The old good tennis

Tennis is a lovely game and most of us love playing it. We all know winning is fun and for sure we all hate to lose. However, winning is not easy and it demands a lot of practice. Modern day tennis demands, speed , skill, strength and stamina and fortunately all of these four can be developed through proper training.

Demands of the game: Unlike a race, where you have a fixed goal to achieve, tennis is very much unpredictable. If you are Steffi Graf, you can mop up an opponent in less than an hour, whereas a men’s five setter can go on for four hours or more. This means you must be prepared for the worst eventuality, up to three hours for women and five for men. Endurance in such matches is a key factor, since when you get tired mistakes creep in and your attention starts to wander.

The surface you play on is important too because it can dictate the length of the rallies. On fast grass they tend to be shorter and more explosive, while on a slower clay surface they can last for 20 strokes or more, depending on your skill and your opponent’s. Once again, endurance counts.

Playing tennis for fitness, even on clay, is not the answer to aerobic conditioning. Strong and powerful legs, which can be developed through strength training both on and off the court and strong upper body is very important, particularly in the playing arm, back and shoulder region. Mobility and agility are the other key areas that you need to consider when analyzing a tennis player.

Phases of training: Peaking is not an important factor in tennis, at least not for professionals. If your goal is to win a club or county tournament, then the opportunity for peaking is far more possible. You may perform more endurance and basic strength development exercises during the off season, then concentrate more on agility and sharpness in the months approaching the event.

The training week: The structure of a tennis player’s training week differs from that of most other sports, partly because of the unpredictability factor already discussed. One may be relying on a week’s hard slog in a particular tournament and then get knocked out in the first round itself. In addition, much of the training week will be spent in hours of court practice, grooming the serves and drilling ground strokes down the line. Physical conditioning must be built carefully into this schedule so as not to interfere with the racket practice. Strength training should be aimed not only at toning the muscles involved but also at redressing the inevitable imbalances that can occur because of using one side of the upper body much more than the other, so as to help prevent injury.

In the weights room one should choose exercises to train muscles in the upper and lower body, particularly the legs, lower and upper back, shoulders and arms. Body weight exercises may also help these areas and the abdominals. Drills on and off court helps in improve the ability to move your feet quickly into the correct position, while short, intense shuttle exercises to increase speed, followed by adequate recovery to maintain quality, helps in covering the court quickly and effectively.

On court one can perform shuttles forwards and backwards, from baseline to service line and back, touching the ground with your hand at each turn. Moving from the centre of the court to the left hand tram lines, back and to the right hand tramlines quickly, always facing the net is another way of practicing fast, fluent court movement. Alternatively, a coach or friend can randomly call the direction for you to move, forwards, backwards, left, right, so that you practice changing direction quickly in response to the unexpected. There are also various types of tennis equipment that helps in such training.

Running is useful because you spend your time on court on your feet and exercises like, cycling and swimming helps in conditioning the heart and lungs without the wear and tear from pounding out the miles, and may be enjoyed as an active recovery.

Mini Tennis, as the name suggests, is the game of tennis designed especially for children, aged in between 4 years to 11 years. Mini tennis is the modified version of tennis for younger or inexperienced players, in which all the skills and tactics of the real game is learned and used. It offers an exciting and colourful introduction to the game that helps in sustaining a young player’s interest in the game and gives them a desire to play tennis for life.

Mini Tennis is an early introduction to tennis, with emphasis on developing agility, balance and coordination which are fundamental skills to have in place when moving onto Mini-Tennis Red. There are special training sessions for the children interested in mini tennis. These sessions involves various exercises in the form of a circuit that prepares the child for the game, whilst getting them used to working with others around them.

Based on the player’s age, three courses have been designed which is followed globally. They are Red course, Orange Course and Green Course.

Mini Tennis Red Courses: This course has been specially designed for the beginners. Children aged between 4 to 7 years needs to get started from this course. This course helps in learning and developing movements, co-ordination and ball skills. The children get an introduction to the game and above all, fun! Sponge balls and small rackets are used during the Red Course.

Mini Tennis Orange Courses:  This course has particularly been designed for children between 7 years to 9 years. After successfully completing the red course and learning the basics of the game, a child enters the orange course. Here they play on a larger court with low compression tennis balls. The emphasis is on playing the game, enjoying competition and learning all the shots.

Mini Tennis Green Courses: After the orange course, a child needs to undergo Green course training programme. This course is for children aging in between 9 years to 11 years. Here they play on a full size court with a ball that is slightly lighter and softer than a full tennis ball. This course promotes longer rallies. Children are encouraged to play matches and be competitive as they progress towards the full game.

Now comes the most interested part of mini tennis: Awards. Each colour stage has 3 levels. Level 3 is the most basic and level 1 is the most advanced. Each level has 5 sections covering physical skill, technical skill, tactical achievement, sportsmanship and off court commitment.

There are three tasks in each section. Once all 15 tasks of that level have been completed the child receives a certificate and a medal. At the ‘red’ stage, stickers are awarded for each task completed. They are then ready for the next level. There is no set time limit for each level award to be achieved.

Level 3 of each of the stages are generally easier to get and may be achieved in 1 or 2 sets of courses. Levels 1 and 2 will take longer to achieve.