Is being an Athlete as important as skills?

[BaddJordan]

In the words of Macci: If you don't like to run, Golf. I think I am now coming to grips with this, and its transforming my game in weeks. Serve isn't dying as quick and am much less lazy with my shots.

I see at club level all the time, players getting tired, and when the feet go, cue pavarotti: ave maria. It's unbelievably common, their beautiful cross court forehand is on a timer.

Agassi, as great as he was, often resorted to grinding when he was being outplayed.

Macci would go on about how Roddick did 2000 jump ropes every morning.

In Australian football, I read the number one draft pick used to get up at 6am before school to do an hour of core exercises.

And one of the greatest coaches in Australian football used to do 250 push ups, 700 sit ups and 5km (3 miles) every morning. He did this until 80 years old.

Right now I do daily
HIIT
Core every morning (empty stomach)
Shoulder stretches (youtube guide)

I want to add to this, what do you guys do? Do pros spend more time on the court or in the gym? Is it more important than skills?

 

[SinjinCooper]

Cut the interval stuff in half and fill that time in with steady state cardio.

Either on its own is better than nothing. Both in combo are worlds better.

Would rather see a dedicated steady state block for a couple months, then back to HIIT with minimal maintenance doses of long slow distance every couple weeks, but it looked like you were more interested in tweaking than revolutionizing.

 

[heninfan99]

But fitness is big in singles but not as important as racquet skills. My old coach gave some lessons to an NBA player and he was still just a hack at tennis.

 

[nvr2old]

Can't really divide it on this basic a level IMO. Some well conditioned athletes have no hand eye coordination and have never played ball/stick/racquet sports and never will do well. Others have (hockey, baseball, cricket, golf come to mind) and probable would make the transition fairly easily I would guess. On the flip side if you weigh 400 pounds but once were an ATP pro (not likely) you'd prob get beaten by a novice that is fit with marginal but some skills. Obviously if you have both skills and conditioning you're going to do well.

 

[r2473]

If you want to up your fitness, prioritize CONSISTENCY above all else.

I'm starting my tennis off season. This week, I'm running 30 minutes daily at "decent pace". Over the winter, I'll run a few 5K programs that will improve my time from today by about 4-5 minutes. It is a combination of 1) Pace running; 2) Intervals (200 meters up to a mile); 3) Distance (I'll do up 8 miles once a week or so).

In the evening I do bodyweight exercises at home

 

[Crocodile]

I think a lot depends on your level. No doubt a fitter stronger you with good skills is a good thing. However in many cases a person with excellent skills, anticipation and court craft can easily hide lack of fitness, but only up to a certain level.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Here is my take.

I have seen players all the way up at 4.5 because of athletic ability that have really funky, non-traditional strokes. Less common is seeing players who move very badly or are overweight. Maybe that is just in our neck of the woods.

For lower levels I generally see players with athletic ability move up quicker because they can keep the ball in play more than those that may have more solid strokes but just can't get to balls.

And, of course, that is when looking at the extremes.

 

[Dartagnan64]

I have neither skills nor athleticism, hence the perma-3.5. I beat people with brains and determination.

 

[LocNetMonster]

On the flip side if you weigh 400 pounds but once were an ATP pro (not likely) you'd prob get beaten by a novice that is fit with marginal but some skills.

When I first started playing tennis I hit with a guy who was a decent college player in his prime. Marriage and grad school added a good extra 80-100 pounds on his frame. As long as you hit the ball to him with TS in the middle of the court he could pound either corner all day long.What he didn't like doing was hitting approach shots, lobs and drop shots because he had to run after them. When he did, he expended a ton of energy. He would retire midway in the second set when I'd go up 4-2. The only time we played to sets was if he was winning ... lol ... otherwise he would retire. I was definitely a novice, may a year into the sport, when he and I played, and 25 years his senior.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

Cut the interval stuff in half and fill that time in with steady state cardio.

Either on its own is better than nothing. Both in combo are worlds better.

Would rather see a dedicated steady state block for a couple months, then back to HIIT with minimal maintenance doses of long slow distance every couple weeks, but it looked like you were more interested in tweaking than revolutionizing.

+1
the other reason to do that is to let your tendons and ligaments strengthen (7x slower than muscle), and get prepared of the intense explosive work of HIIT

 

[Deleted member 23235]

voted body...
because a better body will allow you to acquire more skills at a faster rate via longer more intense training sessions.

was at a clinic, this summer (90 degree heat/humidity)... after 30m, folks were dogging the session, cheating their starting location,... then ultimately many just plain gave up and sat down.
these were "college style" drills... so lots of running down very wide or very short balls, etc...

