Yoga for tennis players: rotation both ways, the shoulder and elbow, hips and balance, before and after you play, and a class

A one-sided, rotating, stop-start game

Most tennis injuries are to the legs, then the lower back and the shoulder; in elite juniors, the lower back was the commonest and most severe site. In padel, the elbow comes first.

Sources 1, 2, 3

One small yoga trial, which can't show much

In 40 junior players, yoga by video link twice a week for 8 weeks went with better core, flexibility and balance tests, but players who didn't do yoga improved on several of the same tests. We could read only the summary, so how the groups compared is unknown.

Source 4

Stretching doesn't prevent injuries; strength training does

Across 25 trials, stretching programmes had no effect on sports injuries, while strength training cut them to under a third. The only tennis prevention trial, an app, didn't work.

Sources 5, 6, 7

The hitting shoulder's lost turn is mostly an adaptation

The playing arm turns inwards less, and that wasn't linked with shoulder injury in 301 young players followed for a year. If one shoulder is clearly stiffer, stretching restores some range.

Sources 8, 9, 10

Before play, move; after play, hold if it feels good

Long holds just before effort cost a little performance, and dynamic warm-ups served elite players better. Use the racket warm-up before you play and keep yoga for afterwards or another day.

Sources 11, 12

Know the warning signs

Chest pain or fainting, a shoulder out of place, a pop with sudden elbow pain, and a knee that pops, swells fast or gives way all need help; the full list is below.

Sources 13, 14, 15, 16

The legs and trunk drive the serveEmerging evidence

In the serve, "the legs and trunk segments are the engine", producing about 51% to 55% of the energy delivered to the hand, with a fast reversal of rotation through the lower back just before impact. Groundstrokes turn the hips and trunk; split steps and lunges load one leg at a time.

Source 17

The back near the end of its rangeEmerging evidence

In a small study of elite adolescent players, every one came close to the end of their lower-back range in the serve.

Source 18

One-sided adaptationsStrong evidence

The playing shoulder turns inwards less (about 53 against 63 degrees on average, across 25 studies), and the loss grows with years of play. Hip rotation, by contrast, was even on both sides in 147 elite players.

Sources 8, 19, 20

HipsEmerging evidence

Many elite players had limited hip bending, straightening and opening out to the side, but hip range didn't go with a history of back pain in young elite players. Hip work in yoga is for comfort and lunging range, not proven protection.

Sources 21, 22

Where yoga fits

Rotation both ways, upper-back and shoulder-blade work, hip range for lunging, one-leg balance, forearm care and a calm finish, alongside your power and strength training. The NHS counts yoga as muscle-strengthening activity when it's hard enough.

Source 23

Legs first, then the back and shoulderEmerging evidence

Most injuries are in the legs, then the arms and the trunk. In 55 Swedish juniors, half were in the legs and a quarter each in the arms and the trunk. In high-performance players, leg injuries made up about half, followed by the lower back and shoulder overuse.

Sources 24, 2, 25

Elite juniors: the lower backEmerging evidence

In 101 Australian national juniors followed for 4 years, there were about 2.7 to 2.8 injuries per 1,000 hours; the lower back was the commonest and most severe site, and the shoulder came second.

Source 1

Professional womenEmerging evidence

In 52 professional women's players over a season, there were 56.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of match play, half of them in the legs.

Source 26

Club players and the elbowEmerging evidence

Recreational players get more sudden leg injuries such as ankle sprains and more overuse elbow problems such as tennis elbow; high-level players get more shoulder pain. In padel, about 3 injuries per 1,000 hours, and the elbow is the commonest site.

Sources 27, 3

Load spikesEmerging evidence

In 198 adolescent players, each sudden spike in training load raised the rate of back pain, and in Swedish juniors, playing more than 6 hours a week went with back pain. Build your playing time gradually.

Sources 28, 2

One yoga trial, in junior playersMixed evidence

In 40 players aged 6 to 18, half did yoga by video link 2 days a week for 8 weeks and half carried on with tennis. The yoga group improved in core, flexibility, upper-limb stability, balance and body awareness tests, but the control group also improved in core strength, sit and reach, a balance test and body awareness. The summary gives no comparison between the groups, and we couldn't open the full paper, so it can't show that yoga beat tennis alone. Our search found no other yoga trial in a racket sport.

