Mon, 27 Feb 2023 15:47:11 +0000

How To Play Loose and Relaxed Tennis - Roger Federer Style
In order to produce effortless power and high-quality strokes, on a consistent basis, we have to be able to remain relaxed and loose with our technique. Download our FREE tennis guides here - https://www.top-tennis-training.com/free-guide/
When our muscles are tight and stiff, the range of motion is extremely limited and the power capacity of our strokes will diminish greatly.
You may be able to create power with a tense and tight body for a few shots, but you definitely won't be able to maintain that for the duration of a 2-3 hour match or a tournament.
On the flip side of that, we have a player like Roger Federer who looks so relaxed with his swings, even when it's 5 all in the fifth set of a grand slam final.
It's one of the reasons Roger looks so graceful when he plays, that relaxation is poetry in motion, yet produces deadly results.
It goes against the perception that many tennis players have that in order to produce power, we need to exert more force and that typically ends up with the player becoming more tense and stiff.

So how exactly can we stay relaxed and play loose, especially when going for more power?

There are a few tricks to help you with the process, but nothing is more important than our breathing habits.
Holding our breath is one of the quickest ways to immediately make our bodies stiffer and tighter. Think about a stressful situation, the first thing that changes is our breathing patterns. Typically, we either hold our breath or take shallow breaths.

When doing meditation or yoga, breathing correctly allows us to relax the muscles, and lowers our heart rate. This results in feeling at peace, the complete opposite of when we're stressed out.

How To Breathe In Tennis For Relaxation
Many tennis players grunt when they hit their tennis forehand, backhand or serve. This is a much better method than holding our breath completely (which happens with some players) but it's not the optimum way to breathe in tennis.
The grunt typically happens after the contact point, which means that when the player made contact, they were tight and stiff as they were holding their breath.
When you study Roger Federer, one of the things he does so well is control his exhale through the point of contact. His facial muscles are relaxed, his cheeks are not puffed up (a clear sign of holding your breath is puffy cheeks) and his body looks relaxed, even when going for massive power shots.
Federer starts his exhale prior to contact, which allows him to be relaxed as he hits the ball.
This is the optimal way to breathe in tennis.
By starting your exhale prior to contact, and exhaling through the strike zone, your muscles will stay loose and relaxed and work in their longest range of motion.

Video Timeline:
00:00 - Why relaxation is so important for tennis players
01:10 - The key to staying loose and relaxed in tennis
02:31 - How Roger Federer stays loose and relaxed
04:35 - When to exhale on tennis strokes