[Goodia]

I recently realised while playing tennis that i can sometimes be too slow to a ball , how do you recommend i could improve this ? Also as i am not currently having lessons yet but i would like to improve my fitness what sort of distance would you recomend to jog and how many times a week ? Thanks

[StevoTG]

The best way to improve pace and quickness around the court is probably through doing sprints and footwork drills - some handy drills here: http://tennis.about.com/od/drillspra...orkanimsbs.htm

In terms of improving your stamina I'll tell you what I find to be effective, of course everyone probably has there own preferences, different strokes for different folks.
On top of regular exercise I like to have at least one day a week of a nice long slog (3 hours+). After already playing tennis for an hour+ I do dome sprints and footwork drills, followed by 20 or so (sometimes more) minutes on the gazelle (not the animal), followed by weights, sit-ups and stretches. I then like to do practice strokes with my 3lb lump-hammer - take care of your wrists if you're doing this. Then a warm down with some stretches and possibly light jogs
I just work off the mentality that if you can make it through a tough 3 hours of exercise that a 3hour+ match shouldn't be too much trouble when you factor in the adrenaline etc that would get pumping in a match.

Hope some of that helps. Also, while some people work without coaches I certainly feel that coaching has been a big help for me (and I reckon that most coaches will do some work on your footwork also).

*I also recently tried one of those workout programs that you see on TV and found it pretty helpful in terms of overall fitness

[GlennMirnyi]

I'd say the best way to get quicker in tennis is doing drills with the ball. It's a pretty different movement, just running and running to hit a ball.

[Kolya]

Another key factor is footwork.

Remember to keep your feet moving during the point. It can make a lot of difference.

[HKz]

Here is a very good drill/game that we use to build up endurance and agility:

1. Place a tennis ball on each corner of a half-court (not a full court) and one in the middle of the net.
2. Place a racket on ground behind the baseline, preferably near the center.
3. Starting from the center of the baseline run to each ball one at a time sidestepping when getting the side balls, and backpedaling when coming back from the other three balls and place them on the empty racket.
4. After all balls are put on the racket pick one ball up at a time and replace them to their original spots, again using sideshuffling/backpedaling/etc.

It is fun to do this in teams by having another team set up on the other half of the court. While you can just do regular sprints/suicides/etc, this drill gets your hands working at the same time which is nice.