Tennis Nation

Be Relentless

Tennis Training and Drills for all Players

Tennis Training and Drills for all Players

Tennis training will benefit tennis players of all levels. Don’t get me wrong, there is no substitute for hitting tennis balls, however tennis training can improve a player’s athleticism and raise the player’s overall level of play.

Over the years of teaching tennis I’ve discovered two things that limit the majority of player’s progress. Most tennis players who are looking to improve don’t play enough tennis and often times tennis beginners have limited motor skills.

Tennis can be a frustrating sport especially for players who have limited ball sports experience. This frustration can be magnified by not putting in enough time on court consistently. Most pro tennis players play tennis 4 to 6 hours a day and competitive junior tennis players at the state level typically play around 3 hours of tennis a day, six days a week. So, players who play tennis consistently and train to become better athletes make progress.

Tennis training includes activities that can help improve an athlete’s key skills that are vital to playing tennis well. These key skills are ball judgement, timing, rhythm and feel. These skills are developed over time and can be trained.

Below you’ll find posts that center around the topic of tennis training. In addition to the below, I’ve done articles that will compliment a tennis players training:

If you have suggestions for topics centering around tennis training, please don’t hesitate to contact me and let me know.

Tennis Fitness Circuit Workouts and Exercises to Improve Conditioning

3 Comments

Welcome to your ultimate guide for tennis fitness circuit workouts and exercises. It’s my pleasure to provide you with the training you need to improve your tennis conditioning. This guide is 100% FREE and will be updated regularly as tennis specific workouts videos are released.

High Performance Tennis Training – Workout For Speed, Agility, Quickness and Conditioning

Improve your explosiveness and conditioning with this circuit workout. Two rounds 30 seconds on 30 seconds off is a job well done. Three rounds and its a butt kicker.

Tennis Training Workout

  • Jump rope.
  • Jump lunges.
  • Toe taps.
  • Sprint to point A, medicine ball slam, sprint to point B, medicine ball slam.
  • 1 foot on step, up 2, down 1, up 2… sidestep up to step and pop.
  • Burpees.
  • Battle ropes.

Explosive Tennis Circuit to Improve Speed and Agility

This is my go to tennis workout when looking to hit the legs hard. With plyometrics, sprints and some shoulder work it makes for a good conditioning day.

Here are the Circuits

  • Squat to Military Press.
  • Ladder: Cross over step, shadow swing, cross over step, shadow swing.
  • Set up a row of objects. Lung forward, Speed Skater jump to the other side, land with one foot. Repeat.
  • Set cones 6 feet apart on both doubles ally (DA) lines. Start on outside of DA, sprint up when outside the ally, shuffle to inside of ally, back peddle, shuffle to outside of ally, and sprint up.
  • Stand facing a wall with medicine ball raised high above your head. Toss medicine ball with both hands against the wall repeatedly.
  • Lunges with medicine ball slams to the outside leg.
  • Set up a row of objects. Jump over each object consecutively. After the last jump, squat and jump 180 degree turn.

9 Min Tennis Fitness Workout at Home Routine with Ladder & Ball

This is a great tennis specific circuit that conditions the whole body. Tennis training should aim to mirror what happens on court. During this fitness circuit you can follow along with me. See all the exercises below.

Tennis Fitness Exercises

  • Single leg deadlift. Add weight both hands as desired.
  • Ladder: Stand to side, side step in both feet, side step out both feet, bunny hop over ladder and bunny hop back.
  • Drop ball, burpee, pickup ball and chest pass to partner. (Take turns)
  • Sideline to sideline sprints, forehand/backhand shadow stroke, with cross over step. 
  • Hold arms out extended shoulder high with weight. To the side and out in front.
  • Sprint to point A, medicine ball slam, sprint to point B, medicine ball slam.
  • Plank on hands. Walk hands in and opposite hand (left) touches opposite foot (right). Walk hands out, walk hands in and straight leg lift previously touched leg (right). Walk hands out, cross leg (right) across the body.

