Yudu - sportEX dynamics - 1999-2010

TENNIS CONDITIONING

FIT TO PLAY - TENNIS QUICK FUNCTIONAL TESTS & OFF

AND ON COURT CORRECTIVE EXERCISES By Carl Petersen BPE, BSc(PT), MCPA

INTRODUCTION Tennis is characterised by quick stops, starts, lateral movements and fast changes of direction. Movements in tennis include sprint- ing, side-to-side running, cutting, twisting, sliding, and quick stops and starts (1). Well developed balance and lower core sta- bility, strength and mobility is important to allow good court movement and minimise the chance of injury from the accelera- tion and deceleration forces in on court activities.

Figure 1: Athlete Paul Baccanello

Whether you’re getting your clients ready for tournament play or just recreational hitting, following the advice below will help you optimise their off and on court training time and also prevent injuries. This article outlines a few quick functional tests for lower body and core stability. Corrective exercises both off and on court can be prescribed for lower body and core problems that are detected and included as part of a pre-play warm-up. In addition some high performance recovery strategies are included to ensure your players get the most from their training by recovering well between sessions.

PROPER WARM-UP OFF (IN THE CLINIC OR GYM) AND ON COURT Some form of general warm-up should be done before attempting the quick functional tests. Slowly but methodically warming the body’s tissues helps prevent injuries that may be caused by going too hard, too fast, too soon with cold, un-lubricated muscles and joints (2).

KEY POINT

One of the main contributors to injury in the club player is the complete absence of any pre-play warm-up routine (3).

Lower core (low back, hip and leg) warm-up Jogging around the court incorporating some high knees, high heels, skipping, crossovers and side shuffle steps to improve co- ordination and add to the warm-up. Ensure the player stands tall and keeps their abdominals tight while doing these exercises. Aim for 2-4 repetitions of 5-10 meters of each.

Intense exercise done without a sport-specific dynamic warm-up does not allow for optimal performance and may contribute to injury. ■ Start slowly and increase the intensity and complexity of the warm-up ■ Proper warm-up prepares the muscles that will be used in train- ing and prepares the joints for movement, dynamic stability,

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Figure 2: Warm up hips with these high knees drills

Figure 3: Heels should contact buttocks

Figure 4: Remember athletic posture, hands forward

Figure 5: Athlete Ashleigh Fisher

acceleration and deceleration throughout full range of motion ■ It is commonly believed that a two degree increase of muscle temperature can give an increase in elastic properties of the mus- cle by as much as 15-20% helping to improve performance and prevent muscle strains ■ The warm up should be adequate if it results in a light sweat.

Quick functional tests (lower body) (4) (adapted from Celebrini and Petersen, 2006) The following four quick functional tests have been compiled to

Photo credit: Jon Pesochin greenteaphotography.com