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Alan L. Hammond TennisMD News
Mar 08, 2010
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Tennis is a game of speed, power and balance that requires intricate footwork and because of this the majority of injuries that occur in tennis are to the lower extremities of the body, specifically strains and sprains to the ankles and knees.
Most of us perform drills to improve our speed, power and endurance, but few of us do drills to improve our balance. The series of drills below will enhance balance and strengthen the ankles to reduce the chances of a sprain.
For these exercises you will need a racquet, ball, mini-trampoline, wooden balance board and an air balance board. These apparatus are found at most gyms and tennis facilities. They can also be purchased at any major sporting goods store.
The key to these balance exercises is that tennis skills should be incorporated into them, so the movements becomes a natural part of your game; it will also make the drills less mundane and more enjoyable. For example, instead of standing on a mini trampoline, the drills will have you standing on one foot and dribbling a tennis ball with your racquet. It is not necessary to spend an inordinate amount of time on these drills. By doing these for 6-8 weeks for 5-15 minutes per day, you should see results in both your balance and lower extremities tendon strength.
Drill #1:
• Stand on a mini trampoline with both feet
• Dribble a tennis ball on your racket for 20 seconds
• Repeat same drill on a wooden balance board
• Repeat same drill on an air balance board
Drill #2
• Same as Drill #1, except on one leg
• Do for 20 seconds
• Repeat on all balance equipment
Drill #3
• Stand on a mini trampoline with both feet in a closed stance
• Have a partner or coach feed you a ball
• Return the ball using a forehand stroke
• Do this for up to 10 minutes
• As you get better repeat on the air balance board and then the wooden balance board.
Drill #4
• Same as drill #3, except use a backhand stroke
As alluded to in the beginning of the article, tennis is a game of skill, power and endurance, but it also involves a great deal of balance and footwork. When you are out of balance, the ball has a good chance of not going where it was intended. Therefore, coaches and players are strongly encouraged to incorporate tennis specific balance exercises into their daily training regimes. Not only will the specificity of the tennis exercises make the training more enjoyable, they have the potential of strengthening ankle and knee ligaments, thus reducing the chance of injury.
Source:
Medicine and Science in Tennis, 2008;13(2):18-20, Malliou, Malliou, Gioftsidou, Douvis and Mavvidis
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