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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...

We can't answer that for you… but we can tell you why we as tennis fitness trainers, devote so much time working with and helping players be the best they can be……

1. Tennis players are a special breed. They get addicted to the great game and cannot get enough of it. As tennis fitness trainers this motivates us so much, when we see the passion there, we want to add to it. We have found it to be a good life lesson "find your passion, pursue it and people will add to it"
2. We love the complexity of tennis. Physically it challenges not only your physical structure (muscle, organs, tendons etc) but also works the different energy systems (Aerobic, anaerobic) the body has at its disposal……. To be constantly improving you need to work on your strength, agility, speed, flexibility, recovery, nutrition, hydration, power, aerobic endurance etc etc etc, there is a lot of bloody things you can do. Finding the starting point or the priorities to focus on is the...

When it comes to tennis exercise and preparing your body to play your best tennis, it is important to do the right things at the right time. That includes resting and changing what you do, even if you feel your current routine works. Tennis training variety is often overlooked.

Some people prefer consistency, so do the same things all the time then often wonder why they are not improving. Others jump from tennis program to another without allowing the body time to adapt.

Whatever your "training personality", it is vital for long-term development (at any age) and performance to phase the tennis training you do. Often known as periodisation, phase training is as important as your actual tennis exercises. This is how it works ...

PREPARATION

General: High training volume and low intensity. Focus is on endurance and strength. Your tennis training can be general and non-tennis specific at the start (cross-training). This is a good time to work on tennis training techniques. 

...

Tennis is a year-round sport with tournaments played globally and often in hot conditions. Travelling on tour can be brutal for players, as there are many different factors that need to be considered along with a focus on tennis fitness. They range from changing time zones, managing jet lag, coping with new cuisine to cultural and language barriers. To ensure health and fitness are not compromised, it's important to be prepared and keep going on with your tennis fitness schedule.

Adopting these simple but effective measures can help improve a travel experience...

Planning

Make the Internet your best friend before travelling. Do well research prior to arriving at destinations to learn the location of grocery shops, health food stores, restaurants, gymnasiums, and pools. Organize a schedule, which includes training and meal plans, before departing to ensure your routine is maintained on the road. It is still important to be flexible and not to expect anything when you travel, however...

Think about this; we often wait for someone to tell us what we need to change, whether it is a coach, parent or friend. You will always find someone to give you tennis tips, advice or their opinion right! What about if you tried to dig a bit deeper yourself and started to work things out for yourself, find what you need to change or focus on.

We all have areas of strengths and weakness; that’s human nature. Finding what you feel needs to change to make you a better tennis player, maybe the most important tennis tip and easier than you think.

Realistically who knows you better than yourself? If you don’t feel you know yourself well enough, then you need to start spending time getting to know yourself, work out what makes you tick and what you need to change to make you better.

Answer me this question “What is missing in your tennis game? What’s the one thing you know you need to do to make things better, take your time and think about it before you answer...

One thing I have found over the years watching countless matches, practices and taken plenty of tennis workouts, is that most players don’t breathe as good as they could.

It sounds boring right, and you are probably thinking how much would it really benefit my tennis if I breathed a little better, if that’s you then buckle up, I’ve got some good info coming right up!!!

Breathing is an involuntary action taken by the body that means your body does it, without you having to think about it. Scratching your nose is a voluntary action because you need to think consciously about it and then your body communicates and makes it happen.

Because breathing is done subconsciously we grow up not realizing or appreciating how important it is, for many of us it’s like our parents, we often don’t appreciate them or what they do for us until they go on holidays!

Have you ever been winded, lost your breath, been held under water or been really sick with cold and...

There are few players who step on the court without a match plan in mind. To make the most of your training time, that same structured thinking should reply to your fitness too. The best fitness strategy is a balanced one. Getting balance into your tennis fitness plan will improve your performance, help keep you injury free and give you the variety you need to stay motivated. Here is a rundown on how to do it.

Build
Build up your fitness by completing a variety of tennis training. This will ideally incorporate:

• Cross training
• Strength training
• Cardio
• Agility
• Speed
• Core

It is always best to attack your weakest link first. Fitness testing is the best way to find out what requires the most attention. Many people do very little to improve their tennis fitness, they think hitting more is the key, which is far from true. If you are...