See how racquet sports like tennis can benefit from Pilates

With the the winter season here and ahead of us thoughts of summer are on the mind and outdoor activities. Everything from swimming, hiking, kayaking and racquet sports like tennis and pickleball are growing in popularity. Pilates can help with many things such as injury prevention, improvement of muscle control and flexibility.  Sports like tennis can benefit from Pilates.

Tennis, like other racquet sports, such as badminton, squash and pickleball, are one-sided. Since tennis players use one side of the hand and arm to hit the ball they tend to move to only side of the body. As a result an unbalanced body is created often resulting in over -use injuries. The same reasoning can be applied to such sports as soccer where the dominant side is favored. 

Tennis can benefit from Pilates in the following ways 

• Improved power of stroke through the increased strength of core muscles 
• Improved balance for quick reaction to direction change 
• Improved muscle control to prevent overuse injury 
• Increased upper and lower body power for a more powerful stroke and better endurance 
• Reduced back injury by increasing flexibility 
• Provides higher levels of concentration 

Muscles used in tennis

Leg muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps, are used to maintain tennis posture, a low position with knees bent. If this is difficult then the leg muscles may be weak. If the legs are weak, after a while they will get tired and the knees will straighten an inferior position for shots. 

Many players think that swinging harder creates more power. The opposite actually happens. Swinging harder creates muscular tension and tense muscles react slower. Strong core muscles, abdominals and back/spine muscles, for power. If a full backswing can’t be made, the core rotational flexibility is limited. With a stronger, more flexible core it will be easier to rotate fully on the backswing with minimal tension, creating maximum torque. This position will create high levels of racquet head speed without having to swing harder. 

Shoulder muscles, deltoids and the rotator cuff muscles, are used every time tennis is played. They are particularly active during serves and overhead smashes. Forearm strength is needed for snapping the wrist on a serve and to assist in gripping the racquet. 

Agility, stamina and physical power are also important for tennis as are endurance and concentration. Pilates is viewed as a form of mind and body movement incorporating a high degree of concentration and strength. When the exercises of Pilates are performed with this level of concentration agility and alertness develop, both requirements during a game of tennis. 

Lower spinal injuries often plague serious tennis players. This can be helped through the alignment of the spine and strength training of the lower back muscles through Pilates.