Blog

Ok here is a blog for the all the players out there that want to improve quickly, win more matches and do them both with minimal effort…… Sound enticing? Read on

Many players will struggle to improve on a consistent basis, with both their tennis workouts and tennis game. They reach a point when added momentum will be required as levels start to plateau or even worse, injuries occur.

The many factors that can contribute to this situation include coaching, motivation levels, knowledge, application and attitude. But in our experience, some simple questions often reveal that players can identify at least three simple steps that they can implement immediately to help them make instant improvements.

Finding these things can propel players forward, providing momentum and boosting their motivation. They are often simple things (you don’t want to get too complicated).
The realisation that players can create change instantly is enough to shift their thoughts and will get...

The Value Of A Flexible And Mobile Athlete!

Teaching young athletes how to prepare their bodies for performance is crucial for long term injury prevention and constant physical development.

After performing 100s of junior tennis fitness assessments, postural screens and flexibility assessments we have found most young athletes are falling short with their flexibility and mobility ranges.

Is this fault of their own? It can't be, they just do what they are asked.

There needs to be more focus on this from trainers, coaches and parents.

What we are finding is that young players are exposed to more time on court with no cross over into other sports.

This combination leads to constant loading patterns and in some cases overuse issues.

What is important to realise is that young players, no matter how good they are at 12 years old, if they don't have healthy flexibility and mobility ranges it is only a matter of time before they hit an injury wall.

We see it all the time, its not the best...

I have been guilty in the past of being up and down with my training and I'm a trainer! So I know how hard it can be. Staying disciplined and focused is tough, but it is what it takes for players to be tennis pros.

What is important is to keep changing what you do, progressing your programming, continually challenging yourself.

This not only adds variety, but it is needed to allow your body to continually adapt and improve.

When done correctly it adds serious physical progress, who doesn’t want that!

I’ve admitted I’ve been slack a few times with my tennis fitness training, I’m human, I really had no excuse.

I know what to do and when to do it, in the rare occasion I’ve slipped it’s been a case of I’m too busy, no excuse. Others on the other hand, maybe even you have an excuse – You don’t know what to do and when to do it.

Maybe you think you do, but is it really working for you? I hope so!

Over the last couple of weeks, we have...

You have probably heard us go on about how important is tennis strength training. If you haven’t, well we consider it to be the building block for all other training modalities.

It’s the foundation for physical development! That’s why we are so excited to be able to share with you our new approach to how we program our tennis players for strength gains.

We have developed a system and structure that progresses and periodise our strength programs, it is practical, effective and tennis specific.

If you are one of the players who goes to gym and does “Whatever” you will get whatever results… who wants that!

You need to know what you are doing, make sure your tennis program is progressing and most importantly, know WHY you are doing it! It’s all about the why!

If you can’t answer the reason why you’re doing it and have any purpose or intention with your program, then it’s not going to work.

We are so passionate about strength...

Having fast and responsive movement is what every tennis player should be aiming for.

Getting yourself set up for shots, getting to short balls and having the ability to feel like you can attack from anywhere on court is important.

To achieve this every tennis player needs to be performing an effective specific speed program.

It's not just about getting down the park to do a couple of 50m sprints. You need to be performing specific speed components with the intention of progressing the program to prevent a plateau.

There are three different speed components you need to focus on; Acceleration, Deceleration and High end speed.

There are also three key points you need to concentrate on when performing these speed components; Power, Position and Pattern.

Concentrating on these three points in the speed drills will help improve your overall speed and movement balance.

Check out this video for your free speed drills, plus a tempo speed program. Give them a go and test yourself out.

To get...

Injuries have a massive impact when it comes to individualised sports. If you are involved in a team sport and you are injured, you can rely on team mates to cover for you and help you out during play. Not in tennis, you are all alone!  This is why you need to avoid injuries as much as possible.

We have identified some key areas which will help protect you from serious injury and keep you on court. They will also make you a more robust and confident athlete.

When it comes to tennis mobility and warm up, we like to focus on a joint by joint approach, either working from the bottom up or from the top down.  Whether that’s using myofascial release, trigger point work or dynamic stretching.

We think these are three key areas that are highly important for creating a robust tennis player , that is more resilient to injury.

We recommend performing mobility exercises prior to training. This helps elongate muscles and open joints up for correct movement patterns.

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Can you imagine something as silly as doing the same thing all the time and expecting the result to be different! Silly silly silly…..

I have found myself doing this in the past with my training, strapped for time I would go to what I’d always done, what I was comfortable doing, did it work? Yeah sort of, could have I done better? Heck yeah!

I’ve long regarded having a “Periodised Tennis Training Plan” just as important as the actual tennis exercises within the plan. Here is some information on why I think that way.

Our bodies have extremely complexed components and systems. We are also highly adaptable. Which means if we are exposed to stimulus, resistance or repetition our bodies over time will adapt as needed to perform what needs to be done, get it?

Whether it is the neuromuscular system, nervous system, cardio vascular system or a combination of them, the body is highly adaptable!

The body is also highly prone to burnout, over-use injuries, boredom....

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...