Old workout routines typically prove totally inadequate in preparing any body for the relentless pounding, repetitive motion, and extreme movements that tennis players endure.
There are a number of physical qualities serious tennis players need to excel on the court.

• Lower body strength and explosiveness— with just about every muscle from toe to hip deployed

• Upper body strength — with the muscles of the back, chest, shoulder, upper arm, forearm and wrist all playing important roles

• Speed and agility — with the ability to stop on a dime and change direction moving forward, backward, and side-to-side

• Core and rotational strength – with the back and abdominal muscles being taxed constantly

• Endurance (especially “anaerobic”) — with ability to perform bursts of high-intensity movement repeatedly

• Flexibility (lower and upper body) — with the capacity to handle being thrown in all kinds of directions at high speeds and beyond usual range of motion

Here are some of keys to maintain workout during this dark season of short days.

Instead of 5 sets of bench presses to make my pecs bigger, we do movements that engage all the muscle groups and tiny stabilizers required on court.

Increasing body awareness

People also tend to play too “tight” and try to “muscle the ball,” especially in tough matches. Trying to play more “loose” helps injury prevention and helps people respond faster when coaches make adjustments to unlock power.

Finding control amidst instability

Tennis requires extraordinary balance and muscular control– including the ability to decelerate after ballistic movements. The sport also engages (and puts tremendous stress on) tiny muscles, tendons and ligaments all over the body that can be easily neglected in workouts, especially around joints — wrists, shoulders, knees, ankles. Keep your mind on stabile, rather than bulging muscles.

Variation

No workout is ever the same, although all workouts use a progressive approach that builds in intensity and complexity of movement.