get fit for tennis again – AND STAY INJURY-FREE!

Tennis fitness and muscle-strengthening videos

We must have missed about six months of tennis since last March. Let’s not miss any more through not preparing ourselves physically for the restart and then getting injured.

With a bit of luck, we’ll be back on court in a few weeks. The last I heard, the government was hoping to get the schools back on 8 March, so if they manage that, my guess is they’ll be allowing things like outdoor tennis as well. Are you ready? I’m not sure I am.

What’s the last thing you want when you finally get back on court? That’s after you’ve torn about a bit, hit a few balls with joyful abandon, gradually found your range somewhere between the net and the back fence, and felt just how great it is to be there. For me, it’s… TWANG!!! Something like that anyway.

It’s often my calf or my hamstring. For you, it could be your elbow, your knee, your back, your shoulder… The possibilities are virtually endless. Or maybe we’ll just be struggling for breath through doing too little over the previous weeks.

Fortunately, there are plenty of people making videos to help us avoid all that and get us preparing in the right way. You’ll find a quick selection below. If you try any of them, I’d love to hear how you get on – either in the comments below or by email to [email protected]. Then perhaps we can share the information around.

I can’t claim to have done any of this myself yet. This is just some initial research. I hope it’s useful.

Mike

List of videos

I’ll start with the shorter ones and go from there on a sort of “no need to bite off more than you’re going to be able to chew” principle:

Top three tips for staying fit for tennis at home (LTA): https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2020/november/katie-boulter-and-dom-inglots-home-tennis-fitness-tips/
Nice and quick, nice and simple, from Katie Boulter and Dom Inglot.
1 minute each
 
Shoulder/trunk exercises for tennis (LTA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGzs_e8i_KQ&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=LTA
Seated, exercise band needed.
3 minutes

​Shoulder exercises for tennis (LTA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C9MzGWBHYU&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=LTA
Seated, exercise band needed.
3 minutes
 
Tom Avery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnR2vm6F8P8&ab_channel=TomAveryTennis-CTWAcademy
Four exercises for strength that are also ideal for the supermarket car park apparently. This guy looks in incredibly good shape for a 70-year-old, so maybe these are worth it?
6 minutes
 
Essential Tennis, strength exercises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_pMqxGwh8k&ab_channel=RipItTennis
7 minutes
 
Dr Mark Kovacs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgUYya7kFd8&ab_channel=TheTennisCongress
Golden rules for tennis-specific fitness, more of a presentation really, at least for the first couple of minutes (I didn’t go any further).
13 minutes
 
Top Tennis Training – Pro Tennis Lessons: 15-minute home workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QSS3RAlslM&ab_channel=TopTennisTraining-ProTennisLessons
Looks good to me: split stepping, forehands, backhands, volleys. Compact and easy to remember.
15 minutes
 
Essential Tennis - High-performance tennis training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNochU1XpoA&ab_channel=EssentialTennis-LessonsandInstructionforPassionatePlayers
15 minutes
 
TENNIS FITNESS | James McGee's Pro Tennis Fitness Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quR-KBQPZ1o&ab_channel=TennisEvolution-OnlineTennisLessons
He says it’s a 21-minute workout, so there must be a follow-up video.
10 minutes
 
Tennis footwork workout at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_pMqxGwh8k&ab_channel=RipItTennis
Can be done in limited space.
24 minutes
 
1-hour tennis workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAzQwVeYYts&ab_channel=EvolveFunctionalFitnessWorkouts
Looks very like tennis-focused aerobics with music.
1 hour
 
You’ll find plenty more videos on the LTA’s Tennis at Home Hub and on YouTube.