We have all heard of the tennis injury called “Tennis Elbow” (or extensor tendonitis) – but what are the most common tennis injuries?

I’d like to share my personal experiences as a tennis player as well as my professional experience as a Physical therapist.

In my youth I played tennis a lot! Actually, I managed to play for Leinster (a province in Ireland) for two seasons and saw all the common tennis-related injuries over this time. I suffered from two of them myself!

And now, as there are two very active tennis clubs nearby, I see a lot of tennis-related injuries in my physiotherapy practice.

So, what are the 5 most common tennis injuries? (more…)

This is a guest post from Paul Gold, the author behind http://www.footwork4tennis.com. I’ve had to chance to check Paul’s videos and they explain in great detail different types of footwork that pros use.

Paul also shares tons of ladder drills, dot drills and box drills that will help you develop the foot coordination needed to great tennis footwork.

Here are Paul’s thoughts on tennis footwork and how it improves your game…

Great tennis footwork is the key to great tennis, which is a fact that so many players overlook.

I see far too many coaches and club players concentrating and in fact wasting too much time and energy on 1 or 2 particular shots, but the fact remains – it doesn’t matter how good the shot potentially is if you never get yourself into a good position to hit it!! (more…)

The mind body connection is one that has been explored for many years. But a lot of us think of it as flowing from the mind to the body.

“A champions mind” is about how Sampras had the ability to simply elevate his game under pressure. Everyone talks about Nadal as being the toughest mentally.

But what if it is the other way around. What if it is actually physical toughness that is leading the way?

(more…)

Although physical therapists have used the Fitness Ball for 40+ years, fitness trainers around the world now understand that they are a great way for athletes to strengthen their entire bodies and increase balance, endurance and coordination. This is particularly true for tennis, a sport which requires constant balance, stability and core strength.

Also known as a Swiss ball, physioball, or exercise ball, the fitness ball is a multipurpose functional exercise tool that is inexpensive, safe and targets several muscle groups at once.

Training with a fitness ball requires strength, balance and co-ordination of core muscles that are used to stabilize the spine and maintain good posture. (more…)