Tennis training and conditioning can no longer be separated for tennis players who want to reach their full potential. Every good facility that teaches tennis now has a strength and conditioning coach to optimize practice as much as possible.
Tennis training and conditioning should be integrated into practice time together if you want to get the best results from your practice. For beginners, 25% of the practice time should be conditioning, and at higher levels, 1/3 of the total amount isn’t too much.
Conditioning training includes everything from coordination and balance to strength training. The best tennis players are those who are complete athletes. To compete at a high level, players need to be fast, fast, strong, powerful, explosive, flexible, and of course, good aerobic capacity.
Players who follow good conditioning training will be able to be much more efficient on the tennis court while practicing or playing matches. The best tennis players are the ones with the best shots but they are also the ones who are fittest on the court.
Conditioning training can be done on the court or off the court. It has to be fully integrated into tennis training. Agility drills can be done every day on the court, during, before, or after practice. This will help players improve their footwork technique and then become much faster on the court. Once players start moving well, they will have more time to set up their shots and will then be much more efficient. Having great shots but not being able to move well or set up well will not help a tennis player once he is in a match situation. This is why on-court conditioning training with agility drills could be very helpful for tennis players.
Off the court, once or twice a week, a bit of cardio training will help players stay in shape. A good aerobic level allows players to be more intense while practicing or playing games. Tennis is a very intense activity and all too often we see players who tire too quickly or do not recover well. Constant cardio training like biking or running for 30 minutes will already go a long way in avoiding these types of situations.
Another very important part of conditioning is strength training. Strength training must be fully integrated into the program because the players are getting more powerful and to keep up with your opponents you need to be as strong as they are. Strength training is also the best way to prevent injuries that often occur to tennis players.
Flexibility is also important to prevent injuries, so a good stretching routine every day will be of great help to a tennis player.
The key word in conditioning training is consistency at least weekly. If a player goes to the gym for 3 weeks and then stops completely for a few weeks, his fitness level will drop. It is very important to keep doing conditioning at least to maintain the fitness level of the players. When a player does not hit balls for too long, it will be difficult to return to his previous level. The exact same thing happens in conditioning training.
Tennis training and conditioning must be done together and with consistency. This is the key to becoming a great tennis player and that is why it is so difficult to reach the highest level in this sport. Professional tennis players are well-rounded athletes who work hard on and off the court following tennis-specific conditioning programs. This must be done at any age and level for a player to reach her full potential.