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Conditioning in Tennis

Tennis is a racket sport that is played either between an individual and another one or
between two teams each having two players. Starting humbly in 1850s in England, the sport has
grown over the years to become a popular one all over the world. It is estimated that close to 60
million players around the world are involved in some form of tennis competition (Fernandez-
Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). The competition can be at international, national, regional, or local
level. The sport is especially popular in the USA which boasts of one of the best funded tennis
development programs in the world. The US Tennis Association (USTA) is the body that
oversees tennis development in the country. It has heavily invested in every American town to
nurture tennis talent (Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). Perhaps because of such programs,
the USA has managed to produce some of the best tennis players in the world such as Serena
Williams and Pete Sampras. To reach the level of performance exhibited by such players, players
must condition themselves to perform competitively. Such conditioning involves a combination
of physical exercises and proper nutrition to become physically fit (Fernandez-Fernandez &
Kovacs, 2018). The latter is particularly important because it has a direct effect on the ability of a
tennis athlete to effectively carry out physical and mental exercises. In this paper, it will be
shown that deficiencies in quality and quantity of important nutrients needed for effective
training and playing have forced many tennis athletes to resort to doping.

Conditioning in Tennis

Conditioning in tennis involves all activities that an athlete undertakes in order to
enhance their performance when playing (Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). Tennis is
generally a very gruelling sport. For men, the matches can go on for up to five hours while for

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women they may each three hours (Fleming et al., 2018). Thus, to excel as a tennis player, one
needs to develop stamina, strength, and speed. In addition, they also need mental strength and
excellent techniques. All these attributes can be developed through conditioning. Here is a
detailed look at the importance of conditioning in tennis.
Importance of Conditioning in Tennis
Improves performance
To perform at peak levels in tennis one needs to spend a lot of time training. The more
and better one trains the more likely they are to perform well during actual matches. Tennis
training is, however, very gruelling. Conditioning allows a player to endure the punishing
training for better performance. As a result of the training, players become more agile, flexible,
develop power and strength, endurance, and become better coordinated (Fernandez-Fernandez &
Kovacs, 2018). All these are important if a player is to excel in the extremely competitive tennis
sport. Building endurance is particularly important because of the long hours that tennis matches
take. Endurance can be defined as the ability of a body to keep going with prolonged activities
without becoming tired (Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018).
Reduces risk of injuries
Injuries are the worst nightmare for tennis players. They happen either during training or
when playing a match. When they happen, they can significantly hinder the professional progress
of a player. In the worst case scenario they can end a career. With a lot of money invested in
developing a player and with one’s source of livelihood at stake, players try to avoid career-
ending injuries as much as they can. Unfortunately, injuries are relatively common in tennis
(Lopez et al., 2017). Players who are unfit are particularly susceptible to suffering mild to serious

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injuries (Lopez et al., 2017). These injuries can be on muscles, hands, legs, joints, and bones.
Conditioning significantly reduces the risk of a player suffering injuries by ensuring that they are
always strong and in good physical shape (Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). They do not,
however, completely eliminate the likelihood of a player getting injured. Apart from reducing
likelihood of a player getting injured, conditioning helps a player to recover much quicker if they
have conditioned their bodies well.
Builds speed, power, and strength
These three physical abilities are paramount if a player hopes to be successful in tennis.
Speed is the time a player takes to move their bodies or coordinate a certain joint movement. The
shorter the time a player takes to move or make specific movements of given parts of the body
(hands and legs), the more speed they have (Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). Keeping all
other factors constant, often the player with most speed wins tennis matches.
Strength, on the other hand, is the force with which a tennis player serves the ball
(Fernandez-Fernandez & Kovacs, 2018). A stronger player makes forceful serves that the
opponent is likely to have trouble responding to effectively. Thus, just like speed, strength is a
major competitive advantage in tennis.
Lastly, stamina is the ability of an athlete to sustain their efforts either in training or when
playing for a long time. As mentioned earlier, tennis matches are often gruelling and take a lot of
time. A player, therefore, has to make sure that they sustain mental alertness and maintain top
physical form throughout the playing or training period.
Role of dieting in tennis conditioning

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Physical exercises is just one component of conditioning. The other, equally important
one is nutrition. Both the physical training and playing during matches requires a lot of energy.
With proper nutrition, a player can reduce chances of experiencing fatigue during training and
playing. It also reduces likelihood of suffering injuries and if one suffers an injury they can
recover quickly if they have the right nutrients in their bodies (Lopez et al., 2017). Thus,
nutrition and physical training go hand in hand. A player who focuses on physical training and
ignores nutrition can never perform at peak level.
It is for this reason that tennis players invest a lot of resources in getting the right diet that
effectively meets their nutritional requirements as athletes. Unfortunately, for many athletes,
normal diets do not often provide them with all the nutrients that their bodies require (Lopez et
al., 2017). The diets may lack some important nutrients or they may have them in very low
quantities. The solution to this nutrients deficiency is to use nutritional supplements.
As the name suggests, nutritional supplements are substances that athletes take in
addition to their normal diet (Lopez et al., 2017). The goal of taking the supplements is to
provide the athletes with nutrients that are important to their bodies but which are found in
insufficient quantities in their diets or are not in their diets completely (Lopez et al., 2017). Some
of the common nutrients that supplements provide include amino and fatty acids, certain
minerals, vitamins, and fiber (Lopez et al., 2017). It is estimated that 60-95% of tennis players
use nutritional supplements (Lopez et al., 2017). Generally, top tier professional tennis players
use more nutritional supplements than amateur ones. This could be a result of more information
available to them on the exact nutrients they need to perform well as well as availability of
financial resources to acquire the desired supplements (Lopez et al., 2017).

