Stretches For Racquet Sports

Find a bench, rail, wall, or sill that offers a suitable height for your level of flexibility. Slowly place your left foot on the structure, straighten the leg, and rest your hands on the thigh. Keeping the knee soft on the supporting right leg, begin to lean your torso forward until you feel the stretch on the back of the thigh. Return the torso to upright and exit the stretch slowly. Repeat for the right leg.

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Stand on your left leg and bend at the knee while sitting backwards. Raise the right foot onto the upper left leg. Progress the stretch by sitting further back, bending the left knee, and, if necessary, placing gentle outward pressure against the inside of the right knee. You should feel the stretch in your bottom and outer thigh. Repeat on the left leg.

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Stand upright with both feet close together. Pick a point in the fore distance to focus on and then bring your right foot towards your bottom. Keep the knees close together, hips square, and stand tall. You should feel the stretch along the front of your right thigh. Progress the stretch by pulling the foot closer to the body. Repeat on the left leg.

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Take a large step backwards with your right foot and keep the leg perfectly straight. Bend the left knee slightly and rest the hands on the upper thigh. Tilt the torso slightly forward whilst keeping your back straight.

Push the right heel firmly down towards the ground. You should feel the stretch on the back of your lower right leg. To progress the stretch, take a bigger initial step and/or bend the front knee more. Repeat on the left leg.

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Take a large step forward with your left foot and, extending the right leg back, slowly lower your hips towards the floor until you feel the stretch. Then, place the palms of the hands, shoulder width apart, on the inside of the left foot, tilting the torso forward but keeping the back straight. To exit, slowly bring the back leg forward. Repeat on the left leg.  

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Sit upright and place the soles of your feet together. Place your hands around both ankles and bring your heels close to your body. Keeping your back straight, apply downward pressure to the inside of the knees using the elbows, sufficient to develop the stretch on the inner thighs.

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Lie flat on your back and bend your right leg at the hip and knee. Interlock the fingers of both hands across the right leg, just below the knee. Pull the knee toward your chest. You should feel the stretch on your right glute and hip area. Straighten out the right leg and repeat on the left leg.

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Lie flat on your back with your arms out-stretched at shoulder level. Bend your right leg at the hip and knee and place the right foot over the ankle left knee. Using the left hand, grip the right leg behind the knee and slowly twist to the left, keeping the right arm extended to the side. Progress the stretch by pulling the right leg back and down, thereby increasing the degree of rotation in the lower back. You should feel the stretch on your right hip and lower back area. To exit the stretch, release the right leg slowly and return the back and legs to full floor contact. Repeat on the left leg.

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Starting on your knees, sit back onto your heels and bring your torso onto your thighs. Extend both arms forward, keeping the hands on the floor. You should feel the stretch on both sides of the upper back.

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Lie face down on the floor with both legs extended behind and your hands planted on the floor next to the ribs. Slowly push up with your arms to lift the torso off the floor, extending your lower back. Keeping your hips on the floor, straighten the arms enough to feel the stretch along the front of the stomach.

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On your knees, place the palm of the hands on the floor with the fingers pointing towards the knees. Slowly flatten the hands against the floor and progress the stretch by shifting your bodyweight backwards, maintaining complete contact of the hands against the floor. You should feel the stretch on the inside of your wrists and forearms. Repeat the stretch for the outside of the wrists and forearms by placing the back of the hands against the floor and repeating the above sequence.

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With both feet close together and toes pointing forward, bend at the knees slightly. Bend the torso forward and down and interlock the fingers of both hands behind the knees. Push your spine upwards by pulling the stomach in, creating a curvature along the entire spine. To progress the stretch, pull against the legs, thereby widening the back, and push the spine further upwards.

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Stand tall with your back and bottom in contact with a wall and your feet a step forward. Place the back of the hands against the wall at shoulder height with the elbows also in firm contact with the wall. To progress the stretch, slowly raise the elbows to shoulder height to form a ‘Y’ shape, trying to maintain full contact of the hands and arms with the wall.

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Stand tall with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Bring your right arm across the chest, keeping it straight. Hook the left arm underneath the right and use it to pull the upper right arm closer to the chest. You should feel the stretch across the outside of the right shoulder. Release both arms slowly and repeat the stretch on the left arm.  

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Stand tall with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Raise your right arm and reach down your spine with the palm of the right hand against your back. Progress the stretch by gently pulling the right elbow downwards and inwards with the left hand. You should feel the stretch down the back of the right arm. Release both arms slowly and repeat the stretch on the left arm.  

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Stand tall with your head up and looking forward and your feet hip-distance apart. Slowly rotate your head to the right until you feel the stretch along the left hand side of the neck. Return slowly to looking forward and then rotate to the left.

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