Tennis Performance Testing

Testing establishes the starting point for training. Use the results to identify priorities, select suitable exercises and progressions, and judge whether the programme produces the intended changes. A score is useful when it changes a coaching decision. Read each protocol before testing, keep the setup consistent, and retain the measurement conditions with the results.

Why We Assess The Athlete

Performance tests examine the physical capacities needed for repeated tennis movements. Compare the result with the athlete’s previous results and observed court demands, then decide which capacity deserves training attention. A throwing, sprinting or jumping score does not explain every cause of a performance limitation; technique and familiarity with the test also affect the result.

Flexibility assessments establish available range of motion. Use a repeatable restriction or side-to-side difference to guide further assessment, exercise range and targeted mobility work. More range is useful only when the athlete needs it and can control it. These tests do not, by themselves, diagnose an injury or establish its cause.

Body measurements help monitor whether changes in body size and composition support performance. The athlete must accelerate, brake and redirect body mass throughout a match. Fat mass adds load without directly generating muscular force, but body weight and girth alone cannot distinguish fat from muscle. Interpret circumference trends alongside consistently collected skinfold measurements, strength, movement performance and the training history. The objective is a body composition that supports performance and recovery; appearance is not the criterion.

From Assessment To Training

Record the baseline, identify the relevant limitation, select exercises that address it, and prescribe a load and progression the athlete can execute with control. Retest under comparable conditions after an appropriate training period. Keep, adjust or replace the protocol according to the athlete’s response. Do not prescribe a programme from one isolated score.

Select Stretching From The Assessment

When assessment confirms a restriction in the motion needed for training, select dynamic stretches that rehearse that motion before the session and targeted static stretches afterward, or in a separate mobility session, to develop the restricted range over time. Retest the same assessment and observe whether the athlete can use the motion in the intended exercise or tennis action. When passive range is available but active control is inadequate, include control and strength work in that range.

Readiness Before Loaded Progressions

Before increasing load or speed, establish the range of motion, active control and technical skill required for the chosen lift. If a restriction prevents a sound start, front rack or overhead receiving position, regress the task and address the restriction. Use a manageable teaching load, then progress when the athlete repeatedly demonstrates the required positions and sequence without pain or loss of control, under competent supervision. A flexibility score alone does not establish lifting readiness.

Body Measurement Guides

The book retains 4.01 Circumference Measurement and 4.02 Skinfold Measurements in Chapter 3 of the Second Edition. Open the circumference measurement guide for the male and female photograph references. Open the skinfold measurement guide for Test 4.02 site photographs and collection guidance. Use consistent landmarks, equipment and measurement conditions when comparing results.

Assessment Protocols

Performance Tests

Flexibility Assessments

More Performance Tests

Body Composition Measurements In The Book

Use the training monitoring worksheet to retain results and compare subsequent assessments under the same conditions.