Most players jog a lap, hit a few forehands, and call it a warm-up. Then the first set feels slow.
A warm-up isn't a ritual. It's preparation. If you know what tennis asks of your body, the warm-up almost designs itself.
What tennis asks of your body
Tennis is explosive, multidirectional and rotational. Every point starts with a split step, which is a small reactive jump. Every shot uses rotation through the hips and upper back. Every rally means accelerating, braking and changing direction, often on one leg.
A jog is a fine way to start, because it warms you up. On its own it doesn't prepare you for side steps, rotation, sudden stops and fast shoulder movements. So add moves that look like the game.
Why a warm muscle works better
Warm muscles produce more power. In short, explosive efforts, studies put the gain at roughly 2 to 5% for each 1°C rise in muscle temperature. That comes mostly from lab studies, so take it as a direction, not a promise for your serve.
The four things a warm-up must do
- Raise your temperature. Warm muscles work better. Cold muscles are slow and stiff.
- Open up the joints you actually use: hips, upper back, ankles and shoulders.
- Wake up the muscles that tend to be quiet: glutes, rotator cuff and hip stabilisers.
- Get ready to move fast. Do a few quick efforts before you ask your body for speed.
How to do each one
A short push for your shoulder
Here's one to try. In one study of 16 young competitive players, two 5-second maximal pushes against a fixed object raised serve speed by about 3 to 4% (4.6 km/h) straight afterwards. The first push was for shoulder rotation and the second for lifting the arm. One push alone didn't work, and heavy lifting before serving didn't help.
That's one small study, so treat it as an experiment, not a rule. Do it right before you play.
What to cut
Long static stretches. Holding one muscle for 60 seconds or more can trim strength and power by a few percent. Short holds, under about 30 to 45 seconds, make little difference. And the effect mostly fades when you follow with dynamic work.
In tennis players, dynamic work has beaten a long static routine on serve speed, sprints and jumps. So before you play, spend your time moving. Keep the long holds for after.
Also skip the "I'll warm up on court" plan. Feeding balls half awake isn't preparation.
Finish close to the start
A warm-up fades if you sit around. In football, 15 minutes of resting dropped muscle temperature by about 2°C and cost players about 2 to 3% in sprint speed.
What it does for your game
In one study of 12 elite junior players, a warm-up with dynamic stretching gave serves about 4% faster and 20 m sprints about 4% quicker than the same warm-up with a long static routine. The gap was still there after 30 minutes of play and gone by 60. Another study found dynamic exercise raised serve speed by about 1 to 3% compared with a jog and a rally.
A good warm-up is mainly about performance. It hasn't been shown to prevent tennis injuries, so think of it as a sensible habit, not a guarantee.
The rule of thumb
The routine
No equipment needed. Here's a 15-minute routine you can run before a session.
Tennis Warm-Up Routine15 min · Bodyweight · On-CourtOpen →Based on Ayala et al. (2016), Gelen et al. (2012), Baiget et al. (2023), Behm et al. (2016), Silva et al. (2018) and Racinais et al. (2017).