Tennis Training – Circuit Workout For Speed, Agility, Quickness and Conditioning

Here are all the tennis fitness exercises in the video. You will find that t is a good option when looking for more focus on training the upper body. Intervals can be 30 seconds on 30 seconds off to mirror a tennis point. More set your own exercise and rest times. Enjoy the workout!

Tennis Training Circuit Workout

  • Traveler pushups. Medicine ball alternates from one palm to the other.
  • Shuttle Cones: X or V pattern with racquet swings.
  • Squats stepping out and dipping under like a boxer. With or without weight.
  • Jump rope.
  • Kettlebell thrust (both hands), into overhead press. (alternate arms)
  • Set up 3 cones in a V pattern. Jump over cone, shuffle around cone to an upper cone and shadow swing a FH/BH. Cross over step and side step back.
  • Plank on hands. Walk hands in and opposite hand (left) touches opposite foot (right). Walk hands out, walk hands in and straight leg lift previously touched leg (right). Walk hands out, cross leg (right) across the body.

Hope You Enjoyed the Workout Guys!

When doing any home workouts please exercise in a safe environment, and if you need help or you’re not seeing results, I suggest seeing a health and fitness professional to give you tailored advice on your exercise form and dietary needs. I am not a medical professional and what I share on my media platforms are my views and what has worked for myself. Your health and safety is the utmost importance so find out what works for you.

Tennis Stretches After Match Play Are Essential

3 Comments

How many players have you seen do a set routine of tennis stretches after match play? Probably less than five. However, it is widely accepted that stretching can help with recovery, increasing range of motion and injury prevention. So why don’t more tennis players do cool down stretches? My gut tells me that they don’t see the value in it, are just not looking at flexibility as an avenue to improve their tennis game or are just lazy. With top tennis players like Novak Djokovic showing off their range of motion, body control and shot making in compromised positions most of us can only dream of, I think its safe to say post match stretching should be on our to do list.

Here are some things to consider to get the most out of your post match stretches. It is important to get your stretching routine in after the workout while the muscles are still warm. Keep stretches gentle and slow. Don’t bounce. Breathe through your stretches. If you feel pain, you’ve stretched too far. Each stretch should be held for thirty seconds minimum to realize incremental gains. You can repeat the stretches two to three times.

Enjoy this full body cooldown stretch that you can do after any workout to relief your body and help you with muscle recovery.

Sitting Hamstring Stretch

Sitting hamstring tennis stretch

Sit on the ground with one leg bent at the knee with the foot facing inward. This is called the butterfly position. Extend the opposite leg, keeping it slightly bent at the knee. Bend forward at the waist, making sure to keep the back straight.

Seated Butterfly Stretch

Butterfly Stretch Post Match

Sit on the ground with both legs bent at the knee and feet facing inward. Gently pull your feet up towards your groin within comfort. Hold your feet with your hands and rest your elbows on your knees. Keep your back straight and apply gentle pressure with your elbows if desired.

Pigeon Stretch

Pigeon Stretch tennis players tight hips

Sit with one knee bent and the other leg extended behind you. Sit on the ground with your right knee bent and your left leg extended behind you. Pull the right heel in toward your left hip. Make sure your left hip points down toward the ground. If it begins to open up, bring your right foot back in toward your body.

Runner’s Lunge

Runners Lunge Great Tennis Stretch

Start in a lunge where your right knee is directly above your right ankle. Simultaneously extend your left leg behind you so that your left knee is behind your left hip and drive the top of your back foot into the ground. 

Supine Low Back Twist

Supine Low Back Twist Stretch

Lie down on your back with both legs straight. Bend your right knee at 90 degrees and bring it across your body until it touches the ground. Keep your right shoulder on the ground with your right arm extended, looking in that direction. Hold this position as desired and repeat on the opposite side.

Hero Pose

Hero Pose Stretch

Start by sitting with both knees on the ground. Try keeping your knees together and the tops of your feet pressed into the ground. Maintain good posture with your shoulders directly above your hips.

