6 Simple Warm-up Exercises For Tennis Players

• By Krsto Arsenijevic

Warming up prepares you for the upcoming physical activity and helps make you more resistant to injuries. For tennis players constantly on their feet, stretching before practice or games is essential. We recommend adding these 6 dynamic warm-up exercises to your routine to provide a whole-body warm-up and give yourself a thorough stretch.

1. Knees to Chest est 

You can start your warm-up with a round of knees-to-chest raises. This exercise will stretch your hamstrings, and to make it dynamic – make a step forward after every repetition. Try to hold your leg up for at least one second. Repeat the exercise for at least 30 seconds, before proceeding to the next one.

2. Butt Kicks cks 

Try to bring your heels as close to your butt as possible. This will stretch the front of your legs. Perform two to three 30-second sets with alternating legs. Standing still will give you sufficient stretch. To make it more dynamic, lightly jog across the baseline while kicking your heels back to hit your butt.

3. Straight Leg March rch 

Swing one of your legs forward, until your hamstring feels a stretch. Try to touch the foot with the opposite hand. Now try with your other leg. If you can’t reach your foot, go as high with your leg as you feel comfortable. Go marching along the baseline, for at least 5 raises with both legs. Try to maintain a good posture and avoid any strain.

4. Side Shuffles les 

Shuffles are a great warm-up exercise for overall fitness, but they also serve as an important warm-up to help build endurance and quickness during matches. Do a side shuffle for 20 seconds on each side. Try including some light overhead arm raises to add more difficulty.

5. Arm Circlescles

Arm circles are a basic upper-body warm-up routine. Swing your arms in both directions, for at least 20 seconds forward and backward while jogging really slow, or making tiny jumps. You can start with slower moves, and increase the speed gradually. You don’t want to harm yourself, so make sure you have enough space to perform this exercise.

6. Shoulder Warm-up -up 

As a tennis player, you can experience many injuries related to your shoulders, so don’t forget to include this exercise in your routine. 

Start by standing with your arms at your side and perform circles with your shoulders for 30 seconds in each direction. 

If you need additional attention to shoulder warm-up, I recommend improvising a few of your strokes without a racquet while jogging slowly. You can also try this exercise while using an elastic rope tied to a wall or a bar and standing a few feet away.

Warming up is an important part of the preparation for any physical activity, including tennis. Your muscles need to be trained for the best performance, so you need to stretch and loosen them up ahead of time before a game or a practice. By adding these simple warm-up exercises to your routine, in less than 10 minutes you will feel much more comfortable and ready for what lies ahead.