Physical readiness in tennis involves having the overall capacity to meet the sport's physical demands, which vary by age and developmental stage. 

Players must master fundamental movements—like throwing, catching, jumping, running, and changing direction—before progressing to tennis-specific skills. Early training should focus on developing these basic skills through diverse sports.

As players advance, they incorporate more complex movements and refine tennis-specific techniques, such as upper and lower body coordination and reaction abilities. Ultimately, they must perform these skills under significant time pressure to excel at competitive levels.


Periodisation

**Diagram on how playing other sports and activities contribute to multilateral development**


| Age | Hours per week (including competition) |
|-----|----------------------------------------|
| 7   | 7+                                     |
| 8   | 8+                                     |
| 9   | 9+                                     |
| 10  | 10+                                    |
| 11  | 12+                                    |
| 12  | 14+                                    |
| 13  | 16+                                    |
| 14  | 18+                                    |
| 15  | 20+                                    |
| 16  | 20+                                    |
| 17  | 20+                                    |
      

Practice guidelines

On court


Players get better at the specific training stimuli they are exposed to.

This means that training and playing tennis only, will limit the development of components such as strength and speed – as tennis play is made up of minimal maximal sprints

**If you’re player needs to get fast and strong – they need to be exposed to speed and strength!**

![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/291ee75206e8796c6e7c4e85a905029d.png)
          


All physical components decline with reductions or ceasing of that training type. 
This is important to remember during extended tournament blocks where physical component training does not occur

**Use it or lose it!**

![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/image%20(2).png)



![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/image%20(3).png)

Too much too soon and you get pain / injury. 

Well planned, consistent training is key!

          


Training needs to be specific to the priorities of each player based on:
- On court priorities
- Physical component development areas
- Age, training history, injury history, gender, and growth

**Every player development buckets will need filling differently**
![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/291ee75206e8796c6e7c4e85a905029d.png)



  Bones grow long before they grow strong
  
  - At PHV adolescents have reached 90% of their adult height but have only acquired 57% of their adult bone strength so bone is relatively weak
  - Recovery time between loading bouts is critical to optimal bone adaptation
  - Bone adaptation is a slow process (months/years)
  
  **The growth spurt is an opportunity to stimulate bone and tendon strength**
  


![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/image%20(4).png)

- **Peak height velocity (PHV)** is the time period during adolescence when growth rates are at their fastest. 
        


**Rapid growth is associated with a greater risk of injury**

- A growth rate **greater than 1cm per month** increases the risk of injury 
- During adolescence, **measuring height** and weight **once per month** is recommended)
- Extra attention should be given to **individualising training** programs on and off court during **rapid growth phases**

**Well planned training helps to prevent injury**
          


- Goal during **high growth phases** is to be aware of **injury risk** but to **maintain training loads**
- **Well planned** training during the **growth spurt** will stimulate long term **bone strength adaptations**
  - Undulate **harder** and **easier** training days during training blocks both on & off court to allow bone and tendon to adapt
  - Bone and tendon will be stimulated with **training variety** (e.g.: point play, drilling, technical, serve, serve return) over a week
  - **High loading** activity (e.g.: serving) will give the best **bone stimulation** if split into smaller chunks 
    - e.g.: 4 sets of 20 serves over a 2 hour period will give better bone stimulation than one set of 80
    - e.g.: 3 x 20 serves in the morning and 2 x 20 serves in the afternoon will give better bone stimulation than 5 x 20 in the morning


          


![](https://scnmjrm113fjphzm.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/image%20(5).png)
          

Off-court


Tournaments/ Competitions per year
12+

Tournament/Competition Level

- Super10s
- 4-8 Junior State
- 1 Junior Nationals 
- S10s National Camp
- Regular Junior League/Pennant /Team tennis / Green ball coloured ball competition

Singles matches per year (excluding practice)

- 7-8 year old - 30+
- 9 year old – 40+

Practice matches (per week)

