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If you want junior tennis players to reach their potential on the court, then they need to learn some hard truths and the earlier the better. “Competing Is Tennis” you either compete against yourself (looking to improve yourself) or you are on the court against an opponent.

Learning to compete fairly, win gracefully, lose with dignity all whilst giving it 100% can be a tough and long process for junior tennis players, some never get there.

We have a feeling people are losing sight of the fact that tennis is a brutal sport on your emotions and that in reality one young player out of a few thousand will make it into the top 500, let alone be the next big thing.

Too many players get wrapped in cotton wool and control what goes on around them (coaches, parents, tennis trainers etc.) then to top it off, they don’t do enough for themselves and have zero responsibility. If that’s the case, it’s all wrong! Young players in this boat will be calling out for...

Tennis is one of the most competitive sports played by millions around the world and one of the toughest sports you can play both physically and mentally. Tennis matches put huge stress on a player’s body.

When the body is under stress for long periods the player’s hormonal balance can be thrown out. This imbalance can affect the player’s game in many negative ways. Hormonal imbalances can cause fatigue, slower recovery, lack of mental clarity, tennis injuries,poor decision making, inflammation, aches and pains- all which reducetennis performance considerably.

We often see players who manage physical stress quite well. Many players have recovery strategies in place which may include massage, physiotherapy, nutritional and supplementation plans. However, we rarely see players who are managing mental and emotional stress levels effectively. Most players don’t realise that mental stress has exactly the same effect on the body as physical stress. If mental stress...

Yes, it’s correct we are really disappointed. It really brings us down.

It’s so disappointing to see so many young tennis kids get injured.

Over the past year, we have seen kids as young as 12 years with tears in rotator cuffs, tendonitis in the elbow, wrist, achilles and frightening stress fractures in the shoulders and lower back. We are seeing more and more young athletes present with limited flexibility, stability and strength.

In a nutshell what parents, coaches, and players need to know is;
“There is no short term fix….. there is no quick fix pill, if you are not willing to do the correct things at the beginning, you are setting young athletes up for disaster.

I know this might be harsh but it’s fair to say this, as we have been working with tennis players for over 20 years (on tour and in academies). We saw it first hand, working in Spain, with kids that did the correct things Svetlana Kuznetsova and Juan Monaco to name a few. Both at a young...

I have long regarded the French open as the toughest grand slam to win. But to win it 10 times takes a Herculean effort.

We were fortunate enough to work over in one of the best Tennis Academies in Spain. During this time we were able to watch Rafa practice. You could see then he was a very special breed. His work ethic and focus to his training was amazing, even as a 14 year old.

Having spent years on the tour, we have been lucky enough to watch him evolve, we have seen his game progress and admire the risks and changes he made. He has become a lot more aggressive, changed his serve.... he has worked on becoming a more complete player. The one thing that hasn't changed, is his intensity he works at and the attitude he possesses. He has had the same people around him for a long time. Uncle Tony has coached him from the age of 3 and it wasn't too long ago that people told him he needed to make changes, I think we could all agree, we are glad he hasn't.

It was great to see him...

Most, if not every tennis player will develop some form of tennis training injury during their careers. Some injuries cannot be prevented, but you will be surprised how many of the below injuries you can be prevented from doing one thing.

We will tell you more about that later on.

Most common injuries in tennis we see on a daily basis are, often the overuse injuries.

Overuse injuries often develop slowly and can start out as a mild discomfort that gradually increases and becomes painful. Some common overuse injuries are:

1. Tennis Elbow – A very common cause of elbow pain due to the chronic irritation of the tendons on the outside of the elbow.

2. Wrist Tendonitis – Caused by irritation and inflammation around the wrist joint. Usually, this will occur from a number of reasons from equipment (new racket, heavy / wet tennis balls, court surface), bad technique, or mainly overuse. This can be prevented with some simple yet effective good strengthening tennis exercises...

Having yourself physically and mentally ready can be just the start of a good preparation for practice, a match or tournament season.

Read on to find out how to get athletes ready to go........

We've helped 100s of players prepare for tennis matches, junior tournaments through to grand slams. In our opinion, the preparation should be no different for a junior to a pro athlete.

Learning to get things right at a young age is very important and creating the habits of being organised, punctual and responsible will have long-term positive results for anyone.

The other day I had a young player I train tell me they felt dizzy, I asked him when he ate last he said, 1.15pm, and it was 5.30pm. His blood sugar levels were obviously low, I said to him you need to eat at least 1.5hrs before coming to training, he turned and looked at his mum and said, "mum you need to remember that!" His mum said ok, so what should he eat before coming.

I said wait a moment, his 14, fit and able, he can prepare...

Whether it be tennis, fitness, football or any other sports we all remember those hard tennis coaches that worked us to the bone. Everyone that is 30 or older, will have stories to tell about some of the hard and intense tennis fitness training we were put through in our youth.

By today's standards it could even be classified as a little brutal, but we talk to the kids we train about how different it was back in our day and how tough and challenging the kids tennis training was.

Fast forward to today and those hard tennis fitness training days are hardly recognizable.

I remember a drill that a coach used to put us through growing up. He used to stand at the net with his basket of balls and have us stand on the service line at the other end with our rackets up looking to defend for our lives.

What would soon follow was ten tenaciously struck balls hit at us with the purpose of teaching you to hold your ground and defend yourself at the net, the coach felt he was the victor if he...

The best way to prepare for any surface is to do tennis training on it as much as possible. This is the law of adaptation and it especially applies for clay court tennis. On this surface, you need to learn how to slide into shots, recover after hitting and stay balanced. When you are born in a country where the main surface you train and compete on is clay, it just become natural to move efficiently, you don’t even realise it happens. You are able to start sliding when you build up that confidence. The other requirements are good balance, a low centre of gravity and most importantly, strength in your legs. For better balance and control, it’s critical to have a good low stance, keeping yourself balanced and being aware of the first step movement.

• You need to slide and hit – not hit and slide.
• For good body control, you need to have good strength in the core, hips and especially in the adductors.
• You need good timing, which comes with practice.
• For stability, you...

Just as court surfaces differ throughout the world, there are different courts that you might encounter as a social player. Altering your tennis training according to the surface you’re currently or preparing to play on, is a smart way to train for tennis. This will get your body better prepared and lessen the chance of injury. So how should training for tennis differ from surface to surface? To understand this better let's take a look at some key characteristics of varying court surfaces. Synthetic grass

• Low ball bounce, fast court, poor traction underfoot.
• Average point = 3–5 seconds.

Clay

• High ball bounce, slow court, poor traction underfoot.
• Average point = 6–10 seconds.

Hardcourt

• Medium ball bounce, moderate-fast court, good traction underfoot.
• Average point = 4–6 seconds.

Grass

• Low ball bounce, fast court, Moderate traction underfoot.
• Average point = 3–5 seconds.

Here are our tips on preparing for each surface. Grass/Synthetic grass

• Due...

Where do you start when you want to transform your Tennis Strength and Conditioning?

It is a challenge every tennis player faces. Knowing your starting point and having something to aim for will help.

To gain a better understanding of a player’s Tennis Strength and Conditioning level, we ask them to perform specific tennis fitness test twice a year. These tennis-specific fitness tests have been developed to provide insight on a player’s strengths and weaknesses.

Understanding weaknesses is vital to improve Strength and Conditioning levels, as they highlight the areas that need the most attention.

This is a more effective approach than training the same way day in, day out without enough focus on the specific areas that need attention. Many players and tennis trainers make this mistake and wonder why attributes such as speed, reaction times and strength are not improving.

Identifying the areas that need to improve is the key and fitness testing is the method...