Make Winter Tennis Great
When the flurries are out, most would stay away from the courts and stick with staying under the covers with wine and Netflix. However, there are tons of ways to make the most of the cold, crisp weather to stay in shape with these winter tennis hacks.
1. Warm up before heading out for the court
Dynamic stretching is extremely important to do before you start truly playing. However, to get yourself warmed up save some of your court time and get yourself warmed up by taking care of your static stretches before you leave for transit! By doing this, you are not only keeping yourself warmed up and energized before bracing the cold wind to get to the court but you are also helping yourself prevent any injury. During the winter months, your muscles are more tight than warm seasons so you need to stretch a bit more than you typically would to get your muscles warmed up.
2. Don't leave without some warmup gear
In the summer it's all about tanks, skorts, and shorts but in the winter given how hard it is to even get yourself to leave the house it's even harder to get yourself warmed up on the court. To help with that, it's always great to wear sweatpants or even sport a tennis catsuit to keep your muscles warm for the first 15 minutes.
3. Short court
We know it's not everyone's favorite, but during the winter season - short court is more important than ever before. Make sure to get in 5 minutes of short court play to warm everything up and stay light on your feet. While it may seem like you are cutting into your court time - here at BreakHQ we have seen that most players find that they get a better rally or match in for the remaining time than they would have if they skipped short court and went straight to the baseline.
4. Feet, feet, feet
You have heard it time and again, but winter is the season for you to stay light on your feet more than ever before. You will naturally feel heavier and slower on your feet during the brisk cold months so it is more important than ever before to keep hopping around the court and recovering so you can get to every ball.
5. Hydrate!
Winter is the season for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and wine often leaving out water. Before you leave, during, and after make sure to drink atleast a feel water bottle to keep yourself hydrated for the season so you don't cramp up.
6. Make it social!
Grab a bite or drink after you play! It is always hard to get yourself out to play when all you want to do is cozy up in your PJs to some wine and Netflix so use this time as an opportunity to also hang out off the court and celebrate that you made it out to play!
All photos in this post are originally taken by Break the Love. *