Tennis injury Prevention

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I used to have a routine after tennis that looked like this:

1. Finish match
2. Sit in the car
3. Think, “That elbow feels a bit weird”
4. Ignore it completely

Shockingly… this did not work.

Instead, those little aches slowly teamed up and tried to end my tennis career one joint at a time. Nothing dramatic. Just enough discomfort to make every session slightly less enjoyable — which is honestly worse.

What finally changed things wasn’t playing less tennis.
It was changing what I did around it.

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Why “Playing Through It” Is a Terrible Long-Term Strategy

Most recreational players don’t get injured from one bad swing.
We get injured from:

• tight muscles
• poor recovery
• pretending pain is “normal”

I was definitely guilty of that last one.

If you’ve ever said “it loosens up after 20 minutes”, congratulations — you’re one of us.

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The First Thing That Actually Helped: A Simple Foam Roller

I’ll admit it — I thought foam rolling was mostly for Instagram.

But once my legs started feeling heavy even before warm-ups, I gave in and bought a basic foam roller from Amazon.

Nothing fancy. No vibrating spaceship tech. Just a solid roller.

After a couple of weeks of using it properly (not rolling for 30 seconds and calling it a day), I noticed:

• less calf tightness the next morning
• quicker recovery between sessions
• fewer “why do my legs feel like concrete?” moments

I now spend 5–7 minutes rolling calves, quads, and glutes after playing.
That small habit alone probably saved me from at least one injury — and several bad moods.

👉 You can see the foam roller I use here:
https://amzn.to/4qEjt93

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The Surprise MVP: Resistance Bands (Yes, Really)

This one surprised me.

I bought a set of resistance bands originally for shoulder warm-ups, expecting them to sit in a drawer forever.

They didn’t.

Using light band exercises before playing helped:

• wake up my shoulders
• reduce that “first-set stiffness” feeling
• take pressure off my elbow when hitting

I now use them:

• before matches (2–3 minutes)
• on rest days for light movement

They’re cheap, portable, and far more useful than I expected — which is rare, because I’m usually very good at buying fitness gear and then ignoring it.

👉 These are similar to the resistance bands I use:
https://amzn.to/4jwKSYo

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What My Recovery Routine Looks Like Now (Realistic Version)

No two-hour routines. No complicated plans.

Just:

• resistance bands before playing (shoulders + arms)
• foam rolling after playing (legs)
• actual rest days when things feel off

That’s it.

And somehow… my body stopped complaining as much. Funny how that works.

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One Last Thing (Don’t Skip This Part)

If there’s one thing I wish I’d understood earlier, it’s this:

Pain isn’t a badge of honour — it’s feedback.

You don’t need extreme solutions.
You need small habits done consistently.

If you wait until something hurts badly, recovery gets much harder — and much more expensive.

Start early. Your future elbow will thank you.

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Quick reminder

This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy through them, it helps support the site at no extra cost to you. I only share tools I’ve personally used or found genuinely helpful.

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