Tennis Training Done Right: A Clear Path to Real Development

Tennis is a highly specialized sport.

To truly excel, athletes must master a wide variety of strokes, each uniquely influenced by technique, timing, physical ability, and situational use. And it doesn't happen overnight. It’s a learning curve that demands time, patience, and a structured, individualized training plan.

Dynamic Training for a Dynamic Sport

Effective tennis training should reflect both the player's current status and their long-term goals. Unfortunately, tennis is often not trained properly.

There’s no shortage of time-wasting drills, irrelevant hitting scenarios, and surface-level training methods that add little value. On the flip side, critical development areas are often ignored. As a result, players can spend years in training and still come out with a "Swiss cheese" model of development, good on the outside, but full of holes where it matters most.

Identifying what’s missing or overdone isn’t easy, especially for parents or athletes. That responsibility falls almost entirely on the coach’s ability to train the athlete effectively, and more importantly, coach the individual behind the athlete. What works for one player may not work for another.

Controllable Concepts in Tennis:

So, what can the player do to take charge of their development? Let’s start with five core areas that are within your control:

1. Practice vs. Match Play - A commonly misunderstood distinction. Learn to convert practice skills into competitive performance.

2. The 70% Rule (Serve +1 and Return +1) - Mastering this area elevates your point construction and consistency dramatically.

3. Hydration + Nutrition - Fueling the body properly is non-negotiable for performance and recovery.

4. Fitness Over Technique - There’s a limit to how far technique can take you if your body can’t support the movement.

5. Fail, Learn, Repeat - Success in tennis demands that you embrace failure as part of your growth.

These concepts will be explored in more detail in a future article. For now, they serve as key pillars to ground your approach to training.

Take Fitness and Recovery Seriously

Fitness

This is one of the most overlooked components in a tennis player’s toolkit. Technically sound strokes mean little if you can’t reach the ball on time, in balance, and with a strong base.

Here’s the reality: Players with better footwork, balance, and movement efficiency will consistently outperform those who rely solely on technique. You may have “prettier” strokes, but you’ll find yourself making more errors and tiring out faster, especially in competitive match play.

Recovery

Recovery isn’t just about rest, it’s about intentional restoration. You need to identify whether fatigue is normal or if it stems from a weakness that could become an injury. This is where prehab (preventative rehab) comes in. Monitor your aches, pains, and patterns. Don’t ignore recurring discomfort.

Time commitment tip:If you train for 6 hours a week (e.g., 3 days at 2 hours), then at least 3 hours should be devoted to fitness and recovery. Ideally, this is split across the week in 30-minute sessions. Adjust based on individual needs and always consult your coach or physio.

Mental Prep & Somatic Training

Tennis is played heavily between the ears. Yet, mental training remains one of the most misunderstood and underutilized parts of the sport.

Somatic training helps bridge that gap. It teaches athletes to:

• Understand and listen to their bodies.

• Correct dysfunctional movement.

• Develop mindful breathing and body awareness.

• Build a better connection between mind and muscle.

  
  

Most tennis coaches (myself included) are not fully trained in this methodology. We can guide, observe, and push technique—but we may not be equipped to address deeper psychological or emotional blocks. That's okay. What matters is having a supportive, honest, and realistic team that knows when to bring in additional support.

If you can afford somatic or mental skills training, invest in it. If not, there are still plenty of self-directed tools available: books, audio training, visualization, breathing work, journaling, and guided mindset practices. Use what you have and commit to it.

Put in the Work

This sport is hard.

To succeed in tennis, you must build a complete athletic profile: strength, speed, mobility, coordination, endurance, and mental resilience. And it takes time. Holistic development takes even longer.

There are no shortcuts.

Some days your game won’t show up. Some matches will feel off. That’s normal.

The key is knowing how to manage those moments with grace and composure, a trained skill developed through experience.

You have to be ready to grind. The long hours on court. The gym sessions. The recovery work. The nutrition planning. The self-reflection. Some improvements might be incremental, a few percentage points on a stroke or a movement pattern, but that’s the nature of high-level tennis. At elite levels, marginal gains make the difference.

Final Thoughts

Tennis isn’t just a sport, it’s a comprehensive test of physical capacity, mental strength, emotional control, and personal discipline. The journey of development is long, often frustrating, and filled with lessons disguised as losses.

But if you stay committed, train smart, care for your body, sharpen your mind, and lean into the process, you will grow.

There are no shortcuts, but there is real progress.

And for those who are willing to do the work, that progress becomes the foundation for real, lasting success on and off the court.