Shaping up for Competition
By Rose Bonomo, CSCS

The start of the Grand Slam season is a natural time to think about getting in shape for tennis. Watching the pros battle it out at the Australian Open encourages us to start preparing for the upcoming competitive season. Whether playing USA League Tennis as an Adult, Junior or Senior, or gearing up for the collegiate or open season, it's a perfect time to develop a strategy for improving endurance, speed, and agility.

The first component of tennis fitness is a healthy aerobic base. In order to last three sets, as well as to recover efficiently between points, a sound aerobic base is a must. This can be achieved by exercising three to five times per week for 25 to 60 minutes in one's target aerobic heart rate zone with activities including: playing a sport, biking, stepping, swimming, running, rowing, skiing, kickboxing, or power walking.

The second component is speed. In tennis, this means the ability to move quickly over short distances. In order to improve in this area, short intervals of aerobic bursts work well. Once your aerobic base is established, add several bursts of near maximum exertion, such as a sprint, for periods of 8-15 seconds with a recovery of 30-60 seconds either during your chosen aerobic activity or at a separate time, such as after practice or play. Start out with 2-4 intervals and work up to 6-12.

The third component is speed endurance. Tennis demands that you continue to come to the net or run down drop shots even at the end of the third set. To increase speed endurance, short speed intervals should be performed with a 1:3 work to rest ratio over a period of 20-60 minutes. A great on-court drill for this is to shadow tennis movement patterns (strokes and footwork) without a ball or a hitting partner. For example, start at the center of the baseline with your racquet but no ball. Run out and shadow a wide forehand, then run and shadow a wide backhand, followed by a cross court drop shot, then an overhead, then a backhand volley. Take a break of about 20 seconds, with a 90 second break after about 8 "points. Repeat various point sequences for 10-30 minutes. One college coach has a drill called "The Perfect Set" where his players shadow points as realistically as possible for an entire set. If you feel funny reserving a court with no partner, do these drills while working with the ball machine. When you run out of balls, shadow several patterns then use the ball pick-up time to fully recover. If you exercise outdoors, try these on a dry, empty outdoor court or even a field, as part of your routine.

To improve the fourth component, agility, try this volleying drill: Start at the center of the baseline, sprint to the T and split, then have your partner or coach feed you 6 consecutive volleys alternating forehand and backhand, with the feeds getting wider as you get quicker. Once you have mastered this, add a high volley/low volley factor and finally, feed 6 random volleys. This drill, the shadow drills, and the Hex and Squiggly Line Drills shown in the article (August/September issue) on Functional Training for Tennis, can all be effectively used to improve agility.

If you love to play tennis, you'll love it even more if you're feeling fit.