Warm-Up Routine Every Tennis Player Should Do Before Playing

Whether you're playing recreational tennis, competing in a league, or preparing for a tournament, a proper tennis warm-up can help prepare your body for the demands of the game.

Tennis involves repeated sprinting, quick changes of direction, lunging, jumping, serving, and rapid rotation. Going directly from sitting in the car to hitting full-power serves isn't the best way to prepare your body.

A good warm-up should gradually increase your body temperature, get your muscles working, move your joints through the ranges you'll use during tennis, and prepare you for faster movements.

At Physical Edge Physiotherapy in Oakville, Ontario, we often recommend that tennis players treat their warm-up as part of their training rather than something to skip when they're short on time.

Why Is a Tennis Warm-Up Important?

A warm-up helps transition your body from rest to activity.

For tennis players, a good warm-up can help prepare you for:

• Quick changes of direction

• Sprinting to the ball

• Lunging

• Rotational movements

• Overhead serving

• Repeated hitting

• Explosive movements

It can also help you identify areas that feel stiff or uncomfortable before you start playing.

A warm-up shouldn't leave you tired. Instead, you should finish feeling looser, warmer, and ready to move.

A 10-Minute Tennis Warm-Up

You don't need to spend 30 minutes warming up before every recreational tennis match. A simple, structured routine can be completed in about 10 minutes.

1. Start With Light Movement – 2 Minutes

Begin with easy movement to gradually raise your heart rate and body temperature.

Try:

• Brisk walking

• Light jogging

• Side shuffles

• Forward and backward jogging

Gradually increase your pace rather than starting with sprinting.

2. Dynamic Leg Warm-Up – 2 Minutes

Tennis requires your legs to repeatedly accelerate, decelerate, and change direction.

Try:

Walking Lunges

Take a step forward and lower into a lunge. Push through the front foot and continue with the opposite leg.

Perform 6–8 repetitions per side.

Lateral Lunges

Step out to the side and bend the outside knee while keeping the other leg relatively straight.

Perform 5–6 repetitions per side.

Leg Swings

Hold onto a fence or other stable surface and gently swing one leg forward and backward.

Perform 10 swings per leg.

These movements help prepare your hips and legs for the lunging and lateral movements involved in tennis.

3. Mobilize Your Upper Body – 2 Minutes

Your shoulders and upper back play a major role in serving and hitting.

Arm Circles

Perform small arm circles and gradually make them larger.

Complete 10 circles in each direction.

Thoracic Rotations

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and rotate your upper body from side to side.

Complete 8–10 repetitions per side.

Open Books or Standing Rotations

Rotate through your upper back while keeping your lower body relatively stable.

This helps prepare your body for the rotational demands of forehands, backhands, and serves.

4. Activate Your Glutes and Core – 2 Minutes

Your legs and core provide an important foundation for your tennis movements.

Try:

Bodyweight Squats

Perform 10 repetitions, focusing on controlled movement.

Glute Bridges

Lie on your back with your knees bent and lift your hips toward the ceiling.

Perform 10 repetitions.

Mini-Band Lateral Walks

If you have a resistance band, place it around your thighs or ankles and take controlled steps sideways.

Perform 8–10 steps in each direction.

These exercises help prepare the muscles that contribute to acceleration, deceleration, and stability.

5. Finish With Tennis-Specific Movement – 2 Minutes

Now gradually increase the speed and intensity of your movements.

Try:

• Side shuffles

• Short forward sprints

• Backpedaling

• Split-step practice

• Controlled changes of direction

You can then progress into practice swings, gradually increasing the speed of your forehands, backhands, and serves.

Start at about 50% effort and gradually build toward your normal playing intensity.

Should You Stretch Before Tennis?

This is a common question among tennis players.

Rather than spending several minutes holding long static stretches before playing, a dynamic warm-up is generally a better way to prepare for tennis.

Dynamic movements take your joints and muscles through the ranges of motion you'll actually use during play while gradually increasing your activity level.

Static stretching can still have a place in your overall training program, particularly when addressing specific mobility limitations. However, your pre-tennis routine should primarily focus on dynamic movement and tennis-specific preparation.

Don't Forget Your Shoulders

The serve places considerable stress on the shoulder.

Before playing, tennis players should pay particular attention to preparing the:

• Rotator cuff

• Shoulder blade muscles

• Upper back

• Chest

• Thoracic spine

Simple exercises such as banded external rotations, scapular movements, and controlled arm movements can be incorporated into your warm-up if appropriate.

If you regularly experience shoulder pain when serving, however, simply adding more warm-up exercises may not solve the problem. A physiotherapy assessment can help determine why the shoulder is struggling with the demands of tennis.

What About Tennis Elbow?

A good warm-up isn't only about your legs and shoulders.

Your forearm and wrist are repeatedly loaded during hitting, particularly during serves, forehands, and backhands.

If you have a history of tennis elbow, gradually warming up your hitting volume may be particularly important.

Instead of immediately hitting hard serves and powerful groundstrokes, start with easier shots and gradually increase the intensity.

If elbow pain continues despite modifying your warm-up and activity, consider having it assessed by a physiotherapist.

Your Warm-Up Should Prepare You, Not Exhaust You

One of the biggest mistakes athletes make is turning their warm-up into a workout.

Your goal isn't to become tired before your first game.

You should finish your warm-up feeling:

• Warm

• Mobile

• Alert

• Loose

• Ready to move

If you're breathing heavily and your legs are already tired, you've probably done too much.

What If You Have an Existing Injury?

Your warm-up may need to be modified if you're dealing with an existing injury.

For example, someone recovering from a shoulder injury may need additional shoulder-specific exercises, while a player recovering from an ankle injury may require more balance and single-leg work.

This is where an individualized physiotherapy program can be particularly helpful.

A physiotherapist can assess your movement and determine which areas need additional preparation based on your injury history, physical limitations, and tennis goals.

The Bottom Line

A good tennis warm-up doesn't have to be complicated.

Spend a few minutes gradually raising your body temperature, dynamically moving your hips and upper back, activating your legs and core, and then progressing into tennis-specific movements and practice swings.

Taking 10 minutes before you play can help you feel more prepared for the quick, explosive movements that tennis requires.

At Physical Edge Physiotherapy in Oakville, Ontario, we work with tennis players to manage injuries, improve strength and mobility, and develop sport-specific rehabilitation and exercise programs.

If you're experiencing tennis elbow, shoulder pain, knee pain, ankle problems, or another tennis-related injury, physiotherapy can help you understand what's contributing to your symptoms and create a plan to get you back on the court.

Warm up. Move well. Play your best.