Midlife tennis boom: How I dusted off my old tennis racquet and returned to the court
Matt Henley looks me up and down with his expert eye and immediately spots the problem. I have a child-sized handle. It’s barely long enough for a double-handed grip.
“Why have you got a junior racquet?” he enquires.
Inspired by Emma Raducanu’s stunning US Open victory, I’ve decided to rekindle my relationship with tennis after years away from the court, and the reason for my previous competitive failures is all too apparent. I’ve been taking a knife to a gunfight. After a quick visit to the club shop, I return equipped to play with the grown-ups.
I started playing tennis as a child in the courts in my local park, usually when Wimbledon was on. For a spell in my 20s, I played weekly competitive matches with work colleagues but never won a single game. So, I gave up. I fared slightly better at squash, mainly because it’s easier to use brute force in the enclosed court. Skill and technical ability have never been my strong points; neither has the equipment, as Lawn Tennis Association Level 5 coach Matt realises when he also points out that the running shoes I’m wearing are only designed for forward motion.
Here at the David Lloyd Club in Epsom, Surrey, I’m hoping my fortunes will change after a crash course with a professional instructor.
I’m not the only one inspired to dust off a racquet after watching 18-year-old Raducanu’s historic win in New York, which ended Britain’s 44-year wait for a women’s Grand Slam title. Online searches for tennis lessons increased fourfold in the week after her victory and visits to the tennis page of the David Lloyd Clubs website doubled. Even before Emma-mania gripped the UK, national participation in tennis had risen by eight per cent after lockdown gym closures saw many people head down to their local courts for outdoor exercise.
The health benefits of tennis are indisputable. For young players starting out, the sport increases fitness and activity levels and also improves hand-eye coordination and mobility. For older players like myself, tennis maintains health, fitness, strength and agility and also has social and psychological benefits. Indeed, the intermittent bursts of energy required to sprint to the ball give the game a similar exercise profile to HIIT classes and provide an all-over body workout, which, even for leisurely players, can be surprisingly strenuous, as Dave Wright, CEO of wearable heart rate tracking system Myzone, explains.
“The big thing about tennis is that your effort levels depend on who you play. Typically, you would expect 60-70 per cent maximum heart rate when you are playing doubles and 70-90 per cent when you are playing singles as there is more of the court to cover. It is stop-start, with short bursts of sprinting, and it involves strength in the legs and upper body,” he says.
For this reason, a full warm-up is always recommended before any game and older players especially should avoid playing with any pre-existing illness or injury. The advice from Matt is to “listen to your body”.
“Changing direction can cause balance challenges, which can put more stress on joints,” he says. “A good shot is more about timing and good technique, which puts less stress on the body. A good tennis swing is relaxed and free rather than requiring brute strength.”
One of the most common injuries players sustain is tennis elbow. The condition causes pain around the outside of the elbow and is clinically known as lateral epicondylitis. It often happens after overuse or repeated action of the muscles of the forearm, near the elbow joint, and is caused by poor technique, poor grip or a mismatched or badly sprung racquet.
“In the majority of cases, grip is the main cause,” Matt explains.
Another consideration for those who get hooked on tennis is body imbalance as, unless you are skillfully ambidextrous, the racquet is used by the dominant arm. For this reason, it is recommended that regular players also build a weekly strength and conditioning workout into their exercise regime to even out imbalances.
Nutrition should also be a factor. The days of Robinsons Barley Water are long gone, and today players have a bewildering array of gels, shakes and bars to choose from for pre-game fuel. Olga Hamilton, head of nutrigenetic science at Nutri-Genetix, says: “Nutrition is not just important, it is essential for sports performance. Athletes are always looking for an edge to improve their performance, and there is a range of dietary strategies available.” For tennis players, she recommends foods high in protein, vitamins D, B6, B9 and B12 and Omega 3.
Back on court number 6 and my lesson with Matt begins with grip and the revelation (to me) that there are numerous ways to hold the racquet depending on the stroke being played. An internet search for ‘tennis grip’ will provide a confusing array of video instructions. Matt gives me an easy tip. Place the racquet flat on the floor, then pick it up as if you were going to play a shot. That is the basic forehand grip.
We then progress to playing shots, and my first forehand return sails over the fence and into the undergrowth. To help me temper my enthusiasm, Matt estimates the speed of each subsequent clumsy return. The sweet spot, he advises, is 30mph. At 70mph the ball is too fast and goes out, any slower than 30mph and it hits the net. He also tells me to imagine that when I’m hitting the ball, I’m threading a baguette through the middle of the racquet, which has the effect of positioning the head of the racquet correctly. Finally, he tells me to make sure I follow through with the racquet after the shot.
“Your finish position should be with the racquet over your shoulder,” he explains.
Remarkably, with this advice, my returns improve immediately and immeasurably.
We switch to volleys, which Matt explains should be struck as if jabbing an opponent in a boxing match. Again, I become quickly proficient and enjoy a quick fire exercise hitting back rapid deliveries. Then it’s on to the backhand which, I’m taught, should be met side on, racquet positioned as if a sword being pulled from a sheath, leading foot slightly in front and shot followed through so the hand with the racquet ends up at eye level.
To test my grip changes we move on to an exhausting 10 minutes of alternating forehand and backhand and then finish with serves, which Matt explains should be struck at the apex of the ball’s thrown trajectory, and hit with the top half of the racquet and with an action similar to that of a basketball slam dunk.
I’m genuinely surprised by the difference Matt’s technique training makes to my rusty game. After one lesson I was able to place accurate shots, return most of the balls that were thrown at me and execute a couple of credible serves. I may still be a long way off ruffling any feathers in one of the many seniors’ leagues in the country, but, encouraged by significant progress in a short space of time, I’m hooked on tennis again, game set and match.