Cross Body Shoulder Stretch

Cross body stretch

Grab one arm above your elbow with your opposite hand, and pull it across your body toward your chest until you feel a stretch in your shoulder. Make sure to keep your elbow below shoulder height.

Overhead Triceps and Shoulder Stretch

Shoulder and Triceps stretch

Raise one arm overhead and drop your forearm behind you, resting it on your back between your shoulder blades. With your other hand, grab right above your bent elbow and pull gently, until you feel a stretch in your shoulder and triceps.

Downward Dog

Downward dog stretch tennis post match

Place your hands on the ground shoulder width apart and spread your fingers out wide. Lift your knees off the floor and straighten your legs as much as you can.

Will You Incorporate Tennis Stretches After Match Play?

Let me know what you think and if you are going to incorporate a stretch routine after playing tennis. If you enjoyed this video you may also like the quick warm up routine and circuit workouts under the training section.

As always, please take precaution to exercise in a safe environment, and I highly suggest seeing a health and fitness professional to give you advice on your exercise form and dietary needs. Every person is unique and there is no one size fits all solution to health or fitness. I am not a medical professional and your health and safety is the utmost importance.

6 Core Exercises for Tennis Every Player Should Do

Leave a Comment

We all want to improve our tennis game and you can by improving your fitness. Tennis players should be focusing on their core. Abs Abs Abs! Everyone wants those defined abs and tennis players do so much rotational movement that a solid core is essential. If your core is weak you run the risk of overuse injuries.

So here are 6 core exercises for tennis every player should do to improve their game. Enjoy the workout guys!

Essential Core Exercises for Tennis Players

Bird Dog

Do three sets of bird dogs and hold for five seconds. Make sure to alternate sides.

Core exercises for tennis bird dog

Plank

Hold an active plank for two sets of twenty seconds. Once complete, hold an active plank with an arm raise. Do three sets of five second hold with each arm. Lastly, do three sets of plank opposites where you hold out an extended opposite arm and leg for five seconds.

Shoulder Taps

Get into push up position and raise an arm to tap your opposite shoulder. Do one set of twenty total taps.

Side Planks

Get into a side plank by supporting your weight with your forearm. Do two sets of twenty seconds on each side. Once complete, hold your side plank and do leg raises, lifting the non supporting leg three times with five second holds. Make sure to do both sides.

Ab exercises for tennis side plank

Glute Bridge

Lay down on your back with your knees up and hands placed on the ground near your waist. Do double leg glute bridges for one set of ten reps pausing at the top. Once complete, do single leg glute bridges for one set of five reps pausing at the top.

Tennis core exercise glute bridge

Dead Bugs

Lay down on your back with your arms and knees pointed to the sky. Do one set of dead bugs for five reps each way. (Right right, left left, opposites, both arms and legs together)

Tennis core exercise routine dead bugs

How was the Core Workout?

Let me know what you thought of the core workout and how it will impact your tennis. If you liked it make sure to check out the quick tennis warm up routine and the post match stretch routine for tennis players.

When following any of my posts or videos, please take precaution to exercise in a safe environment, and I highly suggest seeing a health and fitness professional to give you advice on your exercise form and dietary needs. Every person is unique and there is no one size fits all solution to health or fitness. I am not a medical professional and your health and safety is the utmost importance.

10 Minute Tennis Warm Up Routine

1 Comment

Having a pre planned tennis warm up is essential. Here’s a brand new warm up routine that you can use before ANY of your workouts in any workout program. Before exercising it is important to raise your heart rate, activate your key muscle groups, mobilize your key joints, and perform some tennis related movements to get you ready to perform. It’s a quick 10 minute routine to get you warmed up before you get to the real action. Enjoy!

Do This Quick Warm Up Before Exercising

Raise your heart rate with:

  • 25 jumping jacks
  • Light jog across the court from sideline to sideline two times. To warm up the upper body you can add arm swings across the body and alternating arm reaches.
  • Side shuffle two times from sideline to sideline.

