Former top 100 ATP player Jeffrey Salzenstein is simply taking tennis movement and technique to a whole different level than most people are used to. This is the real deal! He shows you technique for the run through forehand while keeping good balance. No more stepping and stopping. As an aside, Jeffrey looks pretty darn good as a righty. Must have been all of the non-dominant side forehands he hit as practice for his 2-handed backhand. He is really a lefty!!!

Until recently, I did not realize how much of a positive effect a fitness program for tennis had on one’s ability to have the endurance and focus that is necessary to get the most out of their technical training. Several players, parents, and coaches informed me of this benefit. When one participates in a fitness program for tennis everything appears to snowballs in a positive manner. Besides the obvious increased fitness for tennis, everyone becomes quite pleased about the improved technical results coming from the players increased focus, physical capability, and less need for breaks during technical training sessions.

In general, a fitness program for tennis needs to place focus upon several specific elements. Every tennis player needs a good first step, good recovery and change of direction to the ball and good physical recovery in between points with the capability of being able to last through long matches and tournaments. All tennis players should also focus on keeping their core strong (lower back and abdominal muscles) and take part in an injury prevention for tennis program which focuses upon strengthening the tendons and ligaments surrounding the wrist, elbows, shoulders, lower back, hips, knees, and ankles.  Yes, all of the aforementioned can and should be part of a specific and regularly implemented group or personalized fitness program for tennis.   

Oftentimes, players want individualized attention because participating in a customized for their needs fitness program for tennis, focus can be placed on their specific strengths, weaknesses, and capability. By doing so, results can be obtained quickly.   Prior to starting an individualized fitness programfor tennis, players should definately take part in an age specific fitness for tennis testing protocol. Results from the testing can quickly determine their individual strengths and weaknesses and the fitness coach can use the results asa guiding tool for creating a fitness program.  Anaerobic endurance, lower and upper-body power, quickness, multi-directional agility, core strength, speed and muscular imbalances should be the focal points of the tennis specific testing.

Note:

 Once a players strengths and weakenesses are determined, those weaknesseses need to become the focal point of their fitness for tennis program. The players age and style of play will also play a major part in what their physical needs for tennis are.

Improve Endurance? No!

Improve Power? No!

Improve Agility? No!

Improve Speed? No!

Improve Quickness/Footwork? No!

Before you write a bunch of f-bombs about me and my blog, let me explain to you that all of the aforementioned focal points of performance enhcncement are very importent for one’s game improvement, but “Injury Prevention Training” must be the #1 priority and is absolutely the most impotant tennis success factor.  Keep in mind that one should do injury prevention training aka “Prehabilitation” in order to prevent injuries and  at the very least help one recover much quicker from an injury. Yes, strengthening ones bones, tendons, and other connective tissue will keep away those nagging injuries.

Off the top of my head, the following are the most common areas of the body that can get injured while playing tennis:

ankle

hamstring

knee   

hip flexor

groin

lower back

stomach

shoulders

wrists

(I wrote the above list quickly, and am sure to have left a few areas out!)

Just make sure that while you are improving your fitness, you are also focusing on keeping your body healthy throughout the year.

Please note that since there are really no built-in off weeks from competition in tennis, it is important that several strategic “off periods” are included in ones yearly schedule. These off periods are an excellent time for doing game improvement skill training as well as strength and conditioning for tennis.

In this video Torando Ali Black and I demonstrate how reaction, agility(balanced change of direction), and quickness (fast feet adjustments) can be easily practiced. Try doing this for several sets of 20 seconds of movement followed by 20 seconds of rest. Doing so will significantly improve one’s anaerobic endurance. BEWARE: Tornado makes this drill look easy but it is actually not so easy. The player is required to react and change directions quickly and not get too close to the cones.

Jeff S. shows you perfect approach shot technique with the run through forehand. Anyone who is familiar with Jeff’s playing style knows that this former top 100 player on the ATP tour can get into the net and finish off points with a big volley. Don’t be surprised when this guy becomes the next big coach. He has a real grasp on both modern tennis technique and footwork.

I am an advocate of this style of training. If you are not being pushed and practicing in this manner then you are simply not going to improve your on court movement. There are a few technical elements that I may change and I would add in some reaction drills to the mix, but all in all a great clip on tennis movement. I would also not allow players to be keeling over and showing that they are tired. I don’t care how tired they are. That is simply not good practice and if one shows that they are tired during matches it will simply give the opponent confidence to run you around some more.

Why do you think that Manny Diaz has had an amazing record as Men’s Head Tennis Coach at the University of Georgia for the past 20+ seasons. Why do so many top players want to go there? Well, there are many reasons, but one thing is for sure…HIS SUCCESS IS DEFINITELY NO ACCIDENT. Since this video was posted on youtube, perhaps all of the coaches who still have their players run for many miles can learn from this video. This is how you do it!!! Repeated short agility is the name of the game if you actually want to be able to get to the ball and build tennis specific endurance. If anyone wants to debate me on this topic, I will be glad to do so. I just don’t want to be too scientific and long-winded here.

 In general, most people would agree that speed or distance over time is an important component to tennis court coverage. What many people do not agree on is whether or not an athlete can be trained to achieve great speed.  It is definitely true that some athletes are naturally faster and stronger than others because of the length of their limbs, muscle attachments, and amount of white/fast-twitch muscle fiber they possess.  I can testify to the fact that on many occasions I have both witnessed and strength coaches have told me about situations of untrained athletes being faster or stronger than trained athletes.  While it is true that not all players have the genetic makeup to become Olympic caliber speedsters, with proper training all players can and will significantly improve their own speed and strength capabilities. Now, it is time to focus on the two most basic elements of tennis speed. 

In this article, the two general components of speed (distance over time) that will be looked at are stride length and stride frequency. Stride length is the distance covered in one stride while running. In order to increase the length of a stride, maximum force during sprints must be increased. Stride length can be increased through resistance training such as weight training, sled or tire pulling, running uphill, running with weighted vests, plyometrics, elastic cord resisted runs, running with chutes, harness/cord resistance etc. Stride frequency is the number of steps taken over a specific distance or time. In order to improve stride frequency, sprint assisted training such as running downhill or cords that pull the athlete may be used.

When performing drills for stride length and stride frequency it is of utmost importance to make certain that proper running form is not sacrificed. During stride length training, stride frequency must be kept at normal levels and during stride frequency training; stride length must be kept at normal levels. Therefore, the fitness for tennis coach should make sure that the overspeed devices or resistances used are not too great or too heavy for the athlete. 

Please note that for this article we have only placed our focus on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. This absolute measure of tennis speed is only one basic element of getting to tennis balls faster. There are many aspects of court coverage that must be looked at when developing a fitness program for tennis. Along with raw speed, some tennis footwork court coverage necessities are reaction, agility, anaerobic conditioning, first step explosiveness, balance, and flexibility.   All of those aforementioned tennis footwork elements should be focused upon and enhanced for a physical conditioning program for tennis program to be most effective.