The 10 best resources to improve your tennis fitness level whilst quarantined
Having a difficult time adapting your fitness routine to fit life under quarantine? As very active and busy people, we can certainly empathise with you. After doing a significant amount of research on the topic, we can report back that - as always - there’s good news and bad news.
The bad news? Until tennis clubs and courts reopen, your ability to hone your shotmaking skills is quite impeded. Yes, you can hit against a wall or do reaction volleys with a friend that’s part of your quarantine bubble, but that’s basically the limit.
The good news? Starting today, you can tap into the wealth of online resources and dedicate your time to getting stronger, more flexible, agile and explosive, rehabbing chronic injuries and upping your mental approach to the game. This post will have a physical fitness theme and subsequent posts will address our favourite resources for adjusting your eating habits and ability to focus and have a productive mindset on the court. If you’re nursing an injury, check out this post on self-myofascial release as an illustrative starting point.
When considering the priorities tennis players should have related to fitness, the following categories are both paramount and intertwined:
EXPLOSIVENESS
- Key workout types: circuit / interval training, HIIT, boxing
- The fast pace of the game necessitates being able to track balls down and recover equally fast
- Getting in ideal position to hit shots requires explosive and precise footwork
- Explosiveness should be prioritised over endurance training giving the interval-like cadence to match play
- Top pro examples: Rafa Nadal + Simona Halep
AGILITY
- Key workout types: plyometric and coordination drills, boxing
- A key attrbute in facilitating the rapid changing of directions, both lateral and forward / backaward
- Important to enable quick reactions (e.g. return of serve and netplay)
- Agility has different requirements depending on the surface
- Hard courts: the need to stop and start on a dime
- Clay courts: the ability to power slide whilst maintaining balance and adeptly change directions
- Grass courts: having precise footwork whilst maintaining some semblance of explosiveness
- Top pro examples: Roger Federer + Bianca Andreescu
FLEXIBILITY
- Key workout types: yoga, pilates
- A key to injury prevention, flexiblity allows you to improvise and adapt - especially when you're in a prone or awkward position
- Powerful strokes come from having upper and lower body flexibility, not brute force
- Top pro examples: Novak Djokovic + Kim Clijsters
STAMINA
- Key workout types: spinning, running, interval training
- Stamina is defined here as the ability to recover and compete without being impaired after a long physical point
- At a broader level, having great stamina is critical to being able excel in long matches in tough conditions
- Top pro examples: Dominic Thiem + Elina Svitolina
STRENGTH
- Key workout types: resistance training, body weight training, pilates
- Strength has intersections with explosiveness, because you can't be explosive without being strong
- Tennis is a true 'full body' sport, with core and lower body strength being particularly crucial for executing balanced, technically correct shots under any circumstances
- Top pro examples: Stan Wawrinka + Ash Barty
Without further adieu, here are our favourite tennis fitness resources which encompass drills, tutelage and workouts to help augment your stamina, explosiveness, agility, strength and flexibility:
1. The Tennis Fitness & Conditioning Channel on YouTube
This fitness and conditioning channel boasts 75 videos encompassing ideas for exercising at home, focusing on specific body parts, speed and agility training and much more. It's the best collection of videos we've uncovered on YouTube and well worth a persual.
2. Fitness Blender
Remember when you were reading above that there are a wide variety of non-specifically tennis types of exercise that are beneficial to your game? They're all here. Check out hundreds of free online classes ranging from cardio to HIIT, from yoga to pilates. Here is an example to get started:
3. Nike Training Club
If you're looking for an option to be explicitly progressive, check out this app. With NTC, you get access to four 4–6 week training plans. Whether you have access to a full gym or are training from the comfort of your home, there's a routine that fits you and your schedule so that you can reach your goals.
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4. Aaptiv
What caught our attention about Aaptiv? The fact that expert trainers guide you through thousands of workouts put together with specific goals in mind. An added bonus? They have created loads of playlists ranging from 'fresh hits' to classic tracks in every genre perfectly paced to your workout.
5. Glo
For those already well versed in or looking to get into yoga, pilates and meditation, you are Glo's intended audience. With over 4000 classes on demand and the ability to personalise your practice, you will find options that are right for you. Finding yourself incredibly busy at the moment? Class lengths range from just 5 minutes to 2 hours.
6. Fight Camp
If you're a fan of challenging, full body workouts but haven't given boxing a try, do yourself a favor and give it a go. Proper boxing technique requires agility, power, strength (especially your core and lower body) and coordination. Sound applicable to tennis? Exactly.
7. Built 4 Tennis (via Instagram)
Does the name Jez Green ring a bell? If you're thinking that he is famous for working with Sasha Zverev, you're right. However, his first claim to fame was working with none other than Andy Murray as he made is transition from an injury prone but very talented youngster to one of the fittest guys on tour. Check out the Built4Tennis IG account for daily inspiration or consider downloading the app which has 10 chapters of over 50 narrated video content.
8. Gaston Raposo (via Instagram)
Footwork a little slow and sloppy? This account will sort you out. Gaston has creative feed that shows a diverse set of drills and challenges but we're particularly impressed by some original plyometric drills that could improve your athleticism and prove hugely beneficial to your game. Here's just one example:
9. Tennis with Gary (via Instagram)
Another account we appreciate for it's ingenuity is 'Tennis with Gary'. A former ATP Pro, Gary provides stellar technique when showing a vast array of on court drills. However, we enjoy his off the court videos as well. Here's a video showing a far more challenging variant of the 'dead bug' core exercise:
10. Duglas Fitness Coach (via Instagram)
When you think of the fittest men on the ATP Tour, who immediately comes to mind? Dominic Thiem is an immense talent but his power, agility and stamina (and the mental fortitude that comes with it) give him a serious edge. Want to know how he does it? His trainer Duglas puts him through his paces on the beach, in parks, in fields, on court and in the gym. Follow this account and get inspired:
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