Activate your key muscle groups:

  • 20 arm circles forwards and reverse. Start with small arms circles and gradually increase the range of motion.
  • 5 YTWs with or without a resistance band.
  • Monster walks from sideline to sideline with or without a band.

Mobilize your key joints:

  • 20 twists keeping your toes pointing forwards throughout the exercise.
  • 10 squats with feet shoulder width apart and your hands behind your head to promote good form.
  • Lunges from sideline to sideline with knees tracking over heels. Add rotation for more of a challenge.
  • 20 knee hugs from sideline to sideline. For more advanced go onto tip toes or go down into a lunge.
  • 20 dancers where you hold your quad and your opposite arm reaches up overhead.
  • 20 heel sweeps or single leg arabesque with your arms out wide.

Perform tennis related movements prior to hitting tennis balls.

  • Shadow stroke forehands and backhands from sideline to sideline.
  • Shadow stroke volleys and overheads from sideline to sideline.
  • Reaction ball tosses or lateral ball catches with a partner for up to 30 seconds.
Tennis Warm Up Routine

Dynamic Tennis Warm Up for Match Preparation

Thank you for taking the time to go through this quick tennis warm up routine. If you enjoyed it you may also enjoy the 6 essential core exercises for tennis players and our quick stretch routine for post match play.

When doing any tennis or home workouts, do take precaution to exercise in a safe environment, and if you need help or you’re not seeing results, I suggest seeing a health and fitness professional to give you tailored advice on your exercise form and dietary needs. I am not a medical professional and what I share on my platforms are my views and what has worked for myself. Your health and safety is the utmost importance so find out what works for you.

Tennis Conditioning Drills that Bring Focus and Purpose

Leave a Comment

On Court Tennis Conditioning Drills

Here are some tennis conditioning drills that Chris Ferguson and myself do regularly to push ourselves on the court.

Recommended Areas of Focus when doing Tennis Conditioning Drills

  1. The drill has to be challenging. Just enough so that we are pushed out of our comfort zone and need stretch our abilities to rise to the occasion.
  2. We focus on staying loose and seek to feel effortless control when hitting the ball so that we are more likely to get into the zone.
  3. We set the drill to a time limit so that we know we have a fixed amount of time to bring our best.

For the drills shown today we did intervals of 6 minutes. These are advanced drills and you can find the pros do these effortlessly on YouTube here so you can see the difference. If you would like to see the drills we used to build up to these comment below and we can share them with you.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

Randy & Chris

Warm Up Tennis Drills for Pre-Match Play

Leave a Comment

Warm Up Tennis Drills

Warm up tennis drills are a great way to structure a tennis warm up at all levels of play. We have all seen a group of friends or a family step out onto the tennis court and start hitting groundstrokes from the baseline for a few minutes and call out, “Let’s play first good serve.” There has to be a better way to get warmed up on the court prior to match play.

In order to perform at your best you have to have a game plan to get you there. Today, it is common practice to have a dynamic warm up routine to get your body ready to start hitting the ball. But what are some quality warm up tennis drills you can use to get your timing and feel for the ball prior to your match?

Below are 5 warm up tennis drills that Chris Ferguson-Mcintyre and I, both former Division 1 college tennis players, do prior to playing our matches.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #1: Short Court

Warming up with short court helps you get your feel for your spins and timing established prior to moving back to the baseline. Both you and your partner start behind the service line and rally groundstrokes as if it were the baseline.

  • Key Areas of Emphasis

    • Establish your footwork and keep the proper distance between you and the ball.
    • Stay loose and meet each ball out in front.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #2: Reflex Volleys

To get your eyes and timing adjusted to a fast pace of play do the reflex volley drill. You and your partner will start behind the service line and volley to one another, aiming for each others chest, while closing toward the net after each volley when appropriate.

