Pre-Match Hitting Warm-Up [Re-Post]

Going cold into a tennis match is an easy and costly mistake. The 5 to 10 minutes you get too warm up before a match in a tournament is not enough for anyone to truly get into a rhythm or a “groove.” The difficulties of your child not having their shots grooved add up throughout play and can easily result in a loss.

I’m sure you have experienced this before. Your child starts off playing mediocre tennis and by the time they’ve warmed up and started playing well they already lost the first set. A good warm up will stop this from happening since they will no longer have to warm up while they are in the match.

A “grooved” stroke is one where the player doesn’t have to think about what they are doing to hit the ball. The body just knows what to do. To get a shot to this point all your child needs to do is hit each stroke for about five minutes straight. By doing this, the body can take control of making the movements freeing the brain up to think about other things (such as how to move to a ball).

Most children hit some of their best shots when an opponent is up at net. The ball comes at them quickly, so they have no time to think, and have to either hit the spot or lose the point. This is an example of the body taking over. They don’t think about the shot they’re about to hit. Instincts take over as they decide on where to hit the ball, and then they go for it. The result is them winning the point and gaining momentum.

When your child’s shots are grooved, everything will come much easier to them.  

They warm up quicker, make the easy shots, and can put themselves in a position to win the match from the start. It’s easier for your child to trust their body when they’ve already hit for an hour that day.  

When someone doesn’t warm up, it can make it tough to rely on their shots. Now they have to put effort into thinking about their strokes as they are hitting them making it easier for them to get nervous and choke on easy putaway balls. This can lead to a downward spiral as they lose more confidence and miss more and more throughout a match.

You should try to give your child at least 30 minutes rest in between their hitting warm up and their first match. I suggest allowing them an hour but sometimes this isn’t possible. Giving your child more than an hour rest between the hitting warm-up and the match is okay, just know it takes longer for your child to get their strokes warmed up again the more time is in between the warm up and the match. If you can’t give your child 30 minutes rest before their match, I would still recommend having them complete a hitting warm-up. They will benefit greatly from going into a match warm even if they are a little tired.

The pro’s practice for at least an hour before they step on a court for a match so there is no reason why your child can’t do the same. Below are two pre-match hitting routines to get your child’s strokes grooved and warmed up.

 

45-min warm-up

1. Short Court- 5 min
2. Down The Line Forehands- 5 min
3. Cross Court Forehands- 5 min
4. Down the Line Backhands- 5 min
5. Cross Court Backhands- 5 min
6. Volleys- 3 min
7. Overheads- 2 min
8. Serves- 10 min
9. Service Points- 5 min

 

1-hour warm-up

1. Short Court- 10 min
2. Down The Line Forehands- 5 min
3. Cross Court Forehands- 5 min
4. Down The Line Backhands- 5 min
5. Cross Court Backhands- 5 min
6. Volleys- 3 min
7. Overheads- 2 min
8. Serves- 15 min
9. Service Points- 10 min