biggest Mistake? Doing Random Workouts

One of the biggest problems we see isn't that players aren't exercising.

It's that they're doing random exercise without a clear plan.

One day they might do a hard gym session.

The next day they play two hours of tennis.

Then they do a long run.

Then they try a random mobility video.

Then they don't train for five days.

There's nothing inherently wrong with any one of those activities.

The problem is the lack of structure.

Tennis fitness should support your tennis rather than compete with it.

That's why a structured program can be useful.

You know:

What to do.

When to do it.

How hard to train.

When to recover.

How to progress.

Tennis Fitness programs are structured around age and training goals, with the Over 40 pathway focusing on strength, movement, recovery and long-term physical performance.

 

You Can Still Improve Your Tennis After 40

Getting older is inevitable.

But that doesn't mean your only option is to accept declining movement, strength and fitness.

The evidence and practical coaching experience point toward a more useful approach: continue training, but adapt the way you train to your needs and recovery.

The aim isn't to train like a professional athlete.

And it isn't to train like you did when you were 25.

It's to build a body that can continue handling the demands of tennis.

That means maintaining strength.

Keeping your mobility. 

Training movement.

Developing speed and power appropriately.

Managing conditioning.

And giving your body enough time to recover.

Train smarter. Move better. Keep playing.

 

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Want a Structured Over-40 Tennis Fitness Program?

If you're over 40 and want more structure than random workouts, Tennis Fitness has created an Over 40 Strength, Movement & Mobility Program specifically around the physical demands of tennis.

The program includes structured strength, conditioning, mobility, injury-prevention, agility and footwork training, along with assessments and periodised training plans.

Start with our FREE Over 40 Tennis Workout

If you want to see how Tennis Fitness approaches training for players over 40, start with the free program:

👉 Try the FREE Over 40 Tennis Workout

Then, if you're ready for a more complete training system, you can explore the Over 40 Strength, Movement & Mobility Program.