Thursday, April 22, 2010

Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/22/10 Before and After a Match!

Hello Tennis Fans:

I'm sure everyone has had plenty of times where the most preparation they did before a match was unzip their bag and take their racquet out, right? Chances are, you probably started a little slowly and unless you were being physically active before the match, you're lucky you didn't pull a muscle. A lot of injuries end up happening because pre-match preparation is one of the most commonly neglected areas of tennis.

Before you start playing, you should first take about 5 minutes to get your heart rate up and get your blood flowing to your muscles with either a light jog or even walking. Then, instead of doing the traditional static stretches where you just stand in one place try about 5 minutes of dynamic stretching where you move and stretch at the same time. Dynamic stretching is more preferable to static stretching before a match because it warms up the same muscles you will be using on court.

Post-match stretching, also one of the most neglected areas in tennis, is equally important. How well you stretch after a match is going to determine how good your body feels the following day. Static stretching after a match is perfectly fine since you no longer have to worry about warming certain muscle groups up. It is during this period that you should take some extra time to really emphasize the areas that will have a tendency to tighten up after rigorous play; ie, the hamstrings, shoulders, and lower back.

If you want to keep yourself feeling great and playing for longer, follow the advice above and see where it takes you!

Please post your thoughts and see you for Friday's lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.