Serve yourself an 'ACE'

If you love your tennis then maybe it’s time to use it to increase your fitness and drop a few kilos.

By doing these training sessions you’ll improve your court coverage, while at the same time lose some weight.

The beauty is that your focus will be on getting better at tennis, the weight loss is an added bonus.

These three drills will improve your court movement and your game. Complete one before every practice session.

WORKOUT 1
This will improve your movement towards the net.
Move side to side along the baseline 10 to 20 times. At varying intervals sprint to the net, then move backwards to the baseline and repeat.
Continue this for 10-15 minutes.

WORKOUT 2
A variation on the basketball drill known as suicides, this has the added advantage of improving your agility and cardiovascular fitness.
Start on the baseline and sprint to the right-hand service line,
Then sideways to the left service line, up to the net, back to the left service line, across to the right and back to the baseline.
Repeat the drill 10-15 times.

WORKOUT 3
This drill will improve your reaction time.
Start at the middle of the baseline, bouncing on your toes. Have your hit-up partner call out random directions. For example, if they call left, move quickly to the left and back to the middle. Left again: move left and back. Forward: run to the net for a drop shot, then back to the baseline. Do the drill for 30 seconds at a time, then do the same for your partner.
Repeat 10-15 times.