~6 sets

Singles:Doubles Ratio 

1:1 – 3.1

          


Tournaments/ Competitions per year

18+

Tournament/Competition Level

- 4-5 Junior Nationals
- 4-8 Junior Tour
- 3-5 International
- Regular Junior League/Pennant /Team tennis


Singles matches per year (excluding practice)

60+

Practice matches (per week)

10 – 12 sets

Singles:Doubles Ratio 

1.5:1 – 3:1

          


Tournaments/ Competitions per year

15-23+

Tournament/Competition Level

Females 

- 2-4 Junior Nationals
- 2-4 Junior Tour
- 5-10  International
- 14+ ITF Junior Events 
- WTA / ITF Womens Events
- 13th birthday able to play ITF's
- 15BY can only play 16 ITF Junior events

Males

- 2-4 Junior Nationals
- 2-4 Junior Tour
- 5-10 International
- 14+ ITF Junior Events 
- WTA / ITF Womens Events
- 13th birthday able to play ITF's
- 15BY can only play 16 ITF Junior events

Singles matches per year (excluding practice)

80+

Practice matches (per week)

12-14 sets

Singles:Doubles Ratio 

2:1 – 3:1

          


Tournaments/ Competitions per year

18-26+

Tournament/Competition Level

Females

- Junior Nationals (If low on match play)
- 2-4 UTR Pro Series 
- 10-12 ITF Junior events 
- 6-12 ITF Womens events
- WTA as appropriate
- 16BY – 16 ITF Junior events

Males

- Junior Nationals (If low on match play) 
- 2-4 UTR Pro Series *clarify, should that be lower. 
- 10-12 ITF Junior events   
- 1-4 Challengers 
- ATP as appropriate 
- 16BY – 16 ITF Junior events 


Singles matches per year (excluding practice)

80+

Practice matches (per week)

10-14

Singles:Doubles Ratio 

2:1 – 3.1

          


Tournaments/ Competitions per year

20+

Tournament/Competition Level

Females

- 8-12 ITF events
- WTA as appropriate

Males

- 4-6 Challengers 
- ATP as appropriate 

Singles matches per year (excluding practice)

80+

Practice matches (per week)

10-14

Singles:Doubles Ratio 

Player specific

          


Focusing on development and mastering the fundamentals early is crucial for long-term success and sustainability. Prioritising these aspects lays a robust foundation that contributes to consistent performance, injury prevention, mental toughness, strategic understanding, and sustained progress.

Chasing points in tournaments should be secondary to establishing a solid foundation through dedicated development


The type of surface upon which junior players develop their games influences professional ranking highs. For both boys and girls, playing on clay courts was associated with a higher future ranking (Reid et al 2007; 2009)  
          


Learning to play and compete is essential for becoming a top 100 player. Most important for young players (eg. 7-10 yrs) is that they develop a love for playing and competing and are therefore  intrinsically motivated to play regularly. Coaches can supplement tournament matches with practice matches to ensure players are exposed to a sufficient volume of match play. As a general guide, it is recommended for players to play 10 or more sets per week – whether that be singles, doubles, practice or tournaments. Of course, the number of sets per week will fluctuate based on the time of year, and it should increase or decrease based on a periodised cycle, 
          


Top 100 male and female players compete in professional tournaments earlier, which is facilitated by their increased involvement at J500 and J300 events during mid-adolescence. It is important to note that female players are more likely to transition to pro earlier than males (Perri et al., 2021). 
          


Playing matches is only piece of the puzzle. It is equally important for players to be exposed to the appropriate challenge. The 33% rule can be used to guide the difficulty of tournaments and practice matches. The rules states:

- 1 in 3 matches should be a win
- 1 in 3 matches should be a loss
- 1 in 3 matches should be a battle
          

Competition

Guidelines

Principles

Competition

Guidelines

8-10 years

10-12 years

12-15 years

15-17 years

17+ years

Principles

Prioritise development

Value in clay

Importance of playing

Higher quality tournaments earlier

33% rule