With Wimbledon imminent, you may find yourself spending more than a little time over the next few weeks watching tennis, as the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff take to the courts.

The amount of time spent watching may be even greater if top British players like men’s world number four Jack Draper or former US Open Champion Emma Raducanu can challenge, but whoever comes out on top, it will be hard not to admire the best play of the superstars on show.

This won’t be just about booming serves, delicate drop shots, or deft volleys, but the extraordinary physicality involved. Players will spend hours sprinting around the court, belting the ball from end to end, testing strength and stamina to the limit.

Even if you have spent lots of time in the gym getting fitter, you may still marvel at just how athletic and muscular some of the players out there are. If you want to get similarly fit, whether to help yourself get around the tennis court or just to get yourself super fit, perhaps for other sporting pursuits requiring great stamina, like triathlons or a marathon.

How To Train Like A Tennis Star

Of course, you probably won’t have anything like the time to spend on fitness or practice that is available to the full-time professional players. But by using the types of gym equipment they do, you can gain at least some of the strength and conditioning benefits.

Tennis Nerd lists various items that will help you get fit and strong for playing the sport. Getting adjustable dumbbells may be your top priority, as the recommendation is that you get dumbbells weighing between six and 30 kg. It makes sense to have dumbbells that you can vary the weight of rather than take up limited space with a lot of different ones.

Alongside this, the article notes, you need an adjustable bench that holds your weight plus 100 KG, a medium weight kettlebell, a medicine ball or slam ball, some resistance bands and a good workout mat.

“These are the absolute basics and they will get you far, as the dumbbell is easily the most versatile option to train with weights,“ the article notes, adding: “You can do about every muscle group just by having a bench and two of them, from goblet squats, weighted lunges to presses and rows.”

Strength Is A Basic Requirement

It adds some very specific exercises you can do. Weights will build up your general strength, especially in your arms, shoulders and upper body.

The simple fact is that the harder you can hit the tennis ball, the greater the chance it won’t come back. But you also need to build in the stamina to be able to keep swinging that arm over and over again through the course of a match.

However, you cannot neglect the strength in your legs, as you will need to do plenty of running back and forth. This means you need plenty of stamina, the ability to push off one foot to change direction during a rally, plus the endurance to avoid muscle injuries when you start to get tired late in a match.

Be Flexible Like Novak

Alongside strength, however, is the need to be able to be flexible so you can twist and turn without suffering a joint injury or strain. Some players have quite exceptional flexibility, with Novak Djokovic being a prime example, able at times to perform extraordinary feats of flexibility.

While some of that may owe much to his natural agility, Djokovic has a stretching routine that adds greatly to his flexibility. Not only has it enabled him to play extraordinary shots, but also added years to his career. The last of the ‘Big 4’ men standing, Djokovic remains a contender even as Sinner and Alcaraz have emerged as the new superstars.

Exercises like squats are an obvious starting point for stretching muscles. This helps with the crouching position you naturally adopt while waiting to receive a serve. Your ability to spring off either foot to move swiftly in either direction is crucial in helping you reach the serve and get in the best position to return it.

Resistance bands are also useful in helping you do the stretches needed to strengthen muscles and joints and increase flexibility.

These exercises might not make you as fit as the world’s top tennis players, and if tennis is your sport, you will still need to do all the technical work to develop your skills as a player. But by using the right home gym equipment to get fit, you will take a big stride towards being a better player, as well as enjoying a high level of fitness for all sporting activities.