Racquet Sport General Preparation

Racquet sport participation is common in the US, especially with the surge of pickleball over the past few years. Furthermore, tennis is played by individuals across the entire lifespan; while sports like padel are currently increasing in popularity. 

For newcomers, there is no better way to prepare for the demands of racquet sport than gradually easing into the sport itself. Initially, I’d recommend 1-2x/week for moderate amounts of time (45-60 minutes), prior to gradually increasing participation volume to the desired amount over 2-3 months. Initially, avoiding back to back days is a good rule of thumb.

Putting a gradual participation progression aside, the next best way to prepare for the demands of a racquet sport is to condition your body with resistance training exercises. By doing so, you’re able to build the strength/power of your muscles, increase the stiffness of your tendons, improve the density of your bones, and condition your joints to tolerate more stress. We recommend general exercises primarily, but acknowledge the benefit of including a few exercises with a specific nod to racquet sports as well.

General exercises include:

Squat (thighs/quads, glutes, low back)

Single Leg Deadlift / RDL (thighs/hamstrings, glutes, low back)

Row (upper back)

Push Up (chest, shoulders)

Calf Raise (calves)

The above exercises each train multiple muscle groups per exercise (except calf raises), which increases the efficiency of the individual’s time spent in the gym. Calf raises are an isolation exercise, but generally fit in this category nonetheless. With the amount of low-level plyometrics that court sport athletes are exposed to, training the calves is critical for both performance and injury-risk reduction. 

We recommend performing 2-3 sets of each exercise for 6-8 reps, using a weight that leaves 2-3 repetitions in reserve (reps that could’ve been performed, but weren’t) at the end of each set.

Specific exercises include:

Face Pull (posterior rotator cuff)

Forearm Rotation (forearms)

The above exercises train the shoulder blade/posterior rotator cuff and forearm musculature, respectively. Both of these areas are worked quite hard during racquet sports and may benefit from targeted loading to potentially reduce the risk of shoulder and elbow/wrist injury. For the forearm rotation exercise, make sure to train both sides separately as shown.

We recommend performing 2-3 sets of each exercise for 8-12 reps, using a resistance that leaves 1-2 repetitions in reserve (reps that could’ve been performed, but weren’t) at the end of each set.

Ideally, these exercises or a variation of them should be performed 1-2x/week, year round. If performed on the same day as racquet sport participation, we recommend performing them afterwards.

Reach out to one of Evolution Physical Therapy & Fitness’ skilled coaches/clinicians if you are a racquet sport athlete and sustain an injury or have questions about implementing this program!