Best tennis exercises: Trainer reveals how to make gains off the court that will up your tennis performance

Tennis is a rotational bodyweight sport where we need to have the fitness to perform when there is no whistle blown at 60,80,90mins. Matches can last 30 minutes - 5 hours.

When playing the sport, it's very much interval training with short sharp bursts of activity.

Many people assume this means that you need a strong upper body to be able to hit the ball hard. This is not incorrect, nor is it solely what’s required for success.

Tennis, as you see on the TV, requires excellent connection between lower and upper body. We use our legs to power upwards from the ground, our core to rotate the hips and our shoulders to ultimately wield the racket through the air using a combination of momentum, technique and sheer power to optimise performance.

With that in mind, a tennis player requires great leg and upper body strength, core stability, flexibility, agility, and the endurance to maintain high intensity over a sustained period of time.

Below are some of the top exercises that will give you an advantage on court.

TOP EXERCISES:

Medicine Ball Throws - This is very Tennis specific and an excellent exercise as part of a warm up or a conditioning session. Holding the medicine ball in two hands and throwing as if hitting a forehand and backhand to either a partner, or to a wall. It’s important to use the legs a lot to drive up from the ground and rotate from the hips.

Squats - Even better if combined with upper body exercises such as rotational landmine press. As tennis is a multiplane sport, training multiple body parts in one sequence is great. Add single leg variations for even more specific training. When playing tennis we are often forced to play off one leg, or certainly overloading one, so it's important each leg is strong and functional.

Lunges - Multi directional, especially sideways and diagonally. Play with tempo here, slow into the depth then explode up. This mimics what we require on a tennis court.

Skaters - Similar to in LES MILLS BODYATTACK and LES MILLS GRIT. Propel your body laterally and be sure to 'stick the landing’. Great for balance, core and individual leg strengthening.

Hip Opening stretches - Particularly psoas stretches and poses such as the swan. Tennis players' hips get super tight in the hips due to super strong hip flexors. We almost can’t stretch them out enough.

Skipping - There’s lots to gain from skipping, it allows you to be light on the toes and practice different footwork combinations meaning it will help with coordination and improving cardiovascular fitness.

Arabesque - Posterior Chain training is important. Especially for female athletes. It's non-negotiable as part of a warm up to get the glutes firing. Concentrate on maintaining hip alignment and balance throughout.

Plyometrics is big for tennis. So where squats and lunges can also be done as single leg plyometric exercises this will be very beneficial.