Tips on Improving Your Tennis Routine, Mobility and Flexibility.
How many of you incorporate a good warm up into your tennis practice?
Not only will you prevent injury, but you will also perform better. It is a good idea to do a 10-15minute tennis specific warm up before you play. During your warm up and play, it is also useful to identify any areas of your body that are lacking mobility and strength. You can deal with this as part of your recovery process; rest, rehydrate, refuel, and regenerate. This will take you far on the tennis court.
Use this time off the court to work on these areas of a warm up, a recovery and include some mobility exercises into your routine. Here are some ideas and exercises to get you thinking!
Good Luck!
1. The Warm Up
Incorporate a simple racket warm up routine into your game and you will see the benefits. Have a look at this video clip from the ‘Martin Method Tennis Fitness’ which I would recommend.
2. Footwork/Movement Drills
Can you identify some of these footwork patterns in your own game?
Have a look at this video clip from the ‘Martin Method Tennis Fitness’ for Juniors and Adults.
How many do you actively do when you are playing?
Or perhaps analyse the Professionals in action during the Australian Open, doing these footwork patterns over and over!
3. Recovery & Mobility Exercise
Taking care of your hips is a crucial factor in becoming a better mover and becoming physically strong on the tennis court.
Here are Three Tennis stretches and mobility progressions, focused on improving hip function by ‘Mark Kovacs Tennis Performance Expert’, which I would recommend.
Stretch 1: 90/90 Hip Stretch
Stretch 2: Hip Flexor Stretch
Stretch 3: Butterfly Stretch
During this off court reset, we all need to aim to work on our mobility and injury prevention to improve or reset our tennis game.
Pilates and yoga are great ways to improve your strength, flexability and mobility while you are off the court.
With the power of zoom we can do live classes from the comfort of our homes.
I know club member, Assumpata O’Kelly incorporates these hip exercises and much more in her weekly zoom Pilates classes.
Think about how you can create your own tennis routine to include a warm up, some footwork patterns, flexibility and mobility exercises in your recovery.
Take this time to look after your body and remain injury free.
Looking forward to getting back on the tennis courts soon.
Anne-Marie Darcy,
February, 2021
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