  • Key Areas of Emphasis

    • Split step and turn your feet sideways as much as possible on each volley.
    • Keep your center of gravity low.
    • Step forward into each volley as often as possible.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #3: Groundstrokes 2 Feet Inside the Baseline

To get use to taking the ball early, which is a best practice in doubles, stand 2 feet inside the baseline and adjust your feet to take the ball on the rise. This drill will help you pick up deep hard hit balls that occur during match play and build your confidence taking the ball on the rise.

  • Key Areas of Emphasis

    • Keep your center of gravity low.
    • Stay level throughout your stroke.
    • Stay intense with the legs and loose with the upper body.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #4: 2 Volleys and an Overhead

For this drill you will start behind the service line and your opponent will start behind the baseline. To simulate match play, you will get the first volley near the service line and close in toward the net for the second volley, followed by an overhead, and repeat.

  • Key Areas of Emphasis

    • Split step and have your center of gravity low.
    • Keep your shoulders over your hips as you close toward the net so you can adjust back for the overhead effectively.
    • The net man closes toward the net as often as possible.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #5: Serve and Return Drill

The server and returner set up as normal. Once the server serves the ball the returner aims to return the ball deep where the servers feet land near the baseline. The server hits his first ball as he would in a match.

  • Areas of Emphasis

    • Server adjusts back quickly after hitting the serve.
    • Returner aims for the specific area on the court. Aim small miss small.
    • Returner prepares his racket low and takes it back as early as possible on hard hit serves.

Tennis Drills to Come

That concludes the match preparation tennis drills for this post. Be sure to subscribe to the blog to receive the most recent posts from Tennis Nation Racquet Sports. The next tennis drills will be for a dynamic warm up routine so stay tuned. See you on the court!

3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Tennis Practice

Leave a Comment

Improve Your Tennis Practice

Improving your game takes a lot of work, so it’s best to make your tennis practice highly effective. Michael Jordan states it well when he talks about the importance of practicing effectively to get desired results.

“You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”

If you haven’t  read my prior post, 5 Ways to Improve your Tennis Game, check it out. It explains how to measure the effectiveness of your tennis practice.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

When you go to your tennis practice make sure it is effective. Structuring your tennis practice with purpose and hitting with someone that pushes you is ideal. One of my former bosses always said that if something doesn’t feel scratchy than you are not learning.

For example, you could practice hitting groundstrokes down the middle of the court to work on your forehand and backhand. However, ask yourself if that is the most effective activity?

Remember, the more effective the tennis practice the greater the result will be. You could structure a forehand drill to start in the middle of the court and work on hitting each forehand crosscourt, making sure to move out to the ball and recovering back effectively.

Bring Your Best

Bringing your best to the court makes for an engaged and focused tennis practice. It is a lot of work to move out to the ball quickly, set up and stroke the forehand, and recover back effectively. The activity of hitting down the middle isn’t bad, however if it doesn’t push you then you are not growing.

When you step out on the court I doubt you say that you want to maintain your game, especially if you are seeking out material and tools to improve your game. With that in mind, I urge you to ask yourself how effective are the activities in your practices? Are they giving you the results you desire? If the answer is no you may find it hard to get motivation to play tennis.

Celebrate the Small Wins

In order to be happy with your tennis game you need to progress. There are different ways to get motivated but I believe only one truly lasts and is essential to every tennis players development. We have all been with a team that rallied together to get pumped up or watched a video that motivated us to go out and do something. That kind of activity provides short term motivation and action.

For long lasting motivation it’s best to improve your tennis practice and training so you make progress. Once you see the results you will want more and that builds the passion and desire to continue. Think about it, you can’t motivate someone to lose weight. However, once they start doing the activities to lose the weight, they see the results and get the motivation to continue on.

“Repetition with passion is the mother of skill.” -Tony Robbins

What will you do to improve your tennis practice?

5 Steps to Improve My Tennis Game Example

Leave a Comment

Playing Tennis with a Purpose

First, make sure to read the previous post, 5 Steps to Improve Your Tennis Game. This post is an example of how you can develop a game plan for playing better tennis and is meant to be used as a guide. Enjoy!

