Tennis players face unique challenges in their sport – competing by themselves, or
along with just one other person in doubles, it is on them to get to every ball, return it
with power and accuracy, and to sustain their energy during a match. For a tennis
player, their ability to win relies heavily on their balance on the court, training for
endurance as well as strength, staying injury-free, and moving quickly to the ball.
UltraSlide slideboards can help tennis players improve upon each of these areas and
prepare for a strong tennis season.

How Tennis Players Benefit from Slideboard Use

• Balance on the Court: Slideboards allow for exercise that work the stabilizer
  muscles that support major muscle groups and improve athletes’ balance and
  coordination.
• Combined Cardio & Strength Training: Exercising with a slideboard lets tennis
  players get in their cardio and their strength training in one workout, with low-
  impact movements that can be performed with low or high intensity.
• Helps Prevent Injury: Lateral exercise on a slideboard helps tennis players to
  protect their knees, along with other major joints, by strengthening their less-
  often engaged stabilizer muscles.
• Enables Quick Movement to the Ball: Slideboard workouts target the major
  muscle groups that allow for fast and explosive movements.

Balance on the Court

Slideboards are an ideal training tool for tennis players, as they can be used to very
closely imitate a player’s movements on the clay court. Tennis players must be able to
quickly pivot and change direction with quick and coordinated movement in order to get
to the ball, and this is not possible without balance and stability, and proper strength
training and conditioning are necessary in order for the body to develop these traits. In
addition to providing challenging workouts for the hips and glutes, which help our bodies
to maintain balance during physical activities, slideboards also allow for exercise that
work the stabilizer muscles that support major muscle groups. Engaging these muscles
helps to strengthen them and allow for more stability in the fast turns and movement
tennis players must carry out.

Combined Cardio & Strength Training

Streamlining training allows tennis players to focus more of their time on specific areas
that are in need of improvement, and more importantly, to rest and recover between
their workouts. Exercising with a slideboard lets tennis players get in their cardio and
their strength training in one workout, with low-impact movements that can be
performed with low or high intensity. Many slideboard exercises that are used for
cardiovascular workouts also engage large muscle groups in the core and legs, helping
athletes to build a sweat and improve their endurance while also strengthening and
conditioning the muscles that help them perform.

Helps Prevent Injury

Preventing injury is a big reason behind many of the training and conditioning exercises
used today to help tennis players safely go about their game. Lateral exercise, such as many moves performed on a slideboard help tennis players to protect their knees, in
particular, by strengthening the muscles and tendons surrounding that surround them
and aren’t as frequently exercised in linear workouts, helping them to withstand impact
or strain. For example, lateral exercises on a slideboard help to build the outer hip
muscles as well as those in the inner and outer thighs, which stabilize the knees and
can minimize joint pain and injury.

Enables Quick Movement to the Ball

The average player’s stroke taking place within 2.5 meters of their ready position, an 8-
foot slideboard like the UltraSlide 8H provides a perfectly sized way for athletes to build
their skill in a realistic setting. Being able to quickly get yourself to the ball requires
powerful propulsion from major muscle groups, specifically in the legs. Slideboard
workouts targeting these important muscles can effectively build their strength and
condition them to execute these fast and explosive movements. Popular slideboard
exercises to increase explosive power include lateral lunges, traditional striding (or
sliding), and alternating side lunges.

Proper strength and conditioning is essential for tennis players to train and perform their
best. Using a slideboard as part of their regimen can help tennis players to maintain
balance on the court, get an efficient workout, prevent injury, and quickly move to the
ball.

UltraSlide slideboards have benefited teams, athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and
rehabilitation patients worldwide for more than 25 years. Relied upon by professional
and collegiate strength and conditioning coaches, sports medicine professionals,
leaders in fitness, personal trainers, and home fitness enthusiasts, UltraSlide
slideboards provide fun and challenging lower-body workouts and are highly effective
functional training tools.