Exercises for fitness and endurance

As a tennis player, you know that good endurance and strong fitness are crucial. Especially if you play a lot of singles during training or matches, you need to be able to run a lot, react quickly, and, above all, not get exhausted mid-match. But how do you effectively work on your fitness and endurance to deliver your best game on the court? In this blog post, we share some useful exercises that will help you improve your fitness, so you have more power, speed, and endurance while playing tennis. 

Why are fitness and endurance important in tennis? 

Tennis demands a combination of strength, speed, and endurance. It's a sport that alternates short, explosive movements with periods of rest, and in between, you sometimes have to sustain long rallies. This means your body is constantly switching between maximum effort and recovery. Without good form, you'll quickly find yourself struggling to maintain your energy level from the second set onward. That's why it's crucial to build strong endurance and good fitness. 

Below we list a number of points that you can benefit from if your fitness and endurance are well taken care of: 

• Being able to continue responding quickly, even when you get tired; 

• Maintain focus and concentration, even during long matches; 

• Recover efficiently between points and sets; 

• Less prone to injuries because your muscles are better prepared for intensive exertion. 

Good exercises in a row 

To help you get started on building better fitness – and therefore more stamina – for tennis, we have listed a number of good and targeted exercises for you below. 

1. In interval training 

Work on your speed and recovery with interval training. Alternate sprints with recovery periods, just like in a race. How? First, find a long, straight track of at least 200 meters. Then sprint for 100 meters, followed by a 100-meter run to recover. Repeat this about ten times. This type of training improves both your anaerobic power (explosive strength) and aerobic systems (endurance), which is crucial for lasting longer rallies. 

2. To your jump 

A simple yet highly effective exercise for tennis players is skipping. This exercise not only trains your fitness but also your footwork, both of which are essential on the tennis court. For example, start with three sets of one minute of skipping followed by thirty seconds of rest. You can gradually increase this until you're finally doing five sets of two minutes of skipping, with thirty seconds of rest in between each set. Want to challenge yourself even more? Then you can try jumping on one leg or working with double jumps. 

3. Endurance run 

An endurance run also helps ensure you can play longer rallies without exhaustion. This training is actually quite simple. Run for at least half an hour to 45 minutes at a comfortable, easy pace, and try to do this two to three times a week. You can, of course, do this alongside your other training sessions. This way, you'll gradually build up your endurance and ultimately be able to perform at a higher level for longer. 

4. Ladder drills 

This can help you improve your footwork, speed, and coordination. Tennis requires quick changes of direction and good footwork. How does it work exactly? Place a speed ladder on the floor and perform various drills on it. Think of quick footwork (stepping back and forth between the steps), lateral steps, and scissor kicks. Start with five minutes and build up to ten to fifteen minutes of intensive drills. Ultimately, it will help you move faster and more efficiently on the court, which is beneficial during both offensive and defensive moves. 

Rest and recovery are also crucial 

So, conditioning and improving your stamina are the key to ultimately improving your tennis game. By incorporating interval training, endurance running, and skipping into your routine, you'll find that you can not only play longer, but also be faster and more powerful on the court. However, besides improving your fitness and stamina, rest and recovery are also crucial. Sufficient rest and stretching after workouts will help prevent injuries and ensure your body recovers optimally. Furthermore, invest in a good night's sleep and maintain a balanced diet to improve your performance on the court.