High Altitude Tips for Tennis

One of the major challenges that we face as tennis players living or visiting the mountains is the great effect that the high altitude has on nearly every aspect of our tennis game.  As a visitor to The Keystone Tennis Center, one may experience an unexpected tendency to hit the ball long.  While you may be thinking that those weekly cross-fit workouts are finally paying off, sadly this is not the case.  What you are really experiencing is a lack of resistance on the balls flight path as it travels through our thin mountain air.  This lack of oxygen not only effects the way your ball moves in the air, but will also no doubt provide you with a feeling of increased fatigue that will remind you that you have actually been skipping those weekly work outs for a breakfast of doughnuts, bacon and coffee.

This being said, there are several ways that you can learn to combat these game changing effects.  One of the easiest ways to ensure that your groundstrokes stop pelting the back fence and start landing in the court is simply to take a shorter backswing.  This abbreviated motion will not only help to prevent your groundstrokes from spraying long, but will also make it easier to react to the increased speed of your opponent’s shot.  On the other hand, in the conversation on how to combat the fatigue experienced at high altitude, one just has to come to the realization that getting tired and out of breath is going to be a fact of life for those in town for only a short while.  The only real cure for this is time for acclimatization and a lot of water.  Never the less, a great way to look at this is that you will be twice as fit and ready play when you return to low altitude.

For more useful tips on how to elevate your game, swing by one of our weekly drop-in clinics or call in to schedule a private or semi-private lesson from one of our pros at the Tennis Center (970-496-4220).  And, for info on how training in high altitude can help your tennis game, keep an eye out for our next post on this page.

By Matt Walsh

Spa-Fitness-Tennis Director

Keystone Lodge & Spa