Anyone for Tennis?
VICKI-MARIE COSSAR EXPLORES THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF A GAME THAT’S BECOME INCREASINGLY POPULAR IN LOCKDOWN
IF YOU’RE not a runner or a cyclist, lockdown has been hard on your fitness routine. And while tennis might not have been top of your fitness list before lockdown, since the government allowed outdoor sports facilities to open from May, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has seen a
567 per cent increase in online bookings compared to the same period last year. And while there’s no Wimbledon, Spin, a free app that helps you find a tennis partner, has seen a 35 per cent rise in activity in June compared to the same time last year.
It’s estimated that the average tennis player will cover between three to five miles during a match and burn around 600 calories per hour, so with limited choices for staying active, maybe it’s time to add tennis to your sports bow?
‘At the LTA, we really want to encourage more people to pick up a racket, whether it’s for the first time, or the first time in a while,’ says Isla Smith, a professional tennis coach and elite level fitness instructor. ‘We want to make tennis relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable. The biggest misconception about the sport is that people think you have to be good to play, but that’s simply not the case. There are lots of ways beginners can get involved, whether it’s coaching lessons, or a tennis fitness class and in these socially distanced times, it’s a great way to get outside and be sociable.’
The health and fitness benefits of tennis are huge, from boosting aerobic and anaerobic fitness, to improving balance, flexibility, agility and coordination. It’s a great all-round workout and it stimulates your brain as you have to think tactically during a game.
‘A normal game of tennis gives you a strength and cardio workout and
uses all the muscles groups in your body,’ says Isla.
‘You use lots of lower body for running around the court, stopping and starting, jumping and crouching. People think it’s mainly shoulders and arms, but power for hitting the ball comes from the legs. To create power in our shots we work from the ground up and if performed efficiently we transfer that energy into the shot. Tennis also works your core, obliques, lats, shoulders and upper back. It’s a very explosive game, so you tend to work in both your aerobic (from long duration on the court) and anaerobic (short, powerful bursts of sprinting, hitting etc) systems therefore burning more calories.’
Still not sold? There are lots of other forms of tennis. Beach tennis is a cross between tennis, beach volleyball and badminton, while Padel tennis is played on a small enclosed court where the walls are used as part of the game. Touch tennis is played using foam balls and then there’s cardio tennis, a group fitness class set to music that incorporates aerobic and tennis moves. But you don’t always need to play tennis itself to get the fitness benefits.
Incorporating specific exercises into your routine can have the same effect as spending time on court, which is why the LTA has created a series of free tennisrelated fitness workouts. Each has roots in tennis with moves mimicking forehand, backhand, serve, volleys, smashes and lobs. The workouts are a fitness/tennis fusion of full body, functional exercises designed to make you stronger and more dynamic, which could boost your normal training when it resumes.
For more information on the LTA and tennis in Britain, or to view the workouts, visit lta.org.uk