‘Tis the season to play tennis……Are you using skipping as part of your tennis fitness programme?

 

Why should you incorporate skipping into your tennis fitness programme?

I hope you recognize the colours of the ropes in the picture. They are of course, the signature colours of the famous Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club which are recognized the world over.

 

Regular readers of our blog will already know that skipping is a proven activity for High Intensity Interval Training as well as being an activity that delivers a more intense workout than running but did you also know that every accomplished tennis player uses skipping/jump rope exercises to help in their tennis footwork training??

And as I watch the cliffhanger of a match between Rafa Nadal and Nick Kyrgios, I’m astounded not only by their stamina and by their strength and power each time they hit the ball but I am also marvelling at their fantastic footwork!

Skipping is actually one of the best tennis footwork exercises. It’s also genuinely useful for many other sports that require a lot of running and changing directions like boxing, football and basketball but skipping is a prime fitness tool to get tennis players match fit. 

By using skipping as part of a fitness programme, tennis players become accustomed to operating on the balls of their feet, as opposed to being flat footed or on their heels, which can definitely help with overall on-court movement. And, as well as being a fantastic cardiovascular workout, thereby improving endurance, skipping helps to develop coordination and balance and is additionally a low-level plyometric exercise that can help develop muscular power.

If you’re a member of a tennis club or you’re coaching youngsters looking to improve their tennis, then get going on a rope!!! Take a look in our shop and you’ll soon be able to get started.

Alternatively if you’d like more details about bringing a skipping day to your school, then you can drop us a line or give us a call and we’ll happily send on more information. We are now accepting bookings for the 2014/2015 academic year.

* Btw, Boy Wonder Nick Kyrgios beat Grand Master Rafa Nadal 3 sets to 1!