In a previous post, I wrote about some key lessons I learned from a weightlifting coach. One of those key lessons was the importance of general training for athletes. Although general training is vital for any athlete, developing athletes may get the greatest benefit from this type of work. When I talk about general training, I am referring to non sport specific movements. For tennis players, this means movements that are non tennis related. John Kiely, sport scientist and elite coach, refers to general training, especially in the early years of development, as movement diversity. In this article, we’ll explore the current dogma in physical preparation for tennis, why early specialization is an almost must and the theory behind general training.
Less Specific, More General
Many junior tennis players compete year-round. Unlike other sports like soccer and hockey, there’s no clear off-season for tennis - both in the juniors and the pros. This alone implies that many young competitive tennis players aren’t playing multiple sports. I even polled a large group
(40 young players) of 8-10 year olds that I coach - over 95% of them don’t play any other sport apart from tennis. Furthermore, as a physical preparation coach, tennis coaches (or parents) ask me all the time, “can you work on “tennis specific drills?”. What I gather by that is they want more movements off-court that are similar (or specific) to the movements on court. Hmmm….do these kids really need more tennis related footwork drills? Or med ball throws that look like forehands and backhands? Sure these movements have their place in a physical preparation program for tennis but perhaps we’re overdoing it... Perhaps what a developing tennis player needs is an array of movements off court to complement their tennis specific movements on court. I mean, there’s nothing more specific to tennis than playing tennis. This is where most long-term development models get it half right. Early on, focus on a broad range of sports, activities and movements. This is critical for long-term success.
Specialize Early for Tennis Success
Of course, to be good at tennis, or any other sport for that matter, you must practice the sport consistently. There’s no arguing that. I would even say that tennis is a sport that requires early specialization. Why? Many reasons. Technical mastery may take longer than other sports (similar to gymnastics for example). Although there are examples of pros going to college first before hitting the tour (Isner, Anderson etc.), it’s still more common to see juniors playing on the men’s and women’s tours before they even finish their junior careers. Three of the big 4 - Nadal (ATP 818 at age 15), Murray (ATP 546 at age 16), Djokovic (ATP 676 at age 16) were all ranked in the top 1000 ATP as juniors and played a mix of both ITF and ATP events throughout their junior careers. Federer was an exception as he played juniors until he was 18 and then turned pro (that said, after his first year on tour he was already ranked 63 in the world as a teenager). Want a more recent example - how about the top Canadian junior Felix Auger-Aliassime. He’s 17 years old and his current ATP ranking is 153 (at 15 it was already 712). These aren’t anomalies, there are numerous examples of players both on the men’s and women’s tours. I think it’s safe to say that early specialization is quite important for tennis.
Movement Diversity
By this point, you may be confused. I mentioned that movement diversity is critical for the long-term development of an athlete but that tennis is a sport where starting early and specializing are almost a prerequisite. As a parent, coach or aspiring athlete, how do we approach this dilemma? Here’s something to consider. Many of the top pros today were quite good at other sports. Nadal and Federer were both competitive soccer players. While coaching in the UK I met Andy Murray’s former preparation coach. On top of playing other sports, Andy’s off-court training program incorporated a variety of movements including strength training and Olympic lifts. I guess what I’m saying is that both are important for the developing athlete - specializing early and incorporating a large band of movements.
Decrease Injury Risk
Why is it important to incorporate a broad range of movements from an early age? For one, it’ll reduce the risk of injury. What are the most common injuries found in tennis? Overuse injuries. Like elbow, shoulder and knee tendinopathies, as an example. If you only play tennis, you’re performing a small band of movements in a repetitive manner - and often times, under fatigue. It’s no surprise that your tissues will only tolerate that for so long before something flares up. The majority of the athletes I coach have been injury free this year. I can’t explain exactly why that is but I have a theory - for many of them it’s the first time they are part of a full-time strength & conditioning program. They've been squatting, lunging, pressing, crawling, rotating, performing movements on one leg and so much more. They are playing tennis 10-15 hours a week but they now have another 4-5 hours a week of diversified movements. They are becoming less fragile and more resilient.
Accelerate Mastery
Here’s another reason movement diversity should be a focal point for all developing athletes. It may improve the mastery of their chosen sport. Many of you have probably heard of the 10 000 hour rule - it stems from Ericsson's theory on deliberate practice. While the 10 000 hour rule is now largely refuted, what we do know is that performing purposeful and deliberate work often results in mastery - whether that's in 5 years, 10 years or longer. Some researchers claim that performing other sports and movements may actually contribute to these 'non-specific' task execution - in other words, if you practiced basketball deliberately, but your main sport is tennis, those hours may still count towards your tennis development! More research needs to be done on this topic. But that said, what I've seen over the years, is that many of the best tennis players are also good athletes overall. They can run. They can jump. They can juggle a soccer ball. They can hit a baseball a mile. They can perform complex movements in the gym with relative ease.
Many young tennis players don’t have the luxury of playing multiple sports. That’s ok. It’s up to the coaches to realize this and surround these future stars with a wide range of general movements, especially during the early years of their development. They don’t need to perform a million footwork drills, they’ll get enough of those during tennis practice. They need general movements. And lots of them.