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Tennis
Cast your mind back
to last year’s
Wimbledon final
between Nadal and
Federer - a 4 hour, 48
minutes long, display
of power, stamina,
strength and skill from
two top athletes. Ok,
you might be more of a
Sunday slogger than
Wimbledon wonder
but you can improve
your game.

By Caroline Sandry

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in Tennis’ provides

‘W quality tennis
training for all:
working closely
with local
communities, they search out future
champions and fast track them along the
winning pathway. Mike Walker (Chief Exec
Pro Training
Ryan has significantly improved the condition of the players he works with. Initially he
discovered that their strength and conditioning sessions were neither of the volume nor
specificity needed. Now under his guidance players do 3 to 4 strength sessions a week and 3
to 4 conditioning ones - of which 2 of the latter are speed and agility focused and involve
tennis specific movement drills performed at high intensity. The week also includes 4-6
and director of tennis) explained, “Our aim workouts designed to prevent injury – these include pre-habilitation exercises, which focus on
is to help players maximise their potential, core stability, strength and flexibility.
by putting the right people in the right
place…” I went along to meet the right Strength and Conditioning
people at the right place! Namely, Ryan Ryan explained that the conditioning programme is designed to create physical adaptation
Blake - head of strength and conditioning through integrating fitness components into a training programme, which compliments other
and sports science co-coordinator at the aspects of the performer’s development. He went on to clarify that this includes, though not
prestigious Bisham Abbey National Sports exclusively, strength, speed, power, endurance, agility and flexibility, all of which improves the
Centre in Marlow. player’s game whilst reducing the risk of injury
Ryan showed me around the beautiful
Bisham Abbey Sports centre and after a Warm up
brief chat about my fitness and tennis ■ Foam roller – to mobilise, warm up and wake up muscles
experience (teenage lessons and nothing Roll any areas of tightness, 20 reps and 90sec hold on tightest areas.
much since, fitness level pretty good) we ■ Heart rate raising activity (5-10mins), for example:
got down to work. Court jogging
As with all the athletes Ryan trains, we
Skipping drills
started in the gym with a warm up on the
Treadmill run at slight gradient (to mimic road running)
treadmill before moving onto functional
■ Mobilisation work – all done with bodyweight and/or rackets x 10 reps
movement screening – the aim of this is to
Overhead squats
show an individual’s movement efficiency
and any limitations they might have. Ankle to elbow lunges
Screening plays a crucial part of the Zombie walk (walk with arms held parallel to the ground, swing one leg at a time straight
training process - athletes are screened up in front of you as high as you can)
two to four times per year and after any Spiderman Crawl (on all fours crawl like Spiderman moving arms and legs together in
injury. Mobilisation drills were next up – a 45-degree diagonal direction – repeat to the left and right)
these provided Ryan with more ■ Dynamic movement preparation drills
information about my body’s functions and Side steps
weaknesses, which could potentially lead Cross overs
to injury. Moving out onto the court, next High knees
we did dynamic movement drills to really Glute kicks
get my mind and body prepared for both ■ Muscle activation work with thera/flexi band to recruit and fire specific muscles
the playing surface (clay) and tennis Walking forwards/backwards
specific movements. Crab side steps (with band around ankles at a hip-width with tension, walk laterally like a
Ryan then introduced me to Martin Lee, crab only moving legs, keep whole body still)
coach to the junior players and an ex-pro, Jumping ankle touches (with band around ankles at hip-width, jump vertically, clicking heels
who has been at Bisham Abbey from the together and hold. Land with feet in same position as take off)
age of 14! Martin took me onto the clay ■ Tennis specific movement drills
court and we began with some simple
Acceleration to net and open/closed stance backpedaling
hand to eye coordination drills so that he
Clock drill
could see how I responded. As I hit the
Wide forehand/backhand shot shadowing
balls, Martin asked how it felt, and
provided positive feedback that gently
improved my strokes. The session was
very intuitive. Martin explained that he is
looking for natural talent and ability and
encourages your own natural rhythm –
although this can be adjusted at a later
stage. After forehands, we moved to
backhands and then to the serve. I was
pleasantly surprised by my own ability and
felt during that short session the I had
improved and learnt a great deal. Having
played tennis as a teenager (a long time
ago!) I was happy to still have a good eye
for the ball, and was surprised what a
difference new kit makes (especially a top
racket). One thing that I did have to
change though was the effort I put into my
stroke play, the more I relaxed, the better
my strike of the ball and it soon begun to
feel effortless. UF

