You’ve seen them. That viral Facebook, You Tube , Instagram reels and TikTok videos: a pro players effortlessly crushing a unique, high-intensity Tennis or S&C drill , with a title “Do this to unlock your forehand power!” or “The secret speed the pros don’t want you to know!” or some analyze a pro players they should have done this and that, list goes onn.
“Don’t get me wrong—over my nearly three-decade career, I have personally coached multiple world and Asian champions, working alongside amazing coaches, doctors, physios, and athletes from around the world. What happens behind the scenes is a completely different ball game. With that said, I have immense respect and admiration for all professional athletes and their coaching teams.”
Reverting back to viral social media clips , we all have to agree It’s tempting. It looks fun. And the promise of a quick fix is enticing . So, as coach you or your player head to the court, phone in hand, ready to replicate.
STOP. RIGHT. THERE. ( DO NOT PLAY IN BANANA OPEN)
While social media is a great source of inspiration, research or watching live matches, using it as your primary training manual is like using WebMD to perform surgery. It’s not just ineffective—it can be dangerous and a massive detour on your path to improvement.
True, high-performance training isn’t about copying a drill; it’s about following a principled process. Here’s why a one-size-fits-all approach from social media fails every time.
The Health and Medical Foundation:
Before you even think about the “how” of training, you must know the “who.” A generic drill completely ignores the most critical factor: you. Tennis is a Individual sport like Combat sport .
- Underlying Conditions: Does the player have a history of shoulder impingement? A lingering knee issue? A previous stress fracture? Cardio vascular, respiratory & metabolic issues
- Current Physical State: Are they recovering from an illness? Are they fatigued? Training load must be managed daily. A high-volume drill copied online has no awareness of the athlete’s readiness, dramatically increasing the risk of overtraining and injury.
The Bottom Line: What’s safe for one body can be catastrophic for another.
The Age Equation:
“Age” is not a single number. Failing to distinguish between its different types is a classic error of generic training.
- Chronological Age: This is just the number of birthdays you’ve had. It’s gives a general idea in group training .
- Biological Age: Where is the player in their puberty growth spurt? A player in the middle of a rapid growth phase (often characterized by a temporary loss of coordination and increased injury risk) has v different needs than a player who has physically matured. Loading their joints with intense, copied drills during this sensitive period is a recipe for growth plate injuries or stress fractures.
- Training Age: How many years has the player been training seriously? A beginner with a training age of 1 year does not have the foundational movement patterns or tissue resilience to handle a drill designed for an elite player with a training age of 15 years. Copying advanced drills leads to poor technique ,injury decrease in performance.
The LTAD FOUNDATION:
For junior players and their coaches, the Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model is the pathway.
LTAD is a staged, multi-year plan that focuses on the right skills at the right time:
- FUNdamentals Stage (ages 6-9): Focus is on ABCs—Agility, Balance, Coordination, Speed—through fun games. Not on copying a professional’s complex footwork pattern.
- Learn to Train (ages 9-12): Developing general sports skills and basic tennis technique. This is not the time for extreme, high-power serving drills.
- Train to Train (ages 12-16): The “engine-building” phase, focusing on strength & Conditioning and consolidating technique. A generic drill from social media doesn’t know if the player is in this critical window for building aerobic capacity or strength.
- Train to Compete & Train to Win (ages 16+): This is where sport-specific, high-intensity training comes in. The drills you see online are often from this stage, but they are useless—and harmful—if applied to a player in an earlier stage.
Note: Focus on Individuality and personal development rather than generic viral trend.
Periodization:
Elite players don’t train the same way year-round. Their year or years are broken down into periods with specific goals, a concept known as periodization.
- Off-Season: Focus on building a strength and conditioning base, rehabbing , planning and technical changes.
- Pre-Season: Shift to power, sport-specific movement, and tactical drills.
- In-Season: Focus shifts to maintenance, recovery, and match-specific preparation.
- Taper/Peak: Reducing load to feel fresh and fast for competition.
A social media drill has no context. Is it an off-season conditioning drill? Is it a pre-competition sharpening drill? Doing a high-stress, giving the mental edge to is it player specific for the cycle. Neural-system-drilling exercise during a week you should be tapering will leave you flat and fatigued for your match. Doing a technical drill in the middle of your competition season can disrupt your rhythm.
The SMATER Way:
This doesn’t mean you should delete Instagram. It means you need to reframe how you use it.
- Seek Inspiration, Not Instruction: See a cool drill? Save it. Then, show it to your qualified coach.
- Ask Questions : “Coach, based on my current phase, injuries, and goals, is this drill appropriate? If not, how could we adapt the concept to fit my needs?” your Technical & SC coach should be able to guild you.
- Trust the Process: Real improvement is slow, unsexy, and systematic. It’s built in the gym with foundational lifts, on the track building aerobic capacity, and on the court with repetitive, correct practice of the basics etc..
- Invest in a Coaching Team: A good coach ,S&C, Doctor & Physiotherapist . They can assess you, diagnose your weaknesses, and prescribe the correct training & “medicine.” They will collectively periodize your year, manage your load, and ensure your training is aligned with your long-term development & Tennis career pathway
Remember tennis is unique. Your training should be, too. Don’t fall for a one-click drill. Demand a personalized, principled approach built on the pillars of health, age-appropriateness, long-term development, and intelligent periodization.
Put down the phone, pick up a plan, and partner with a coaching team who sees you as more than just a copy of someone else’s reel.
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