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However, it is important to note that nutritional supplements are not a hundred percent
effective (Lopez et al., 2017). In fact, they can cause very serious problems to athletes to who
take them especially if they are not taken in the right quantities. Even if they are taken in proper
quantities they may not provide the kind of results that the player desires. When they fail to
provide the kind of outcome the athlete is looking for, the athlete may be tempted to start doping.

Doping in American Tennis

Doping is violation of an anti-doping codes established by various tennis and anti-doping
agencies such as World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) (DeHon et al., 2015). The violation can
either be against one or multiple codes. This violation is often detected through testing of an
athlete’s samples of urine or blood. Forensic science has made the process significantly more
accurate (Carey, 2018). An athlete is said to have doped if prohibited markers, metabolites, or
substances are found in the samples (Carey, 2018).
Doping can result in serious health problems for the athlete involved. In worst
circumstances it can even lead to death (DeHon et al., 2015). Despite these risks, many athletes
still dope because of its many perceived benefits. Through doping, an athlete can train or
perform beyond their natural potential that is allowed by genetics (DeHon et al., 2015). For this
reason, the practice is considered unfair and unethical (DeHon et al., 2015). To discourage the
use of performance-enhancing drugs, World Anti-doping Agency (WADA), International Tennis
Federation (ITF), US Tennis Association, and United States Anti-doping Agency (USAA) hand
down punishments to offending athletes. The punishments range from a reprimand to lifetime
bans (Maquirrian & Baglione, 2016).

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Prior to 1980s, doping was not a major issue in tennis (DeHon et al., 2015). However, the
1980s saw a dramatic rise in the use of certain recreational drugs as well as steroids by
professional sportspeople (DeHon et al., 2015). Among these drugs were marijuana and cocaine.
As they became easily available to professional athletes, doping became widespread in tennis
(DeHon et al., 2015). The doping issue took centre stage in tennis after the sport was readmitted
to the 1988 Olympic Games following an absence of 64 years (DeHon et al., 2015).
To clean up the sport, there was tightening of regulations on the use of drugs that were
considered performance-enhancing. Policing of drug cheats was also strengthened. For instance,
the International Tennis Federation (ITF) took up the role of detecting and punishing any tennis
athlete found using drugs that were on its list of banned substances (DeHon et al., 2015). Among
the measures that were taken to curb the vice was conducting of frequent and random tests
among elite athletes. As a result of such measures, a number of tennis athletes were found to
have violated anti-doping codes by using drugs that were on its list of banned substances. Here is
a look at some of the athletes that were punished after discovery that they had used banned
substances.

List of athletes who have been caught doping

Andre Agassi
Agassi is an American tennis player who at his peak ranked number one player. He was
the dominant figure in tennis in the 1990s and early 2000s. His success on the field played a
major role in reviving the sports popularity that had been on the wane prior to his emergence. In
1997, his samples tested positive for methamphetamine. The drug is known to increase energy
when one is fatigued, and increase concentration and alertness (Moston & Engelberg, 2018). It

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can also be used to help in losing weight as it reduces one’s appetite. Following the discovery of
his use of this substance, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) handed him a three
months ban. He, however, never served the ban after he explained that the use of the substance
was not deliberate but had been spiked in his drink by a friend of his (Moston & Engelberg,
2018). After retirement, he acknowledged that this explanation was untrue and that he had
deliberately used the substance to cope with professional and personal problems that he was
undergoing at the time. His case led to suggestions that anti-doping agencies did not treat all
athletes equally as they easily let off some athletes who claimed to be innocent (Moston &
Engelberg, 2018).
Wayne Odesnik
Born in 1985, Odesnik is an American tennis player originally from South Africa.
Although not nearly as famous as Agassi, his string of upset victories in late 2000s made him a
relatively well-known name in tennis circles. In 2010 he was found to have imported into
Australia human growth hormone (Wintermantel et al., 2016). Such hormones, when consumed,
accelerate muscle growth which is crucial in strength development for an athlete (Wintermantel
et al., 2016). While accepting that he had imported the hormones, he denied ever using them.
Five years later in 2015, he tested positive for steroid use. As punishment, the United States
Anti-doping Agency handed him a fifteen-year ban (Wintermantel et al., 2016).
Maria Sharapova
Sharapova is a Russian tennis player who has been residing in the U.S. for the past
twenty five years. She is one of the most successful female athletes of her generation. In 2016
she tested positive for meldonium (Moston & Engelberg, 2018). She accepted that she used the

