What It Takes To Be A Professional Male Tennis Player – The 3 Physical Signatures of Professional Tennis Athletes

Introduction/History
Over the past few decades the numbers of players trying to play professional tennis has grown significantly. The prize money has increased 13% in the last year; in 1990 Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in US Open Final and Pete’s prize money check was US $220,000. In 2020 the winner will receive right at US $4 million. As a result, the financial benefits of being a top tennis player has increased significantly and more people all over the world are looking at the possibilities of making professional tennis a career. The finances are very top heavy, but if you can make it the rewards are impressive. As a result a lot of players, parents, coaches, agents and federations put time, energy and planning into the young careers of promising junior players. However, from my experience, far too many players are not being developed effectively based on their physical styles and genetics -  or what I like to call “Physical Signature.” Every athlete has a physical signature; it is the athlete’s personal DNA. Just like a fingerprint it is unique to each individual. However, in tennis, three broad categories of physical styles do exist and it is easy to break out most tennis athletes into one of these three styles/signatures. It is important to understand this from a Talent/Physical development perspective, but also to help train each athlete most appropriately. This article is focused on the physical aspects, but I also do the same analysis for technical style, tactical style, mental style and the intangibles (professionalism, desire, etc). 

Based on the current style of play at the top of men’s tennis you can see three broad groups of players that make a great living playing professional tennis. I have used other sports as an example of this athlete and the likelihood that any of the top professional tennis players that would fall into this category would be able to play that sport at the highest level if that was the focus at a young age.

1) The NBA “Big Man” Athlete (A very tall big serving athlete). Just being tall is not enough. You need to be an athlete, a competitor and great tennis player. John Isner, Reilly Opelka, Ivo Karlovic, Kevin Anderson among others fall into this category. They are over 6ft 6inches tall and most are closer to 7ft. 

• If you are a junior tennis player (or the coach/parent) of a young player who is projected to be in this category then the training from a young age should be specific and targeted to focus on the areas of most need.

1. Injury Prevention/Reduction Training: This is specifically on the areas of most need including: lower back, knees and shoulders, foot/ankle. Prevention programs should be implemented from a young age specifically on the areas of most risk. From the research on tall growing athletes the areas of concern/risk are clear and a well targeted program and long-term plan should be implemented. From my personal experience working with two of the tallest players in tennis history (as well as many big men in other sports), the concerns and potential injury risk is higher during the developmental years due to the rapid growth and subsequent challenges associated. You need a very structured plan and long-term focus with measurable data, consistent evaluation periods, smart scheduling and the right type of training to be successful.
2. Movement: In the development years, this will be the biggest weakness and will likely result in this type of athlete not always having the same results as some of their peers. The main reason is that the ability to play defense is challenged and it is harder to win when not playing their best. So it is common to see more losses (and sometimes more “bad” losses during development). As a result, movement mechanics, on-court technique work is paramount to ensure they are efficient and effective with the right movements. Check out the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) work on Tennis Movement and Footwork. Go to this site and you can get the full “free” book going through over 30 of the most important tennis movements to make sure you know what to train www.itpa-tennis.org

The Duel Threat Modern NFL Quarterback – This is the tennis player who is between 6ft 1inch -6ft 6inch in height. However, they also are very fast, a great mover and see the court very well. The highest percentage of all-time greats over the past few decades have been in this category – Sampras, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Safin et al. What makes this bodytype so valuable is that they all can serve above 130MPH and control the tempo of matches with the serve, but also are great movers and can play outstanding defense when needed. This usually gives them a slight advantage when they are not playing their best to still find ways to win. These individuals do not follow the same developmental timeline. Some can grow early, some can be late maturers, so many players between 10-16 may fall into this category and need to be trained to have a full court game, with the ability to play defense, offense, move very well and be in great overall tennis specific conditioning.  

