Muscles in the Body Used in Tennis
Tennis requires you to use almost all the body’s muscles, and one way to propel your game to the next level is to train the right ones. Victoria Azarenka, who moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, when she was 14, became the highest-ranked player ever from Belarus. “Vika” attributes her tennis success largely to her fitness routine.
Shoulders, Upper Arms, Chest
Tennis players tend to have strong pectorals and deltoids on their dominant side -- muscles in front of the body -- and a weak rotator cuff, rhomboid and trapezius --muscles in the upper back and shoulder blade. The rotator cuff, the muscles and tendons between the shoulder blade and arm bone, is important for hitting serves and forehands and for decelerating during follow-through. Simply playing tennis is not enough to strengthen those muscles. Work the rotator cuff and the upper back by doing the seated row and shoulder punch. Working the biceps brachii by doing a biceps curl exercise is also essential to have a strong serve.
The core consists of the abs and lower back, another important area for hitting serves and forehands. Both the abs and lower back are equally important to strengthen, but tennis players traditionally work the ab muscles more. This leads to an imbalance between the abs and the lower back. Besides sit-ups and crunches, do some back extension exercises: Lie face down, contract your abs, and lift your chest while squeezing your back and glutes.
Many players, especially women, use their quads to move from side-to-side instead of using their glutes. Using the glutes provides more power when pushing off to run, and can save you from injury. Azarenka works her glutes by having a trainer hold a Bullet Belt securely around her waist, standing on her right side. Azarenka stands in ready position, and steps away from the trainer, pushing off the right leg to move left. Working the glutes and getting a proper hip rotation helps to hit a strong backhand and aids with lateral movements. Muscles that improve your hip rotation are the gluteus maximus and medius -- upper and lower glutes -- and the quads to help with knee extension.
Quads and Hamstrings
The quads and hamstrings are responsible for hitting powerful groundstrokes and for fast movement on the court. Although you can work these muscles separately by doing leg curls and extensions, Dr. Wayne L. Westcott, strength-training consultant for the American Council on Exercise, prefers players work these muscles simultaneously. Do so by using a leg press. It works the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Westcott considers this the best exercise to develop leg strength.
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