Can Weight Training Make You A Better Tennis Player?

News of an Emma Raducanu defeat is a depressingly familiar feature of sports bulletins. The teenager who shocked the world by winning the 2021 US Open as a teenager has yet to add another tour title.

There are mitigating circumstances, of course, such as injury, while the youngster, still only 23, has already gone through more coaches than most players have in a whole career in seeking to enhance her game and get her back to challenging for the big prizes.

A notable issue the player knows she has is about power. Other players are taller and can hit harder, an observation Raducanu made after her latest chastening defeat, a 6-1, 6-1 hammering by Amanda Anisimova, the runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

Why Does Emma Raducanu Struggle Against The Most Powerful Players?

She said: "When I'm playing someone who's at the top like that, I think they have an extra ten miles an hour on their serve than me,"  adding: "If I'm not feeling it, that gap feels more evident in terms of weight of shot, in terms of power.”

The issue of power once seemed alien to the women’s game, but since the 1980s, this has changed markedly. The arrival of modern carbon fibre rackets, strung so much more tightly than the old wooden ones, enabled the ball to be hit much harder.

This means that even in the women’s game, power matters, with this being epitomised by Serena Williams in her glorious career.

A key question is how players with less natural power can compete. Should everyone get a bodybuilder physique? And what of those who have physical disadvantages, such as being shorter?

The BBC analyst Russell Fuller observed that Raducanu seeks to take inspiration from players of similar height to her, such as Simona Halep and Jessica Pegula, in the way they find a way to compete.

How Can Strength Programmes Boost Your Tennis Game?

Nonetheless, the need for power remains. Not everyone will have the same potential to hit the ball hard, but the more you have, the better you will be, whether you are an amateur playing at your local tennis club at weekends or a professional aiming to win Grand Slams.

Raducanu has often posted social media footage of her gym work with weights, so she is fully aware of the need to build up her strength. All this should be taken in the context that she had not finished growing when she first hit the spotlight.

Strength training programmes can be very effective in building up tennis players, with exercises like the use of dumbbells in a shoulder press helping to build up strength.

However, the benefits are not just to be found in being able to belt the ball down the other end of the court with greater force, vital though that is. Weight training builds up all sorts of muscles and this can improve other physical attributes that will be essential to your game:

·       It increases endurance during gruelling matches

·       It increases resistance to injury by strengthening muscles and tendons

·       It helps develop the explosive power needed in sprints to chase balls down

These elements can be easily overlooked, but they are all vital in ensuring that your weight training helps you become a better all-round athlete.

Dumbbells will not be the only weights you use and building up your shoulder muscles will not be the only exercise you should do. Indeed, squats, bench presses and core muscle exercises are all vital for increasing fitness.

How Can Extra Strength Benefit Amateur Tennis Players?

Indeed, while Emma Raducanu seeks to maximise her power and fitness along with finding a means of recapturing her best playing style - the one she triumphed in New York with - she is already a very finely-tuned athlete by most standards.

At the top level, it is all about finding that extra element of fitness, endurance, skill and mental toughness. For those playing at an amateur level, however, extra strength and fitness built up in a home gym could make a huge difference.

You may find that you can win many matches simply by being fitter and stronger than your opponents. That doesn’t mean you should neglect technical skills or mental preparation, but victories on court can give you some tangible rewards for your efforts at home.

Anyone watching 21st-century tennis will have seen just how powerful and athletic some players have been, from Rafael Nadal’s bulging biceps to the astonishing speed and agility around the court of Novak Djokovic. Weight training plays a big part in this.

You may not be a future Grand Slam winner, but weight training can certainly make you a far more effective tennis player.