Rather than lifting weights and running miles to get in shape for tennis, focus on stamina and endurance when creating tennis conditioning workouts. Your ability to play hard for up to 30 seconds, then recover in time for the next point, are key aspects of tennis fitness.
Tennis Conditioning
Most tennis points last less than 30 seconds, with many lasting 10 seconds or less. This calls on your body's anaerobic energy system, which uses mostly glycogen to fuel your muscles. You will need muscular endurance to play multi-hour matches and the ability to catch your breath after each point so you can be ready to begin the next point. Aerobic workouts burn more fat, use low-twitch muscle fibers and don't help you train your ability to recover.
Cardio Exercises
Train in spurts of 30 seconds or up to two minutes, depending on your starting condition. Work very fast and at a high intensity, similar to the demands of a tennis point. Line-to-line runs, spider drills, burpees, running stairs and bicycle, treadmill and elliptical sprints are good choices for sprint training. Use a 1-to-3 work/rest ratio as you begin this type of training, sprinting for 30 seconds, then taking a 90-second recovery break. Check with a health professional before you begin sprint training. Sprint train for at least 15 minutes, adding this at the end of a hitting workout.
Muscular Endurance Exercises
Each time you play a tennis point, you deplete the stores of adenosine triphosphate in your muscles and produce some lactic acid, which contributes to muscle fatigue and cramping. Train muscular endurance with resistance exercises that use lighter weights for shorter periods of time. Use 5-lb. or 10-lb. dumbbells to work your arms and legs, performing 10 to 12 repetitions of an exercise. Take a 60-second break, then start another set of 10 to 12 reps of another exercise. Good choices include biceps curls, triceps extensions, chest presses and flyes, kneeling rows and kickback, squats and lunges.
Mental Conditioning
Much of the time you are on a tennis court, you are not hitting the ball. Most players don't train for this part of a match. Coordinate your recovery after each point with mental toughness training.
Play practice points with a goal of keeping the ball in play for 30 seconds, working your way into the net to finish the point. Immediately after the point, switch your racket to your non-hitting hand to release tension. Straighten your strings, looking only at your racket, as you walk back to the baseline, thinking about what you could have done better during the last point. Think about what you want to do during the next point as you walk from the baseline to the fence, focusing your eyes on your strings or any balls you want to pick up. Take a deep breath as you walk back to the baseline and hold it for two seconds. Slowly release the breath to relieve tension.
Performing this type of routine between points not only helps you mentally, but helps lower your heart rate, gives your muscles more time to replenish depleted ATP stores and helps your bloodstream take lactic acid away from your muscles.
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