Yoga for Tennis
Not only can yoga help strengthen a tennis player's injury-prone joints, it can also silence "inner chatter."
By Megan McMorris
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Susan Carter's tennis game has never been better. Her secret? Yoga. "Yoga overall has made me stronger in all of my movements on the court. It helps me get my body behind the ball, especially on my serve and overhead," says the 37-year-old public relations rep, who played college tennis at George Washington University.
Carter has found what many tennis players, from the amateurs to the pros, are discovering—the combination of yoga and tennis makes for a win-win situation.
Unlike many sports that require simple brute strength or speed, tennis is a mental game as well. That's why yoga is perfect for cross-training. Jeff English learned this when he tried to strengthen his focus while playing tennis. "My tennis teachers always told me that mental focus came from experience, that when you've played enough matches you gain that focus," he says. "Well, there are players who have played a million matches and still lose it when the pressure is really on."
English, also a tai chi/qi gong teacher, liked yoga so much that he incorporated it into a class he teaches called "Tai Chi Tennis" at El Gancho Fitness and Swim Club in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also teaches a movement class based on the principles of tai chi, qi gong, and yoga at Yoga Mandir, a local studio. "A big part of tennis is getting rid of inner chatter, which yoga does," he says. "So when you get into the match, instead of thinking, 'Oh, I have to win this point,' you have trained your mind to be still."
Jena Marcovicci, owner of Dance of Tennis center in Richmond, Massachusetts, also uses yoga to create focus. "The greatest way that yoga helps your tennis is with a pre-match ritual," he says. "Practicing the asanas is a crucial way to ignite your endorphins and get you ready to play. A pre-match ritual is helpful in centering your focus, which will help you in your game."
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