• If you are a junior tennis player (or the coach/parent) of a young player who is projected to be a in this category then the training from a young age should be specific and targeted to focus on the areas of most need.

​

1. Strength & Power: For this athlete to have a long a successful career the right training habits are needed to be trained throughout the development years. Age appropriate strength and power training is important for this athlete as this will be an important area of training as they get older and need to maximize these areas on-court.
   
2. Movement: Although movement should not be a major weakness during the development years, many athletes are struggling during the years as they are growing at different stages. Therefore, it is vital to train the right movements and mechanics throughout this development period. Here is a good resource that highlights over four hours of on-court movement training for all aspects that are needed to be successful  -TENNIS MOVEMENT
3. Mobility: This is an area that all tennis players need to spend a lot of time developing. However, for this type of athlete it becomes even more important due to the need to play a hybrid of styles. Need to be as fast and agile as the World Class Soccer Player, but be able to bring the power like the NBA Big Man. The hips of a tennis player are one of the most important joints in the body for all tennis players, but specifically for athletes who have this style. Here is a resource specifically focused on the Hips for Tennis Player. We call it Bulletproofing Your Hips.

The World Class Soccer Player: These are the individuals that are usually under 6ft 1inch in height yet have top of the charts on-court tennis movement and tennis-specific fitness and endurance. Think about players such as Lleyton Hewitt and David Ferrer. So how many Top 100 players fall into this category? At the end of 2019 the average height of the Top 100 on the ATP Tour was 6ft 2inches or just above 187cm. However, less than 20 players would fall into the 6ft 1inch height and below category. Although the data suggests that being taller than 6ft 1inch is helpful as a starting guide for professional tennis, many players under this height have made a very successful career from professional tennis. This being said, these players who are succeeding currently (for example as Kei Nishikori, Fabio Fognini, David Goffin, etc.) have some unique talents whether it be shotmaking ability, touch/court craft, fitness, court speed etc. It is vital that this category of player has multiple skills from a physical perspective. This needs to be understand from a young age and the various physical skills need to be developed in a structured and planned method. Although this athlete needs everything to be developed at a very high level to be successful, the following are two that always need to be prioritized:

• If you are a junior tennis player (or the coach/parent) of a young player who is projected to be in this category then the training from a young age should be specific and targeted to focus on the areas of most need.

1. Tennis Specific Endurance: Individuals have a genetic aspect to all these styles and having great endurance is one of the most genetically determined areas. Individuals have a higher composition of slow twitch fibers, higher hemoglobin and myoglobin levels (which helps with oxygen delivery and use by the body) and higher capacity of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). However, training can significantly improve these aspects if done correctly. Most younger athletes do not realize the level of tennis specific conditioning needed to be successful on the ATP Tour. Not only at regular tournaments throughout the year, but specifically during Grand Slam events involving 5 set matches.
   
2. Speed & Movement: The challenge for this player is that although tennis specific endurance is a major area that needs to be trained, so does speed and movement. These are two somewhat opposing biomotor capabilities, and improving one to a great extent does potentially reduce the other. Therefore, it is important to structure your training weeks with these competing goals in mind. In simple terms you want to work on speed and movement when the athlete is fresh (early in the training day for example), and you work on tennis specific endurance at the end of the training day or after any skill based or speed-based work is performed. Although a lot more goes into planning for these types of athletes, this is a good rule of thumb to help plan the sessions.
   
3. Strength: This style of athlete needs to be very strong as they are somewhat undersized compared to most of their competitors and as a result, will need to make up for it with developing a strong and powerful game built both on the court, but also in the gym. Having a personalized training program focused on this area will allow this style of athlete to compete and thrive with taller and stronger competitors. 
   

The goal of this article was to highlight a simple framework to help effectively train younger athletes who have the desire to play at the highest levels of the game. It is understood that all athletes are unique and a one size fits all training program is not recommended, these three broad categories outlined above can help provide guidance about how individual young male tennis players should be developed through their formative years.