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Strength Training
■ ‘Training mature’ that’s those with years of relevant
conditioning behind them players, perform the following
dynamic strength exercises:
■ Power/Hang Clean
Power/Hang Snatch
Push Press
Split Jerk
Overhead Squat
Front Squat
Dead-Lift
Pull-Ups – of different varieties

Power/Hang Clean

Avoiding shoulder injury

Regular tennis can damage the shoulder and in particular the
glenohumeral joint and the rotator cuff muscles*. The
ligaments, tendons and muscles that support the ball and
socket joint can become over developed in the hitting
direction and not in the opposite movement. Repetition and a
weakness in the joint then results in shoulder problems. There
are a number of exercises that you can do to combat this –
here’s an example of one:

External shoulder rotation

using dyna-band
You’ll need a training partner to assist you and a short
medium strength dyna-band or similar rubber band type
of exercise tube.
Description for right handed player (reverse for left-hander)

1 Stand in a ‘ready’ position with feet shoulder-width apart

Overhead Squat
Recovery
■ Cool Down:
Up to 5 min. light C.V work at no more than 50% intensity
■ Developmental static/PNF stretching for 20-30mins
(the latter involves resistance being applied to a stretch by
use of a dyna-band or partner and then after the release of
the resistance the stretch being extended)
■ Further recovery techniques such as:
Ice baths after long court workouts
Hydrotherapy pool sessions
Individual massage
Strictly monitored nutrition plans
and left hand on hip
2 Place a towel between your (right) upper arm and side to
act as a pivot and ensure your elbow is positioned directly
below your shoulder
3 Grasp the handle of the dyna-band and flex your elbow to
a 90-degree angle, holding the grip just in front and to the
left of your navel
4 Your training partner should be positioned to the left, just
behind you with a firm grip on the other end of the
dyna–band (there must be tension in the band, so that
when you externally rotate your shoulder, you pull
against a resistance)
5 Rotate your shoulder externally (ie take your hand away from
your naval and out to the side) to stretch the dyna-band.
Keep your lower arm parallel to the ground and your hand
position held constant
6 Control the movement back to the start position and repeat
* Rotator cuff muscles – there are four of these that basically function to
keep the ball in the socket of the glenohumeral joint

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How you can get tennis fit

Speed and agility drills
1. ‘W’ drill
Do back pedal, side step, cross-over step sprints in a ‘W’ shape on court - develops multi-directional tennis specific movement capability

2. Clock drill
Start in the centre of the court and get your partner/coach to call out a number on the ‘clock’, sprint to touch the relevantly positioned
cone and then return to the start position as quickly as possible.
Do: 4 to 6 reps (of each exercise) with 20sec rest. 4-6 sets with 1min rest between.

Specific Strength Exercises

Body weight exercises are a great place to start.

1. Overhead Squat
Lower to thighs parallel to floor position, with arms shoulder-width apart, fully extended and held vertical throughout the whole
movement. Keep your chest up, shoulders back and head up.
Progression: hold your racket over-head.

2. Press-Ups
With hands under shoulders lower until your chest touches floor. Keep your body straight.
Progression: Try this at a slight decline off of a bench or step to target your shoulders more or perform on a Swiss ball (feet on ball) to
enhance core stability.
Further progression: do plyometric (jump) press ups for explosive power. Press up as fast as possible to jump your body into the air,
land and rebound into another rep.
Do: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps with 1min rest

Tennis Kit
Specific tennis shoes are a must – I wore ASICS Tennis, but most decent sports manufacturers will offer a specific tennis shoe. A running shoe will
not offer enough support for the multiple and dynamic lateral movements involved in the game – see page 82 for Andy Barber’s court shoe test.
Lightweight, breathable clothing is best: My outfit was by Ellie Gray – Skort (skirt with shorts built in) £25 and top £20
Rackets are highly personal, and a teacher or pro may suggest a racket that will suit you. I recommend Prince, and used a Ladies Prince O3 Black
which felt great and was very light. £80.00
Stockists: www.elliegray.com www.asics.co.uk www.tennisnuts.com www.princetennis.com

For further info on Win Tennis, go to: www.wintennis.com or email: ryanblake@wintennis.com

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