You’ve got the right attire. You have a comfortable and well-fitted pair of tennis shoes.

Now, you’re ready to dominate the court, right?

Not so fast! Before you jump into an intense game of tennis, you need to warm up first. We know that it’s exciting to get out there and start playing, but a proper warm-up is essential to playing your best game—and avoiding injuries.

Below, we’ve listed six of our favorite tennis warm-up exercises that you can do before hopping on the court. We’ll also dive into why warming up is a crucial part of the process.

Why is Warming Up Important?

As one of the more physically demanding sports that you can play, tennis requires significant movement—short bursts of movement that can take a lot out of your body. There’s lateral quickness, arm movements, acceleration, and intricate footwork involved.

Warming up helps promote blood flow to your muscles, giving them more oxygen in the process. 

This serves two primary purposes:

1. It helps you perform better since your muscles are primed and ready
2. It prevents injury by extending your range of motion

It doesn’t need to take long either—10 to 15 minutes is a good amount of time to elevate your heart rate, perform better on the court, and, most importantly: avoid injuries.

6 Tennis Warm-Ups For The Best On-Court Performance

Here are our six favorite tennis warm-up exercises to prepare you for a big match. 

1. Butt Kicks

Butt kicks are a simple exercise you can do standing in place—all you need to do is an exaggerated run where your heels come up to touch your backside. Do it for 30 seconds, rest quickly, and then repeat as many times as desired.

This is a great exercise to stretch the front of your legs while also elevating your heart rate in the process. Butt kicks will also target your calf muscles, hamstrings, and glutes, too. 

1. Skipping Rope

The benefits of skipping rope cannot be understated—it’s a fun way to exercise in itself.

As a quick tennis warm-up exercise, skipping rope is one of the best ways to get the heart rate up and the blood flowing before a tennis game. It will also help with your coordination and agility in the process.

This one is only possible if you have a skipping rope handy. If not, we do have a tennis warm-up exercise coming up that provides many of the same benefits without any additional props.

1. Jumping Jacks

For those who don’t have access to a rope, jumping jacks are the next best option.

Jumping jacks incorporate your whole body—your upper body, lower body, and your cardiovascular system. You can do as many as you want with as many sets as you want—it’s up to you. For example, do 25, rest, and then 25 more. That should be more than enough to get the blood flowing to your arms and legs while elevating your heart rate.

1. Knees to Chest

The knees-to-chest warm-up is essentially the inverse of the butt kick—instead of exaggerating the movement behind, you’ll exaggerate it in front. Run in place, bringing your knees up to your chest every time. 

This quick warm-up will get the blood flowing to your legs, working your hamstrings in the process. 

1. Side Shuffles

Tennis involves a good amount of lateral movement—quick shuffling to return serves and continue volleying.

What better way to prepare than with a tennis warm-up exercise that features this movement?

Side shuffles are quick lateral movements from side to side. You can start with 10 steps to the right, follow it up with ten steps to the left, take a quick break, and repeat. 

This warm-up can help you build up some endurance and improve your quickness before a big match. 

1. Arm Circles

We can’t forget about the upper body. All tennis strokes require arm and torso movements, so let’s use a warm-up to help get them ready.

Arm circles are simple—hold your arms out to the side and create small circles with them. Start with small circles before gradually increasing the size, and then spin your arms in the opposite direction.

Do 10 seconds in each direction, take a break, and repeat. Just make sure you have enough room—you don’t want to hit anybody by accident! 

Looking For the Best Tennis Gear?

If you wanna look and perform your best during the game (and during warm-ups), you’ll need some top-notch tennis gear.

Lotto Sport’s tennis collection includes everything you need to dominate the court, including tennis tops, shorts, other bottoms, and shoes—for men, women, and kids. 

Shop Lotto Sport’s tennis collection today for all of your tennis essentials!

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