My tennis technique is fundamentally sound, however, my strategy, fitness and mental game are susceptible to breaking down. I don’t play enough matches to be match tough. When I play tennis players at my level or below I find myself preparing for each ball and hitting each shot relatively comfortably. However, at times I miss what many would see as a routine volley or put away ball. I believe this is due to a lack of match play.

When I play better tennis players than myself, tennis becomes very difficult. During point play, I find myself out of position when my opponent is on offensive due to not reading or reacting to the ball soon enough. I find better tennis players hit fewer short balls which makes playing my preferred style of play more difficult; attacking tennis. As a result, I tend to approach the net on balls that are deeper in the court or playing out longer points from the baseline.

Over the past several years I have not put in the tennis training required to progress past the 5.0 level. There are reasons why but they are just excuses. My fitness is not that of a competitive tennis tournament player and I get tired which leads to other aspects of my game breaking down.

Stepping up my Tennis Development

Since January 1st of 2015, I have stepped up my commitment to myself as a tennis player. I have gotten back together with tennis friends that are highly motivated to improve their tennis games and fitness. I play four days a week for two plus hours a day where I get pushed out of my comfort zone on the court and I teach tennis about ten hours on the weekend. I also get in the gym every Monday and Friday at seven am before my 9 to 5 with my good friend Chris.

Vision for My Tennis Game

I envision myself as an all court attacking player that plays at the open tournament level. I will dictate play with my serve and attack each short ball I receive, followed by taking the net and finishing the point. I will mix in a serve and volley from time to time when the opponent chips back the return. On the return games, I will hit through my returns with confidence and neutralize my opponent’s serve. I will transition up to net whenever I get presented with a short ball to approach on.

Throughout my life I have identified myself as being as tennis player and a coach. Some of my interests have changed but my passion for tennis and leadership has been continuous. When I think of my life I feel there would be nothing more satisfying than sharing the sport and benefits of tennis with others. I see myself continuing to learn and grow as a tennis player and coach to the point where tennis becomes my only source of income to support myself and my family.

Develop a Mission or Roadmap for My Tennis Game

On The Court

  • Play 2+ hours of tennis a day, four days a week.
  • Ensure all practices are structured and challenging.
  • Practice the serve and return every time I step out onto the court.
  • Play a minimum of one match per week.

Gym Workouts

  • Workout in the gym a minimum of two times a week for an hour.
  • Structure the workouts to incorporate strength training and flexibility.
  • Workout with a partner and push each other.

Diet and Rest

  • Eat a large breakfast.
  • Take in protein before and after each workout.
  • Avoid caffeine and candy with high amounts of sugar.
  • Maintain a well-rounded diet and take in the amount of calories necessary for the amount of training being done.
  • Get eight hours of sleep each night.

Coach and Leader

  • Research topics that will add value to tennis player’s development and myself as a coach.
  • Stay focused on one research topic at a time.
  • Share the information I learn and my experiences on the blog for everyone to see.
  • Meet with mentors and share thoughts with other coaches or leaders in the tennis community to learn new things.

Setting the Standard for My Tennis Game

My standard for where I must get myself as a tennis player is playing competitively at the open level. I must play attacking tennis and swing out confidently on all of my strokes. When the opportunity arises to put away my opponent I must make the shot 90+ percent of the time.

My fitness and flexibility must get to the level where it doesn’t break down and affect my tennis performance. Specifically, I must be able to play two three set matches per day, two days in a row without my fitness negatively impacting my performance on the court. When on the full stretch I need to still be able to find strength in the full stretch position.

As a coach I must share as much valuable content as possible with the world to help others improve their development as tennis players. I must be a leader in the tennis community and make tennis the primary source for providing for myself and my family.

What is to Come?

My game plan to improve as a tennis player is not perfect and I am sure it can be improved upon. In the future I will be keeping track and measuring the effectiveness of the activities and drills I do, which I will share here on the Tennis Nation blog. If there were items you would change or add let me know by adding a comment below.

What is your plan for becoming a better tennis player?