Four exercises every racket player should do

Most injuries I see in our racket groups are not dramatic. They are slow — a shoulder that aches after serving, an Achilles that complains on the first step of the morning. Almost all of them are preventable.

1. Split squats

Racket sports are played on one leg at a time. Build strength there. Three sets of eight each side.

2. Band external rotations

The unglamorous exercise that saves shoulders. Light band, slow reps, three sets of fifteen.

3. Calf raises, slow

Three seconds up, three seconds down. Your Achilles will thank you in year three.

4. Lateral lunges

You move sideways more than any other direction on court. Train it.