 

[Doc Hollidae]

If you can't get in proper position to hit the ball, your "skillz" don't matter.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

If you can't get in proper position to hit the ball, your "skillz" don't matter.

"You recruited me so you recognize the skills. So I don't want nobody calling me 'sport' or 'ace" or nuthin' like that."

"Whatever you say slick. But I have to tell you something about your 'skills': as of right now, they mean precisely...d*ck." Tommy Lee Jones to Will Smith, *Men in Black*

 

[eelhc]

It's all important. Skills,athleticism, fitness, mental toughness... But I think most folks at the recreational level have the opinion it's skills that matter the most (you know... the guys who would drive golf carts to every shot if they could).

 

[RyanRF]

At low levels (up to 3.5 ish), athleticism. People at 3.0 who are old and unfit generally never improve. People at 3.0 who are reasonably fit pretty much always improve. The best strategy is to just get the ball back. Attempts to be aggressive, finish the point, 'go for the shot' ,etc. usually end up as unforced errors.

At mid levels (4.0-4.5 ish), skills. Pure retrieving stops working because players at this level have developed consistency of offense. No amount of foot speed is enough when you've just floated a ball to a 4.0 player at the net. Rally balls need depth or else you lose. Passing shots need precision or else you lose. Second serves can't be dinked in or else you lose. The player has to develop skills to improve.

At high levels (5.0 and up), both. The vast majority of players at this level have had some amount of dedicated training as a junior to develop skills (i.e. traveling competition, regular coaching, etc.). Also 5.0+ level of play also requires a certain minimum level of fitness. As soon as fitness declines, the player is no longer able to be competitive.

 

[AllCourtHeathen]

And one of the greatest coaches in Australian football used to do 250 push ups, 700 sit ups and 5km (3 miles) every morning. He did this until 80 years old.

tommy hafey!

Nicest bloke in the world, he'd always say hi to us when jogging at st.kilda

 

[AllCourtHeathen]

I voted body.
You cant hit a good shot unless u get in position and good cardio helps you get the most from lessons and squads, hitting more balls in a state of controlled fatigue.

 

[Bender]

Depends on what stage you are at in tennis development.

If you're a beginner or have some major hitches in your technique, then focus on that and footwork should be of utmost importance.

Once that is mostly fixed / most major elements of proper technique is in place, then fitness should be worked on as well.

Ideally you want to be working from say a 9:1 split between technique to fitness, and working your way up to 1:1 or beyond that as you progress further.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

I have neither skills nor athleticism, hence the perma-3.5. I beat people with brains and determination.

On this site, you will see people down talking 3.5 tennis as being terrible. But in reality that isn't necessarily the case. For most people who learned tennis as adults and play a few times per week, playing solid 3.5 tennis is nothing to dismiss. Now, if someone is dedicating tons of time, lessons, drills, serve practice, etc, and after several years of that is playing 3.5, then lack of athleticism may be an issue (still nothing wrong with that if they enjoy the game though). But for the adult rec player looking to have fun, 3.5 is pretty good.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

In the words of Macci: If you don't like to run, Golf. I think I am now coming to grips with this, and its transforming my game in weeks. Serve isn't dying as quick and am much less lazy with my shots.

I see at club level all the time, players getting tired, and when the feet go, cue pavarotti: ave maria. It's unbelievably common, their beautiful cross court forehand is on a timer.

Agassi, as great as he was, often resorted to grinding when he was being outplayed.

Macci would go on about how Roddick did 2000 jump ropes every morning.

In Australian football, I read the number one draft pick used to get up at 6am before school to do an hour of core exercises.

And one of the greatest coaches in Australian football used to do 250 push ups, 700 sit ups and 5km (3 miles) every morning. He did this until 80 years old.

Right now I do daily
HIIT
Core every morning (empty stomach)
Shoulder stretches (youtube guide)

I want to add to this, what do you guys do? Do pros spend more time on the court or in the gym? Is it more important than skills?

Not sure what you mean by HIIT, since the idea has been diluted so much these days. But if you are doing true HIIT, I would not recommend doing HIIT daily. Unless you are on PEDs, you are never going to adequately recover to see much benefit. Remember, it's not during the exercise that your fitness improves, but during the recovery. So if you are not recovering, you are not getting much of anything out of it. I doubt you will see many pro players doing daily HIIT either.