Tennis Safety
Tennis Safety
While we are in the summer months, you should be taking advantage of the great weather to get in more exercise. One outdoor activity that is enjoyable, as well as a great form of exercise, is tennis. While playing tennis, you can play with a partner for fun or competitively, and when playing tennis you should play with the proper precautions and practice your skill and performance on and off the court.
Before the competitive play, you should always warm up. Warming up increases the flow of blood around the body and loosens muscles. This reduces risks or sprains and enhances your play. Focusing on dynamic stretching for the entire body with special emphasis on the upper and lower body is key to getting a proper warm-up.
As you play the game, keeping posture in mind will not only reduce your risk for injury but will help you play better when serving or swinging the tennis ball.
The 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist in Tennis, Lindsay Davenport, stressed the importance of correct form. Davenport also shared her secret weapon to obtaining the perfect tennis form, and that secret is three-way lunges (stepping forward, laterally and backward.) This exercise tones the quads and creates good tennis form because the lunges mimic the motion of hitting low shots. Davenport suggests doing 10 to 20 lunges four days a week on each leg.
Davenport also mentioned the importance of alternating tennis practice with other exercises. Davenport said her tennis training is hitting and stroke drills at a neighborhood court, weight training, pilates classes and footwork, and plyometric drills.
With all athletes in all sports, the hardest part of preparing for a big match is in the mind. Davenport explained keeping your head in each point is the toughest thing about tennis. You need a sense of calm and a big sense of belief. Her pre-game preparation consists of spending a few moments in silent and visualizing the game before every match.
Island Sports Physical Therapy is encouraging you to enhance your own games as you watch the 2016 summer games. Island Sports Physical Therapy has six convenient locations across Long Island and offers services in sports training, sports therapy, and a fitness program, along with physical therapy rehabilitation that can help you with your sports injuries or training.
