Stretches for Pickleball & Tennis
Pickleball? Really?
We all know how popular tennis is but what is this pickleball thing? As you may have heard on the radio or read in major newspapers pickleball is here, and likely here to stay. Not just in places like The Villages, Florida and Pecos Park in Arizona, now it is hitting the northeast with a vengeance. And it has major sports benefits as do other racquet sports as you can see in this Harvard Health Blog on the subject of longevity and racquet sports. No mater if you are playing platform tennis, regular tennis, racquetball, squash or pickleball you are going to want to prepare for you game properly. We present stretches for pickleball and tennis here.
The Stretches for Pickleball and Tennis
Warming up and stretching before pickleball and tennis can help improve your game. Our bodies feel better after being in motion because movement allows for improved circulation, moving warmer blood throughout our tissue.
If you try to swing a racquet and your muscles are short and tight in your legs and arms, you will not be able to rotate properly. Let’s fix that with some of the stretches here.
Start with some Arm Circles – perhaps 10 clockwise and 10 counter-clockwise.
Next do some twisting from side to side – keep your feet shoulder width apart, place your hands on your hips or at chest height and turn from side to side 15-20 times. These dynamic stretches just help to increase blood flow and loosen joints before moving onto the static stretches.
Elbow Pull: Pull your elbow behind your head until stretch is felt. Repeat with other elbow.
One of the best ways to prevent pickleball tennis elbow from affecting you is to first make sure your paddle “fits” your hand- equipping yourself with proper gear may help minimize the risk of pickleball elbow from presenting itself – your pickleball grip is crucial here!Namely, the size of your grip and your paddle weight are the two most important things you should be concerned with. For more about causes and treatments for pickelball tennis elbow click here.
Calf Stretch: Stand about three feet from a a wall and put your right foot behind you ensuring your toes are facing forward. Keep your heel on the ground and lean forward with your right knee straight. Rotating the toes in and out slightly will target the medial and lateral parts of this muscle separately. Hold this for 30 to 60 seconds
The quadriceps femoris is a group of muscles located in the front of the thigh. The Latin translation of ‘quadriceps’ is ‘four headed,’ as the group contains four separate muscles: the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and the rectus femoris
Quad Stretch: Standing with a shoulder width stance and hang onto an object for support. Bring one foot up and grab with your hand. Pull your foot up until you feel a stretch on the front of your thigh. Hold, relax and repeat before changing legs.
If I have had a knee surgery, can I even play pickleball or tennis?
Yes you can play racquet sports and engage in other non-impact sports like swimming, light jogging, golf, cross country skiing and bowling. If you know a lot about tennis you know that the modern game for singles is played mostly at the baseline where doubles has a lot of forward and backward motion. While some surgeons have recommended that players stick with doubles, in fact it maybe that the side to side baseline work in singles is actually easier on the knee. Let’s leave that debate for another article, but think it through prior to jumping on the court. Your game will change after knee surgery so you need to listen to your knees once you return to these sports; make adjustments as needed. It is when you engage in high impact sports (basketball, football, volleyball) that trouble can arise in a replacement knee joint. There has never been a better time to have knee replacment, but do your homework.
Pickleball 411 from Red Mountain Resort in St. George, Utah.
We searched high and low for the very best stretching series for pickleball and are so please to share the video below. Meet Rebecca Dalley a personal trainer and pickelball expert. You can optimize performance and avoid injuries with these simple stretches for pickleball.
Getting Back to Sports After Knee Surgery
Increasingly we are seeing patients who are younger, more athletic, and who have higher demands and expectations after a partial or total knee replacement or even patella fracture. If your knee pain is seriously getting in the way of you racquet game participation you should consult an orthopedic surgeon.
The X10 Knee Recovery System™ is a proven way to accelerate your return to pickleball and tennis and many other sports. We expect you to get back to the racquet sports you love after knee surgery.
Great tips that all pickleball players should consider following before playing to help avoid injury. Thanks for posting these great stretches.
Thanks for this article. I’d try some of this stretches on my next training tomorrow.
Great article and useful. I will follow the instructions before playing. thank you so much