Judy Murray explains how you can improve your speed and change of direction on the tennis court.
SPEED AND CHANGE OF DIRECTION
Start at the X in the ready position in the middle of eight cones.
Hold your racquet at chest height in your playing hand, supported at the throat with your non-playing hand. Your knees should be bent with your weight on the balls of your feet, so you are able to push off quickly.
You can choose the sequence in which you move to each cone but you must play a shadow (or dummy) shot at each cone then recover to X before moving onto the next one.
Record your time then set yourself some goals for improving. Once your times come down you should see an improvement in your speed, so long as you don't cut any corners!
If there is any particular movement pattern you need to improve, for example, the movement back behind the baseline to retrieve deep shots on the forehand side, then you should set your sequence to include more of this movement.
Or if eight shots are too tiring for you initially, just pick a number that you are comfortable with and start with that. When you can manage more, increase the number of cones you travel to.
SPEED OFF THE MARK
In tennis it is important to be quick off the mark and to be able to move fast over the first three steps. So try this:
Concentrating on one cone at a time, ask your partner to time you from X to a selected cone. Then rest for five times your time before you try again.
To turn it up to another level get your partner to choose the cone you run to and wait for his or her command by either:
Eight steps to improve your sprinting