Tennis Court Agility Exercises | Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps

When performing sports training it is important for athletes to go through the same motions and movements they would during competition. For this reason a large portion of tennis training will occur on the tennis court. Just as any other sport, tennis requires athletes to dedicate time to strength, speed, and agility training to maximize their performance on the tennis court. For this reason it is important both tennis players and coaches utilize speed and agility exercises which can be performed on the tennis court.

The use of training equipment like the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands, KB PowerBands, Reactive Stretch Cord, and the Speed and Agility Ladder will allow for a wide variety of training to be performed while training on the tennis court.

Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps

The Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps are a solid exercise for individual tennis players to perform. However, it is also one of the great tennis agility exercises that can be used simultaneously by an entire tennis team. The Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps take up a small amount of space and dividing the athletes into multiple groups will allow for non-stop agility exercises as one group rests while the other group performs the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps.

To prepare for the execution of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps athletes will need a set of Kbands Leg Resistance Bands and a line or marker on the ground. The goal of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps is to have tennis players’ practice agility exercises that they can perform on the tennis court and to allow for more tennis specific drills to be performed as well. However, tennis players are not required to complete the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps on the tennis court and can perform them anywhere there is a line the tennis players can use to jump over.

After athletes pick an appropriate line on the tennis court they will attach the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands just above their knees and prepare for the first portion of the agility exercises. There are three different agility exercises that make up the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps.

Three Part Plyo Jumps

The first of the three agility exercises is the over and back hops. Tennis players will line up so their line on the tennis court is right in front of them. At the beginning of the plyo jumps tennis players will work to quickly jump over their line on the tennis court and then quickly jump back to their starting position for one repetition. Tennis players will perform 2-3 resisted sets of the first portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps.

As tennis players work through the first of these tennis exercises they need to properly execute the movement for proper adaptation in the muscles to occur. Tennis players should work off the balls of their feet, keep their bodies in a slightly squatted position, bring their feet back and over the line as quickly as possible, and make the jumps longer than the width of the line being used on the tennis court. For greater activation in the hips and glutes tennis players should also maintain their legs and feet at a width so there is constant tension from the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands. Athletes should keep their head high, shoulders back, and maintain a tall chest so they are maintaining great body positioning while performing this drill.

The second of the three agility exercises that make up the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps is the side to side shuffle. For this portion of the agility exercises tennis players will keep the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands attached above their knees and position themselves so they are on one side of their tennis court line, looking down the line. Tennis players will again move into a slightly squatted stance and laterally jump quickly back and forth across the tennis court line for one repetition. Tennis players will perform 2-3 resisted sets of 20 repetitions.

Tennis players will work off the balls of their feet as they laterally jump across the line on the tennis court. Tennis players should work to move their feet quickly across the line, limiting the amount of time the feet spend on the ground. Tennis players will complete the second portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps using the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands to maintain tension on the outside of the thighs and hips. Again, tennis players should maintain the same body positioning explained above.

For the third portion of the Kbands Perfrmance Plyo Jumps tennis players will keep the Kbands Leg Resistnce Bands attached above their knees as they line up facing the line on the tennis court, just as they did for the first portion of the agility exercises. For the final portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps tennis players will begin with one foot on the tennis court line, and one foot placed back just behind the hips. Tennis players will complete this portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps by slightly jumping into the air, switching the position of the feet, and continuing to switch the position of the feet. Tapping both feet on the tennis court line one time counts for one repetition. Tennis players will complete 2-3 resisted sets of 20 repetitions.

When performing the alternating jump switch portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps tennis players will want to pump their arms to mimic a running motion. The arms will play a crucial role in the final portion of the agility exercises and will help create more tension on the muscles in the legs and thighs. Athletes should work to quickly switch their feet, get a good pump with their arms, work off the balls of their feet, and make each contact with the ground as short as possible. Properly implementing these elements, while using the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands to complete the plyo jumps, will force greater muscle activation resulting in increases in speed, strength, and explosive power. Again, be aware of your body position as you work through this final portion of the agility exercises.

Executing The Agility Exercises

Tennis players and coaches can perform the agility exercises in two different variations. Tennis players can complete all sets and repetitions of each portion of the Kbands Performance Plyo Jumps before moving to the next portion. Tennis players can also alternate through the different agility exercises, performing one set of one of the exercises before moving onto the next.

Regardless of the sequence that the Kbands Performance Plyo Jump are performed, once all resisted repetitions have been completed tennis players will remove the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands and perform 1-2 unresisted sets of each of the agility exercises.