Sore After Tennis? A Tennis Pro's Guide

Two sets on Saturday, and your shoulder and forearm let you know about it on Sunday?
Here's what I tell my students, after 20+ years of teaching tennis.

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Where tennis players get sore, and why

I've spent most of my life on a court, first as a player and then teaching everyone from 6-year-olds to 80-year-old league players. The sore spots are almost always the same four, and they almost always have a cause you can fix.

Forearm and elbow. This one usually comes from a late backhand where the wrist does the work instead of the shoulder and body, a grip that's too tight, or strings strung too tight for your arm. Club players who switch to a stiff polyester string feel it within a couple of weeks.

Hitting shoulder. Serves and overheads. Most people serve with their arm only and don't use their legs, so the shoulder takes the whole load. Ten extra practice serves at the end of a lesson is often what does it.

Lower back. The open-stance forehand and the kick serve both twist and arch the back. If you sit at a desk all week and then play three sets on Saturday, your back notices.

Calves and knees. Hard courts, split steps and quick changes of direction. Doubles players feel this less than singles players, but long tiebreaks add up.

What I have my students change

1. Check your grip pressure. Between points, your hand should be relaxed enough that someone could pull the racquet out of it. Squeeze only at contact. This one habit takes more strain off the forearm than anything else I teach.

2. Look at your strings. If your arm has been sore since you restrung, drop the tension 2 to 4 pounds or try a softer multifilament. It costs the price of a restring.

3. Serve with your legs. Bend your knees and push up into the ball. The shoulder should finish the motion, not start it.

4. Warm up before you play points. Mini-tennis from the service line, then slowly back to the baseline. Five minutes. Never open with a full-speed serve.

5. Take five minutes after you play. Walk, stretch the forearm, shoulder and calves, drink water, and rub a pain relief cream into whatever's sore that night. Here's the 5-minute post-match routine I use myself.

If a sore spot hasn't settled after a week or so of easy play, or it hurts to grip a coffee cup, stop playing through it and see a doctor or physical therapist.

Why I made Active 10

I wanted something I could put on in the locker room and then go to lunch without smelling like a medicine cabinet or getting grease on my shirt. Active 10 is a cooling-then-warming cream with menthol, capsaicin and magnesium. It's for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with simple backache, arthritis, strains, bruises and sprains. It rubs in clean, isn't greasy and won't stain your clothes.

• 4 oz tube: the one most players start with. Buy 1, get 2 free this month.
• 3 oz roll-on: no mess on your hands, so you can still grip a racquet. Fits in the side pocket of your bag.
• 8 oz pump: the best value size to keep at home.

Playing pickleball too? Here's my pickleball page. Golfers can read Sore Lower Back After Golf?

Quick questions

Can I use it before I play?
Lots of players do, on a stiff shoulder or back before warm-up. Wash your hands afterward so it doesn't get on your grip or near your eyes. Follow the directions on the label.

Roll-on or tube?
The roll-on if you'll use it at the courts, since your hands stay clean. The tube if you'll mostly use it at home and want to massage it in.

Is it greasy?
No. It goes on cool, warms up, and rubs in clean.

Anything I shouldn't do?
Don't use it on wounds or irritated skin, don't wrap the area tightly, and don't use it with a heating pad. If it gets worse or lasts more than 7 days, stop and see a doctor.

Raking leaves this weekend? Here are my 6 fixes for a sore back after yard work.

For external use only. Read the product label for Drug Facts, directions and warnings before use.