Tennis Warm-Up Guide: Essential Stretches and Drills Explained

Whether it’s maneuvering across the court quickly, serving powerful shots, or reaching for a forehand, tennis can be demanding and taxing on a player’s body. Stretching and warm-up exercises are essential for injury prevention and increasing your resilience on the court. You can help prevent common injuries like tennis elbow and rotator cuff tears by targeting these areas in your daily exercise routine.

Dynamic stretching is one of the best ways to warm-up for tennis. Dynamic stretches consist of small bursts of muscle activity without static stretching (holding a pose for 20–60 seconds). Research has shown that static stretching is a better way to cool down and mitigate soreness.

Tennis involves quick movements in many directions, so players need to perform stretches that target different muscle groups. Here are four dynamic stretches to incorporate into your stretching routine:

1. 1. Straight leg march. This stretch targets your lower back muscles, hamstrings, and glutes. To perform this lower-body stretch, stand straight, raise your left arm to hip level, and lock your knees. Next, lift your right leg, stretching it up to meet your left hand. Repeat using your right arm and left leg. Perform two sets of 10 reps per leg.
2. 2. Hand walks. This full-body stretch targets your shoulders, hamstrings, and core muscles. To perform a hand walk, bend over until both of your hands are flat on the ground. Walk your hands forward until your back is almost extended. Keeping your legs straight, inch your feet towards your hands, then walk your hands forward again. Perform two sets of five reps.
3. 3. Standing trunk rotations. Trunk rotations help improve balance and body stability by targeting the paraspinal muscle that stabilizes your lower back. To perform this upper body stretch, stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, extend your arms out in front of you, and place your hands on top of each other. Gently rotate your torso to each side. Perform two sets of 10 reps.
4. 4. Lateral lunges. Lateral lunges target your inner thighs, quads, and glutes. To perform this lower body stretch, stand straight and lower your hips. With a secure stance, take a big step to the side with one leg, bending at the knee, while keeping your other leg straight. Hold for a few seconds before switching to the other leg. Perform two sets of 10 reps.

A warm-up routine can physically prepare you for a match and prevent potential tennis injuries. Here are six exercises that you can incorporate into your next warm-up routine:

1. 1. Jumping rope. Jumping rope for a few minutes during your warm-up routine can increase your speed, agility, balance, and coordination. If you don’t own a jump rope, jogging in place while performing arm circles is another way to add cardio and shoulder movement to your warm-up routine.
2. 2. Jumping jacks. Jumping jacks can help you prepare for the range of motions that you perform in tennis while also increasing your heart rate and building endurance. Start off with two sets of 25.
3. 3. Shadowing. For three to five minutes, mimic the motions and movements you usually perform in a tennis game. Practice forehands, backhands, volleys, service motions, and overheads to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the game.
4. 4. Knee lifts. Tennis requires rigorous full-body movement. While standing in place, raise your arms to hip level and lift your knees to touch them. Perform three sets of knee lifts for 15 to 30 seconds at a time.
5. 5. Butt kicks. Butt kicks are a jump-training exercise that targets your knees, glutes, quads, calf muscles, and hamstrings. While standing in place, lift your left heel up toward your glutes, return to standing position, then lift your right heel using the same motion. Perform three sets of butt kicks for 15 to 30 seconds at a time.
6. 6. Mini-tennis. Before you can take powerful swings from the baseline, you should practice them on a smaller scale. Starting at the center of the service line—also called the “T”—rally with another player, keeping the tennis ball within the service boxes. Mini-tennis helps you get in the groove of your groundstrokes and volleys without expending too much energy right away.

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