What are the benefits of off-court training for tennis players?

Tennis has and still is growing more and more into a sport that demands athleticism from its players. It is an extremely physical game.

When I think about the term ‘athletic tennis player’, I immediately picture a player that is strong, fast, agile, flexible, and powerful. I love this image of Serena Williams because it highlights multiple athletic qualities of hers that allows her to be so dominant.

Roger Federer said that one of the most important characteristics to be a successful tennis player is to be physically fit. Likewise, to Serena, he credits a major part of his success to a quality and focussed training regime that encompasses flexibility, strength, power and endurance. These are things which they develop off-court.

Both these legends of the game credit their team in helping them stay in shape so they can perform optimally when on court.

Regardless if you a recreational tennis player or perhaps you are an aspiring professional, your game will improve with off-court fitness. The importance of fitness becomes more evident as you progress into playing more difficult matches against more challenging opponents. Your matches become way more competitive and physical.

Increased physicality in games, places a higher demand on your body, and for those who are unable to handle the higher demands this will also place stress on your body that can lead to injury.

So, it’s super important to follow the example of Serena and Roger and many other touring professionals, and that focus part of your tennis development program on off-court training.

With the help of trained professionals, your off-court training will target specific areas of your game that you and your coach may identify as areas to improve on. This can involve strength training, agility, footwork, core and posture control, balance, mental strength and/or stretching.

The key is to have the right people in your corner to prescribe the most appropriate exercises for you, so that you can develop optimally.

Four Key Benefits of Off-Court Training

1 – Injury Prevention

Off court training allows you to focus on specific areas of your body that may be recognised as an injury risk. This may be done through stretching, foam rolling, exercise band work, balance etc. These need to be identified by a trained professional so the appropriate exercises can be prescribed.

2 – Maximise Athleticism and Performance

Getting stronger, more powerful, faster, agile and flexible are considered staples to an athletic tennis player, and these traits are best developed through off-court training. Before going through a training program with an expert, it’s important to get tested to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie so that a program can be carefully designed to suit your needs.

3 – Mental Strength

As tennis is an individual sport, it requires a great deal of mental strength to be able to succeed. Off court training with a mental coach can help with strategies you can implement during matches.

4 – Warming Up and Cooling Down

When preparing for a match its essential that the body goes through a warm-up routine to allow it to be ready to compete. This needs to be specific to you! This is the same for a cool-down. If you want your body to perform well, recover well and back up, then warm-ups and cool downs are a must.

So where to from here?

Speak to your coach to find out areas of your game that need to be developed off-court. From there you can set appropriate goals, seek the best trainers and start to put in place an plan individualised to you and your successful development.

Should you have any questions, our wish to come in and meet our Tennis performance trainer Jason Oei, please call us on: 02 9764 5787.

Alternatively, you can schedule a free 15 minute call with one of our high-performance team to discuss how we work with athletes at Precision Athletica and how we might be able to help you fast track your own development.

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