Regular fitness testing is important for a Tennis player so that the areas to be improved can be identified and the training programme modified to suit the individuals needs.

If the training programme is correctly implemented, improvements in fitness become the norm, and the player may not appreciate the changes, this can be de-motivating for the player. Regular testing will show the improvement and motivate the player to continue with the programme.

The testing should be far enough apart to allow improvements to be shown, and frequent enough to allow modification of the programme. 12 weeks is recommended as a reasonable period, reducing to 6 weeks in high intensity programmes.

The tests used are those developed by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Kovacs Institute. The advantage of using these tests are, that they have tested a large number of players and the norms for age and sex of the players is available. This enables a players individual test results to be compared to other Tennis players of the same sex and age.

Look in Junior Coaching and Adult Coaching for current courses.