Importance of Training

Introduction

Tennis is a popular sport worldwide played by millions of people from all walks of life, and at many different levels. The physical training required for tennis players to succeed at a high-level has become a major component of an athlete's program. To play tennis at a competitive level certain standards need to be achieved in all the major physical components including strength, power, speed, balance, coordination, and endurance.

Over the past 30 years tennis has developed from a sport based predominantly on strategy, timing and finesse, to a sport dominated by power, speed, and strength. As a result many sports scientists have been researching methods to help train tennis players in the lab and on the court. The major purpose of Tennis Training: Enhancing On-Court Performance is to bring over 300 tennis-specific scientific studies to the coaching community to help the coach, strength and conditioning specialist, trainer, physical therapist, medical doctor, and parent develop the tennis athlete's fullest potential.

Training tennis players requires the successful, yet complex, interplay of tactical, technical, physical and psychological components. The physical components are the focus of this book, and the goal is to outline the major physical aspects to successfully train competitive tennis players. Extensive review went into combining well-researched scientific studies with practical coaching know-how to develop a comprehensive guide to tennis training.

This book has been written by three tennis experts who combine years of academic knowledge with real-world practical coaching to truly blend the art and science of tennis performance. Dr. Mark Kovacs combines extensive playing experience, which includes a top 100 ITF junior ranking, winner of a US "gold-ball," competing in many international tournaments including the US and Australian Open before attending Auburn University where he was an All-American and NCAA doubles champion. After playing professionally he pursued his graduate work performing tennis-specific research. He has combined researched scientific evidence in his coaching profession both as a high level tennis coach as well as a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) training hundreds of high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. He has previously been the director of a sports performance company as well as the director of education for one of the largest health and fitness certification and education companies.

Britt Chandler has a master's degree in exercise science from Auburn University and played collegiate tennis. He is certified as both a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and certified personal trainer (NSCA-CPT). He also is a certified tennis coach through the USPTA. He currently works as both a tennis coach and strength conditioning specialist with some of the top juniors in the country. Britt is also the editorial assistant for the Strength and Conditioning Journal and has contributed book chapters and presentations on tennis specific research and training.

Dr. Jeff Chandler has over 20 years experience as a tennis researcher and sports science consultant, advisor, and author for many tennis organizations including the USTA, USPTA, ITF, STMS and PTR. He has over 100 scientific publications, book chapters, and presentations relating to tennis training and performance. He is currently Department Head of Health, Physical Education & Recreation at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, and is the editor in chief of the Strength and Conditioning Journal published through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Chandler is certified with distinction as both a CSCS*D, and NSCA-CPT*D. He is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM) and a Fellow in the National Strength and Conditioning Association (FNSCA).

This book has a systematic structure with the introductory chapters providing the basic terminology of training and the principles needed to understand tennis physiology. These introductory chapters lay the foundation for the remainder of the book. The following chapters combine a review of tennis literature on nutrition, strength, speed and agility and flexibility with practical exercises, drills and programs.

Tennis athletes looking to reach their full potential deserve to be trained using the most up-to-date techniques which have been scientifically proven to improve performance. It is the responsibility of the coach or trainer to increase their knowledge and impart this knowledge in a successful evidence-based program to help the athletes achieve their fullest potential.

Principles of Developing Training Programs

· ADAPTATION

· LOADING

· SPECIFICITY

· INTENSITY

· VOLUME

· FREQUENCY

· DENSITY

· INDIVIDUALITY

· RECOVERY

· VARIETY

· SPECIALIZATION

· PLANNING

Introduction

There are numerous "principles of training" that apply to the sport of tennis. Many times, the "principles" overlap or use different terms to mean the same thing. This chapter will cover the essential principles of conditioning that can be used to design conditioning programs for tennis players. Planning conditioning programs for tennis athletes is not an exact science. As more research is done, we must continually re-evaluate our training recommendations. Only then can we make the best decisions on how to condition tennis athletes.

For the sport of tennis, there are a variety of principles that relate to maximizing athletic performance. Some of these principles are soundly backed in the scientific literature, and some are backed by tradition and experience. The goal should be to develop scientific principles of conditioning that are backed by scientific literature. Practical experience, tradition, and the observations of coaches certainly play a role in our decision making. In the end, however, if the observations are correct, the concepts will eventually be supported by scientific research. Where current research is not available, the knowledge gained from research on other sports can have value to the tennis athlete.

Tennis involves many aspects of performance, including but not limited to strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility, and muscular endurance. Training to maximize performance in all...