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substance for a long time but denied using it knowingly to enhance her performance. Rather, she
claimed to have used it to treat diabetes symptoms, increase her magnesium, and treat influenza.
She also claimed that she was not aware that such a substance had been placed on list of banned
substances (Moston & Engelberg, 2018). Meldonium had just been added to the list of banned
substances in January of 2016. The addition was made after ITF determined that the substance
had the potential to enhance the performance of an athlete. This is primarily because it led to
increase in oxygen uptake and more blood circulation after intake. It, therefore, reduced fatigue
and allowed an athlete to recover faster after rest (Moston & Engelberg, 2018). For this violation,
Sharapova was handed a two year ban from the sport. However, upon appealing at the sports
arbitration court, the ban was reduced to fifteen months.
List of banned substances

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) maintains a list of substances that it considers
to be performance-enhancing and, therefore, illegal for use by athletes. Each year it updates the
list as potential performance-enhancing qualities of a substances not yet in the list are
discovered. Here is a look at some of the substances that are currently on ITF list of banned
substances.
Peptide hormones
These are human growth hormones that contain high levels of amino acids. When taken
by an athlete they fasten the growth of human muscles (DeHon et al., 2015). They also increase
testosterone levels in the body. The result is significant increase in the strength of the athlete.
Anabolic agents

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Like peptide hormones, anabolic agents such as anabolic steroids increase muscle growth
rate by increasing the levels of testosterone in the body (DeHon et al., 2015). With more and
bigger muscles, the athlete is able to manage longer physical exercises, play longer without
tiring, and also recover fast from fatigue.
Hormone modulators
Hormone modulators include all drugs that prevent or slow down the conversion of
testosterone to oestrogen (DeHon et al., 2015). They, therefore, keep oestrogen levels low and
testosterone levels high. By keeping testosterone levels high, they aid muscle growth and,
therefore, an increase in the power and stamina of the athlete.
Diuretics
These substances allow an athlete to consume more fluids than they would otherwise do
(DeHon et al., 2015). Increased fluids in the body lead to red blood cell stimulation. As carriers
of oxygen which is used in the production of energy, stimulation of red blood cells leads to
release of more energy in the body. High levels of energy are important for peak performance by
athletes during tennis matches and training.
Beta-2 agonists
These substances stabilize breathing thus allowing an athlete who has taken them to
relax. Tennis is a game requires not just physical but also mental and psychological preparation.
A nervous player is prone to making unnecessary mistakes and can, therefore, easily lose a
match (DeHon et al., 2015). Having a drug that calms the nerves is, therefore, a great boost to
any tennis player. That explains why these drugs are banned.

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Other doping forms
It is worth noting that doping is not just limited to intake of banned substances; use of
some procedures is also considered doping. One such procedure is blood doping. This procedure
involves injection of an athlete with red blood cells. By artificially increasing the amount of red
blood cells in the body, the procedure gives the athlete an unfair advantage over others (DeHon
et al., 2015).
As this analysis shows, conditioning in tennis is important for the success of any tennis
player. However, for proper conditioning there is need for not just physical training but also
mental training. Key to both of these is proper diet. Ideally such a diet should have all the
nutrients that the body of a tennis athlete needs to practice and play at optimum levels.
Unfortunately, few diets, if any, have all the needed nutrients. Tennis athletes, therefore, have to
resort to nutritional supplements and if they too fail, they are tempted to use banned substances
to improve their performance. As this article has shown, doping occurs even at the highest levels
of the tennis game where punishments are relatively severe. As long there is pressure to record
excellent performance with large monetary rewards, it is likely that doping in tennis will remain
a problem.

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References

Carey, K. (2018). The Detection of Doping in Sport and the Role of Forensic Science.
De Hon, O., Kuipers, H., & van Bottenburg, M. (2015). Prevalence of doping use in elite sports:
a review of numbers and methods. Sports medicine, 45(1), 57-69.
Fernandez-Fernandez, J., & Kovacs, M. (2018). Strength and Conditioning in Developmental
Tennis Players. In Tennis Medicine(pp. 611-626). Springer, Cham.
Fleming, J., Naughton, R., & Harper, L. (2018). Investigating the nutritional and recovery habits
of tennis players. Nutrients, 10(4), 443.
López, Á., Moreno, V., Kovacs, M. S., Pallarés, J. G., Mora, R., & Ortega, J. F. (2017). Use of
nutritional supplements and ergogenic aids in professional tennis players.
Maquirriain, J., & Baglione, R. (2016). Doping offences in male professional tennis: how does
sanction affect players’ career?. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1059.
Moston, S., & Engelberg, T. (2018). And justice for all? How anti-doping responds to ‘Innocent
Mistakes’. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 1-14.
Wintermantel, J., Wachsmuth, N., & Schmidt, W. (2016). Doping cases among elite athletes
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