Movement speed training in tennis

José Miguel de la Cruz Rojas, Doctor of Sports Sciences and CEO of JCRSports

Speed ​​is the physical capacity that allows us to move in a specific space in the shortest possible time. According to Aparicio and Rennes (2016), speed in tennis will allow us to perform movements in the face of a specific stimulus, in the shortest possible time and with the greatest efficiency.

Based on a previous article, within this series on physical preparation, in which we talked about useful strength in tennis, strength work will be decisive for the tennis player to be able to generate fast movements.

Let’s remember that the race is a succession of jumps and that if the player is capable of expressing the maximum power in each jump, he will have a great capacity for specific speed. Therefore, speed training must be planned after strength training and this must be expressed in the shortest possible time. That is, to improve the ability to apply more force in the time that the concentric action of acceleration towards the ball lasts (Baiget, 2011).

Each point in competition has an average of 3-4 strokes and they represent between 3-4 meters of displacement between them (Aparicio et al, 2016). According to Galé-Ansodi et al. (2018), competitive matches are characterized by a high demand for acceleration and rapid movement. These characteristics are not often replicated in training and should be properly planned to reproduce the specific demands in competition. For this reason, exercises must be programmed in which the situations that we are going to find at each point are reproduced (starts, braking, changes of direction and hitting in unbalanced situations). Between 20-30% of the shots on different surfaces involve temporary high pressure in the preparation of the shot, with a sharp increase in the error rate in running shots (Ferrauti et al., 2021).

In addition, we will attend to the fact that speed in tennis has a high component of resistance to speed with incomplete recoveries conditioned by the competition regulations (25 seconds after point).
Let’s not forget that what is not measured cannot improve and the speed must be measured periodically. For this we can use standardized tests such as the 5, 10 and 20 meter online test, the 10×5 meter test, the spider test and the SJ or CMJ jump test. If we want to make use of technology, we will introduce force platforms or jump devices that can give us greater reliability and tracking of the player improvement process.

Finally, and as a work proposal to improve speed, we will include progressions of about 20 meters on the side of the track, accelerations of different distances, accelerations and decelerations with changes of direction (exercises such as the “W”, suicides and variants of these first two can be good options), without forgetting proposals combined with strength and displacement training (Semi-squat + vertical jumps + 10-15 meter sprint).

Remember that all this work must always be supervised by a registered sports physical educator who adequately plans the training and doses the ideal loads to avoid injuries, respect the phases of optimal development of this capacity and improve your performance on the track.

Bibliography:

1. Aparicio, J.A. and Renés, VM. (2016). The physical qualities in tennis and its
   training. Madrid: Tutor.
2. Galé-Ansodi, C., Castellano, J., & Usabiaga, O. (2018). Differences between
   running activity in tennis training and match-play. International Journal of
   Performance Analysis in Sport, 18(5), 855-867.
3. Ferrauti, A., Maier, Guillier, Quintana, I. & Weber, K. (2021). Handbook for the
   tennis training. Barcelona: Paidotribo.
4. Baiget, E. (2011). Strength training aimed at improving
   hitting speed in tennis Journal of Sport and Health Research, 3(3), 229-
   244.