Staying Healthy During Tennis Season: Common Injuries, Performance Tips, and When to Seek Help

Kathy Ryan-Ceisel, PT MHS | Algonquin Sports PT

Overhead Throwing Expert-Athletic Edge and Wellness

🎾 Tennis is one of the most physically demanding sports, requiring explosive power, quick changes of direction, rotational strength, and repetitive overhead movements. Whether you're competing in junior tournaments, playing USTA leagues, or enjoying recreational matches, the repetitive demands of serving, sprinting, and hitting thousands of strokes can lead to overuse injuries if your body is not prepared.

The good news? Most tennis injuries are preventable with proper preparation, smart training, and early intervention.

Common Tennis Injuries and Where They Occur

💪Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylalgia)

Despite its name, tennis elbow affects athletes of all levels and often develops from repetitive backhands, poor technique, or excessive grip tension.

Common symptoms:

• Pain on the outside of the elbow

• Weak grip strength

• Pain when lifting objects or shaking hands

• Increased discomfort after play

Research suggests lateral elbow pain affects up to 50% of recreational tennis players at some point during their playing careers.

🦾Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy and Shoulder Impingement

Serving places significant stress on the shoulder due to repeated overhead motion and high rotational velocities.

Common symptoms:

• Pain with serving or overhead shots

• Decreased power or velocity

• Night pain

• Shoulder weakness or fatigue

Limited shoulder mobility, poor scapular control, and inadequate thoracic spine mobility increase injury risk.

⚕Low Back Pain

The repetitive rotational and extension forces generated during serves and groundstrokes place considerable stress on the lumbar spine.

Common symptoms:

• Stiffness after matches

• Pain during serving

• Reduced trunk rotation

• Difficulty bending backward

Poor hip mobility and weak core musculature often contribute to excessive spinal stress.

🦵Knee Injuries

Tennis players frequently perform rapid acceleration, deceleration, and cutting movements.

Common conditions include:

• Patellar tendinopathy

• Patellofemoral pain syndrome

• Meniscal irritation

🦶Ankle and Foot Issues

Ankle Sprains

Quick lateral movements and abrupt stops increase the risk of inversion ankle sprains.

Previous ankle injury is one of the strongest predictors of future ankle sprains.

Achilles Tendinopathy and Calf Strains

Repeated sprinting and explosive push-offs place high loads on the calf complex.

Common symptoms:

• Morning stiffness

• Pain during acceleration

• Tightness after play

🖐️Wrist Injuries

Modern topspin techniques increase stress on the wrist, particularly during forehands and serves.

Common issues include:

• Tendinitis

• Extensor carpi ulnaris irritation

• TFCC irritation

🎾Why Tennis Players Get Injured

Most injuries result from a combination of factors:

• Sudden increases in playing volume

• Poor recovery habits

• Inadequate strength training

• Limited mobility

• Poor movement mechanics

• Improper equipment or racket setup

• Playing through fatigue or pain

Research consistently demonstrates that workload spikes increase injury risk. Avoid increasing your weekly playing time by more than 10–15% per week.

Quick Dynamic Warm-Up (10-12 Minutes)

Never start a match cold.

An effective warm-up should increase body temperature, improve mobility, and activate key muscle groups.

Perform 1-2 minutes of each exercise:

1. Jump rope or light jog/skip

2. Arm circles (forward and backward)

3. World's greatest stretch

4. Walking lunges with rotation

5. Lateral shuffles/carioca drills

6. High opener/gates

7. Inchworms

8. Band pull-aparts

9. Mini-pogo jumping

10. Practice serves at 50–75% intensity

Studies show dynamic warm-ups improve performance and may reduce injury risk compared with static stretching alone.

Post-Match Cool-Down (10 Minutes)

Recovery begins immediately after play.

Your cool-down should include:

• Light walking or cycling for 3–5 minutes

• Deep diaphragmatic breathing

• Gentle stretching for:

  • Hip flexors

  • Hamstrings

  • Calves

  • Thoracic spine

  • Forearms

  • Posterior shoulder

Additional recovery strategies include:

• Rehydrating with fluids and electrolytes

• Consuming protein and carbohydrates within 60 minutes

• Prioritizing sleep (7–9 hours)

• Using compression, massage, or recovery boots as needed

Top 10 Exercises to Keep You in the Game

1. Split Squats

Build single-leg strength and improve deceleration capacity.

2. Lateral Bounds

Improve change-of-direction speed and power.

3. Romanian Deadlifts

Develop posterior chain strength and reduce lower extremity injury risk.

4. Pallof Press

Enhance rotational stability and core control.

5. Around the Worlds

Improve shoulder and thoracic mobility. 

6. Band External Rotations

Strengthen the rotator cuff.

7. Push-Up Plus

Improve scapular control and serratus anterior activation.

8. Front and Side Planks

Develop core stability.

9. Single-Leg Calf Raises

Build Achilles tendon resilience.

10. Y-T-W Raises

Improve postural endurance and shoulder stability.

Aim to perform strength training 2–3 times per week during the season.

Focus on quality over quantity.

🚨How Physical Therapy Can Help

Sports physical therapists identify movement limitations before they become injuries.

A tennis-specific evaluation may include:

• Shoulder and hip mobility assessment

• Rotator cuff and scapular strength testing

• Core stability testing

• Movement analysis

• Serve mechanics assessment

• Workload monitoring

Physical therapy can help:

• Reduce pain

• Restore mobility

• Improve strength and power

• Correct movement inefficiencies

• Develop individualized return-to-play plans

• Prevent recurrent injuries

The goal is not simply to eliminate pain—but to optimize performance.

📆When Should You See a Physical Therapist?

Schedule an evaluation if you experience:

• Pain lasting longer than 7–10 days

• Loss of serve speed or power

• Persistent stiffness after matches

• Recurrent ankle sprains

• Elbow or shoulder pain during serving/gripping

• Difficulty recovering between matches

• Night pain

• Reduced range of motion

• Decreased performance despite training

Do not wait until pain becomes severe. Early intervention often shortens recovery time and prevents small problems from becoming season-ending injuries.

👟Stay Healthy and Play Your Best

Tennis demands strength, mobility, endurance, coordination, and resilience.

The athletes who stay healthy throughout the season are not always the ones who train the hardest—they are the ones who recover well, manage their workloads, and address problems early.

A proactive approach that includes proper warm-ups, targeted strength training, mobility work, and regular movement assessments can help keep you on the court all season long. If pain is limiting your performance, don't ignore it. Getting evaluated early can help you recover faster and return to the game stronger than before.

📱Ready to play pain-free? Contact us today at 224-505-3343 or visit us at www.edge360wellness.com