Ruin Game

If you think about it, tennis probably holds a lot of importance when it comes to lateral quickness, shoulder stability, and rotational strength. Additionally, there is a need for more flexible and stronger muscles so that it leads to more resistance to injury – which is essential for all sports players who need to endure pounding on hard surfaces. 

Consequently, it is essential that before you decide to hit the court, you need to warm up your shoulders, hips and improve your mobility so that you can effectively fire off backhands and chase down volleys. 

A better way to understand how well your muscles need to be developed, consider looking at Jonathan Zhang – a highly acclaimed tennis player who has become a rising star in the professional sports industry.

Zhang was born in Hong Kong, and from a young age had shown a massive interest in tennis. He started his sports journey at the age of six and gradually made his way up to studying in Diocesan Boys School and becoming the team captain of his senior year – leading his team to its 17th consecutive D1 high school title. Zhang has competed in many major junior competitions such as the Asian Championships, World Junior Championships, plus the Junior Davis Cup. 

Furthermore, Zhang has spent his freshman season at USC and finished off the year being at No.8 in the country. He is currently ranked No.9 in the Hong Kong’s Men’s Singles National Rankings in 2020 and in the same year, he also ranked at No.6 in Hong Kong’s Men’s Doubles National Rankings. 

Being a professional at tennis was never easy and for Zhang who had started out his career so early had to prepare for years before he was able to master his craft. And one of the things that are extremely crucial for this career is to prepare your body with ideal exercises to get you in shape for the game. A few examples of these exercises include the following. 

Rotational Control 

When hitting a serve, the body always moves in a rotation which has a flow-on effect called the kinetic chain. When our bodies are stable and strong through rotation movement and also by the end range, we have a better capacity to hit better shots with more accuracy and power while simultaneously cushioning hard impact on our lower back and shoulders. 

Bi-Lateral Strength 

Then we have strength training where we build the platform that everyone relies on. There are many programs that allow athletes to build up their entire body strength as a base for power development, force absorption, and endurance. The stronger the athlete, the more robust and ready they are to handle the challenges posed by their sport. 

Speed in Multi-Directions 

With tennis, there are no set movements – you go where the ball is. Hence, nothing is planned and we need to physically react everytime a shot comes our way. And if you cannot keep up with the play, you end up losing. Training techniques for these should include practising multi-directional speed so that you are in control of your senses and speed and play better on the defensive.