Breathing - the First Step TowardsImproving Your Tennis Skills

Do you tend to hold your breath before hitting the ball? Does your breathing become shallow while you are playing tennis? If you do (like most players) then you could be taking power and control away from your swing. There is a way to breathe properly while playing tennis if you want to improve your performance. Here are some tips.

1. Exhale as exhale as you swing.

Make it a habit to exhale during your forward swing. Keep your exhale long for serves and groundstrokes and shorter for overheads and volleys. To practice, try exhaling immediately as you begin your forward swing. Fight the urge to breathe all your air out as you hit the ball. You should ideally be in the middle of your exhale when you hit it. In simplest terms, half your exhale should happen before contact and half of it after contact.

2. Breathe during a rally.

The key is to maintain a steady breathing rhythm between strokes. This might be a lot more challenging than it seems especially when all your attention is on the ball and on the movements of your opponent. You might instinctively hold your breath. But don’t give up—you can change your habits. Practice in easy playing conditions first. Rally with your partner down the middle until you can establish a breathing rhythm, then ask your partner to start moving you around the tennis court. Try to maintain the same steadiness in your breathing pattern.

3. Recover after each point.

Get some oxygen by taking a few deep breaths. This will resupply your lungs with air and give you the energy you can use for future points. Breathe deeply as you walk around the court and aim to get back to your normal breathing. There are only a few seconds in between points in a real match—20 seconds to be exact—so you need to train your lungs to recover quickly.