Fundamentals of Tennis

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Understand the Basic Fundamentals of Tennis

Being a sport that requires many physical requirements, such as good flexibility, co-ordination, aerobic fitness, strength and a good mental ability, there is obviously a lot of room for improvement in most players of any racket sport. The main racket sports are Tennis, Squash, Racquetball and Badminton. They are all similar in the fact that they require the same physical training. Short bursts of explosive exercise, either sprinting, jumping or swinging the racket. Short recovery between each point, especially for squash and badminton when played at a high standard. With tennis having short rest breaks at various intervals of the game

*A lot of running around back and forth with plenty of lateral movement to both sides
*Time on court can vary from 30 minutes to 3 hours plus, so a good endurance base is required for those that are serious about their sport
*There is no rest period during intense rallies, the rally stops when a player loses a point. Points are lost and won depending on the skills and fitness level of you the player

Most people only get the chance to play tennis on the weekends. If you’re only playing once or twice per week it can be difficult to stay sharp. A great way to maintain your game is to jump rope for about 10 to 20 minutes each weekday (or non-playing day). This relatively basic exercise is good for tennis because it improves your fitness and your footwork. The fitness part is straight forward you’re boosting your stamina. The footwork part is more intriguing. If you’re jumping rope properly, a couple things are happening:

•First you’re only getting a few inches off the ground for each jump. That’s similar to the split step, where you only want to get about an inch of air.

•Second jumping rope builds foot speed. That’s certainly important when you’re moving around the tennis court. Fast feet allow you to get in better position. Pros take many more smaller, faster steps in between each shot than your average club player.

•Third jumping rope is a timing exercise. If you don’t jump at the right time you’re going to hit the rope. Footwork on the tennis court also requires a lot of timing. The split step needs to be timed properly. Your shuttle / adjusting steps need to be timed properly as you position yourself to hit. And helps improve your Speed work.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

-Aristotle

Look at the plyometric circuit to developing explosive power, aim to do this circuit no more than twice a week, and certainly not on days before a match, as this type of circuit takes a few days to recover from.

Shuttle sprints, most sprints last for between 6 and 10 meters in a match, so look at this distance for your training. Work your sprints in the following form, standing start, lying flat on your stomach start, running start, sprint forward with run back and then repeat all with a racket. Aim to have a minimum of 3 markers to turn around, not necessarily in a straight line.

Particularly because footwork tends to hold back most club players, 20 minutes of jumping rope a day & one plyometric circuit a week can lead to some big oncourt gains. When you play you're chosen racket sport, analysis each point you win and lose, with a number of different players to find your strength and weaknesses. Work on improving all areas, however start with the ones that you are weak on, in order to improve your game quickly." Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now." - Helen Keller

Quote

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

-Robert Louis Stevenson