Training Recommendations for Junior Tennis Athletes

Recommended minimum training for tennis players who play tennis as a basic sport activity:

• Organized practice drills 1-2 times per week.
• A couple introductory private or semi-private lessons.
• Play for sheer fun once per week.
• Fitness 2 times per week.
  • Another sport, jog, cardio equipment, etc.
• Occasional competition with others at similar skill level.
  • Match play, Novice tournament, practice match with a friend.

Recommended training for tennis players who play for development of skills, the love of the game, and a limited number of tournament competitions:

• Organized practice drills 2-4 times per week.
• Blocks of private or semi-private lessons sometime during the year.
• Individual need practice time.
  • Serves, ball machine, hand fed repetition.
• Play for fun with friends or family weekly.
• Movement/fitness 2-4 times per week.
  • Strength, quickness and agility, cardio fitness, cross-training, etc.
• Seasonal competition
  • High school season, summer tournaments, a small block of tournaments.

Recommend training for players who commit to high performance training and year-round competition:

• Organized practice workouts 4-6 days per week.
• Private lesson time weekly.
• Individual need practice time.
  • Serves, ball machine, hand fed repetition.
• Strength training 2-4 times per week.
• Movement training 2-4 times per week.
• Cardio fitness 2-4 times per week.
• Tournament schedule throughout the year which includes competition at three levels:
  • A competition level which you should expect to win multiple rounds.
  • A competition level which you must compete at a high level to be successful.
  • A competition level which challenges you to reach the next level.

Junior players are evaluated for drill group levels by four criteria:

• Athletic skills    Tennis skills     Commitment     Competitive results

Plan your training program to include the following:

• Movement prep / dynamic stretches prior to workouts and competition.
• Flexibility / stretching after workouts and competition.
• Strength workouts
  • Upper body (chest, back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms, etc.)
  • Core (abdominal exercises)
  • Legs (lunges, stairs, plyometric exercises, etc.)
• Quickness and agility
  • Speed rope, quickness ladder, line hops, etc.
  • Side shuffle, cross-over steps, spiders, cones, etc.
• Cardio fitness
  • Interval training (sprints, cycle, cardio equipment, etc.) o Endurance (jog, bike, cardio equipment, etc.)
• Cross Training
  • Another sport activity (basketball, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, etc.)

Customize your weekly workouts around your competition schedule. Here is an example:

• Mon/Wed = quickness / agility / upper body / core
• Tue/Thu = interval training / legs / flexibility
• Friday = light workout
• Saturday/Sunday = Tournament competition.
• Recovery after competition... no workouts on Monday!

Strength and Conditioning workouts at Schwartz Tennis Center (STC):

• Tournament II Players and Tournament Elite Players are encouraged to workout at STC.
• Strength and Conditioning workouts are Mondays/Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm.
• These workouts are offered after boys high school season until girls high school season.
• Focus is on strength, core, quickness, and cardio.
• There are no fees or sign-up associated with these workouts.