At this point, we all know that tennis players have to be well conditioned. It not only helps you during those longer rallies, it also improves your ability to recover between points; so you can do it again and again.
But here’s the conundrum: most players assume that, to improve one’s aerobic and anaerobic abilities, the answer lies in more off-court conditioning. Running, bike intervals, circuits and the like.
Yet after thousands of coaching hours with elite players, I’ve realized something surprising - many of the fittest players don't do any off-court conditioning at all.
Here’s the thing, it’s kind of a mess out there, isn’t it? From the latest & greatest exercises to outdated information - and promises of quick results - the tennis fitness world can be a confusing place.
The truth is, there’s no one best exercise or one best program or one best [insert training fad of the week].
Instead, what we are left with are principles. Scientific principles to be exact. Like specificity and progressive overload and adaptation. So if a program is built on this type of foundation, improvements are almost ensured. If not...well, the reverse is probably true.
Don’t believe me? Consider for a moment what my clientele looks like:
