It’s no secret that tennis players hate to warm up. We just want to play. What we don’t realize is that not warming up can harm our ability to play. Consider for a moment what your body must do soon after you step on the court; bend for a low shot, twist into a backhand, stretch to serve, jump for an overhead, lunge to return a drop shot and run to the net to retrieve a volley. These sudden and vigorous movements can injure muscles and joints that haven’t been warmed up. A pre-match warm-up doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It takes less than 10 minutes to raise your heart rate and avoid injuries, but a lot longer to overcome strains, sprains and muscle soreness caused by not warming up. Our five indispensable pre-match exercises mimic most of the movements you do on court. They not only will assist you in hitting that first all with efficiency, but also will ward off potential injuries. And don’t forget about warming down. You can use these same exercises after a match to help speed muscle recovery for your next workout.
