Wimbledon begins on the 1st July and, for fans, will be everything anyone speaks about until 15th July. The tennis season will be sure to spark interest and inspire people into understanding and playing tennis themselves. There are so many benefits of playing tennis, and many preventative actions which can be put in place to avoid common tennis injuries.
Benefits of playing tennis
- Great for your cardiovascular system and increasing aerobic capacities – this is great for other areas of fitness to!
- Increases reaction times and great for improving hand-eye coordination. This is rather self-explanatory; you can start off playing in a relaxed way while getting used to the game and eventually work up to more intense matches as your reactions get better
- Chance to meet new people at clubs, or organise a weekly get together with friends and family
- Improvements to muscle tone, strength, and flexibility
- Able to play along with Wimbledon! While your favourite tennis players are training, preparing, and playing, you can get involved to! This will give you a greater understanding and respect for the players on the screen
Be safe!
Like with every sport there is always a risk of injury, if you haven’t played tennis before, take it easy and get to grips with the sport before you play more competitively. Here are the sport injuries you are at risk of and how to prevent them:
Tennis elbow: Overusing the muscles which extend the wrist can cause this injury. Ensure your grip is good and learn proper techniques of how to hit the ball.
Shoulder injuries: Strengthen your shoulder muscles at the gym and try not to overtire this muscle area. Look out for any pain you might feel when doing over head shots such as serving, this is a sign of a shoulder injury.
General muscle strains: Tennis can cause a lot of strains on your upper body muscles; therefore, it is important to incorporate warm-up routines and stretching before playing.
Ankle injuries: Tennis involves lots of pivoting in order to quickly get to different places on the court, this can cause ankle sprains. To best avoid this, invest in a supportive pair of trainers.
Where to play?
If you’re local to Croydon, Surrey then why not check out these tennis clubs and recreation grounds to kick start or revisit your passion for tennis.
- Addiscombe Recreation Ground, Croydon
- Purley Bury Tennis Club
- Croydon Sports Club
- Selsdon Recreation Ground
- Park Hill Tennis Courts, Croydon
- Lloyd Park, Croydon
Get in touch
If you have a niggling pain or have recently had an injury and want to get into tennis or other sports, get in touch with us at Sanderstead Physio today to receive professional advice and treatments. Call us on 020 8657 5700.
