FSHP Academy
Racquet Sports S&C — all lessons

Module 1 – Assessment & Evaluation

Assessment protocols for racquet-sport athletes

Module 2 – Sport-Specific Movements

Movement patterns unique to racquet sportsMulti-directional load and movement analysis

Module 3 – Strength Training

Strength exercise selection and integration

Module 4 – Power & Explosive Training

Upper- and lower-body power for racquet sports

Module 5 – Speed, Agility & COD

Speed, agility and change-of-direction drills

Module 6 – Endurance & Conditioning

Conditioning for match play: interval and sport-specific methods

Module 7 – Overtraining & Recovery

Overtraining, load monitoring and recovery strategies

Module 8 – Practical Application

Racquet-sport S&C case studies and programme design

Overtraining, load monitoring and recovery strategies

Managing load across tournaments for racquet athletes — monitoring stroke and match load, overuse injury risk, recovery between matches and travel.

Advanced Evidence: Strong evidence 3 min read Reviewed 2026-10-31 Status: draft

Learning objectives

  • Monitor match, training and stroke load
  • Recognise overreaching in tournament players
  • Plan recovery between matches
  • Reduce overuse injury risk

Before this lesson

Why this matters

Tournament schedules and repetitive strokes create fatigue and overuse risk.

Monitoring

ToolUse
Session-RPE × minutesAll sessions and matches [foster2001]
WellnessDaily [saw2016]
Stroke/serve countsOveruse risk
Pain reportsShoulder, elbow, back

Overreaching

Persistent fatigue, falling performance, mood changes [meeusen2013].

Overuse

Shoulder, elbow and back injuries are common [pluim2006].

Recovery

Sleep, carbohydrate and protein after matches, fluids and electrolytes, light mobility, planned rest weeks.

Common mistakes and misconceptions

Case study

A junior player develops elbow pain after three consecutive tournaments. The coach adds serve-count monitoring and rest weeks; pain resolves and doesn’t recur.

Further learning: video lessons

Video links are only marked “verified” after a human has watched them. Unverified entries open a YouTube search for that channel and topic rather than a guessed link.

Technical needs verification — opens a YouTube search

Overtraining, load monitoring and recovery strategies

racquet-sport S&C coaches and federations (search)

You will understand: overtraining, load monitoring and recovery strategies

Why: Practitioner content; verify the specific video.
Technical needs verification — opens a YouTube search

Strength and conditioning in practice

racquet-sport S&C coaches and federations (search)

You will understand: applied S&C sessions

Why: Practitioner content; verify the specific video.

Knowledge check

Knowledge check · 0/5

1. A practical monitoring tool for racquet athletes is…

Answer B. Low burden.

2. Overuse injuries in tennis commonly affect…

Answer A. Pluim et al. (2006).

3. Between tournament matches, priority is…

Answer B. Recovery.

4. Signs of overreaching include…

Answer B. Meeusen et al. (2013).

5. Stroke counts can be tracked with…

Answer A. Technology.

Short-answer & application questions

  1. Create a tournament recovery plan.
  2. Design a monitoring sheet.
  3. Plan load across a 3-tournament month.

Key takeaways

  • Tournament schedules can mean consecutive days of matches.
  • Monitor session-RPE, match duration, stroke counts and wellness.
  • Overuse injuries (shoulder, elbow, back) are common.
  • Recovery: sleep, carbohydrate and protein, hydration, light mobility.

Connected topics

racquet sports

Racquet-sport S&C case studies and programme design

sports technology

Integrating wearable data into training

References

  1. Meeusen R, Duclos M, Foster C, et al. (2013). Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: joint consensus statement of the ECSS and ACSM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(1):186–205. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e318279a10a Guideline check pending
  2. Pluim BM, Staal JB, Windler GE, Jayanthi N (2006). Tennis injuries: occurrence, aetiology, and prevention. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(5):415–423. Narrative review check pending
  3. Foster C, Florhaug JA, Franklin J, et al. (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 15(1):109–115. Classic study check pending
  4. Saw AE, Main LC, Gastin PB (2016). Monitoring the athlete training response: subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measures: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5):281–291. Systematic review check pending

Educational content only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified clinician for diagnosis or treatment.