Sources 4, 29

Stretching and injuriesStrong evidence

Across 25 trials and 26,610 people, stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries, while strength training cut them to under a third and balance training to about half. Stretching before exercise didn't prevent injury in 1,538 army recruits. A 2025 consensus of stretching researchers doesn't recommend stretching for injury prevention in general.

Sources 5, 30, 31, 6

The only tennis prevention trial didn't workStrong evidence

In 579 adult club players, an unsupervised 12-week app made no difference: 37% against 38% had an injury problem at any one time. Its designers had replaced static arm stretches with strength exercises "due to a lack of evidence".

Sources 7, 32

Power and speed come from other trainingEmerging evidence

In 23 small trials, jump, strength and core training raised serve speed and agility, and twice a week was enough. No trial has measured serve speed after yoga.

Source 33

Balance can be trainedEmerging evidence

In young adults, balance training worked best at about 3 sessions a week of 11 to 15 minutes for 11 to 12 weeks. Yoga's one-leg poses count if you make them harder over time.

Source 34

Lost inward turn isn't clearly linked with injuryMixed evidence

Across 17 studies of 2,195 overhead athletes, no shoulder range measure was significantly linked with injury. Another review of 9 studies found a link in adults but not in adolescents. In 301 adolescent tennis players followed weekly for a year, inward turn and total range weren't linked with shoulder injury. Professionals with past shoulder pain had less inward turn in both shoulders, not a bigger difference between sides.

Sources 35, 36, 9, 37

When a stretch helpsEmerging evidence

In athletes with a clear loss of inward turn, the sleeper and cross-body stretches restored about 7 degrees, across 6 trials of 255 athletes. In 54 people with a stiff back of the shoulder, the cross-body stretch gained 20 degrees against about 6 in a comparison group. None of these trials counted injuries.

Sources 10, 38

The dose, from one small tennis trialMixed evidence

In 30 tennis players with a clear one-sided loss, a cross-body or sleeper stretch, held "for 30 s and performed with 3 to 5 repetitions once daily for 4 weeks", worked about equally. There was no group that didn't stretch, so treat it as a starting point, not proof.

Source 39

Strength helps tooEmerging evidence

In 26 young players, 12 weeks of shoulder strength training also restored inward turn, without stretching.

Source 40

So

Stretch only a clear one-sided loss, cross-body first and the sleeper stretch gently if needed, as our shoulder guides say, and keep up the shoulder strength routine on our tennis and padel page.

Scans aren't the whole storyEmerging evidence

In 98 pain-free elite junior players, back scans often showed changes, so a scan finding doesn't explain pain on its own. Young players with back pain had stiffer lower backs than those without.

Sources 41, 18

Tennis isn't bad for growing backsEmerging evidence

Competitive 12-year-olds had no more back pain or spinal curves than schoolchildren. What raised back pain was sudden jumps in training load.

Sources 42, 28

Where yoga fits

Rotation both ways, back-extension endurance such as locust, and calm breathing after play. Leave out deep backbends if your back hurts when you arch, and get a young player's lasting back pain checked first (the warning signs below).

Yoga doesn't treat it

The NHS says "Tennis elbow usually gets better after resting your arm for a few weeks, but it can sometimes last longer", and to see a GP if it hasn't improved after at least 2 weeks of looking after it yourself. Most people with tennis elbow don't play tennis (our tennis elbow guide), and that guide has the treatment, built on forearm loading.

Source 43

Yoga while it's sore

Put weight on your forearms or fists instead of flat hands, or use the wall, and don't grip hard. Our elbow guides' rule:

Some discomfort during forearm exercises is fine. Keep it mild: no more than about 3 to 4 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your elbow should be no worse the next morning. If it is worse, go lighter next time (a lighter weight, a bendier bar, fewer reps or a shorter hold), not nothing. When a set no longer causes any discomfort, it's time to progress.

Tingling is the exception: stop any exercise or position that brings on pins and needles or numbness in your hand, especially in the ring and little fingers, and avoid holding the elbow fully bent while it settles.

Before: move, don't holdStrong evidence

Holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle just before effort cut performance by about 4.6%, shorter holds by about 1.1%, and dynamic warm-ups prepared elite players better for sprints and changes of direction. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) warm-up uses moving drills, not holds.

Sources 11, 12, 44

After: hold if it feels goodStrong evidence

Stretching after exercise changed next-day soreness by only about a point on a 100-point scale, but a short routine can feel good, and slow breathing raises heart rate variability, a sign of the calming side of the nervous system, while you do it.

Sources 45, 46

What the LTA publishes

The LTA has a yoga page from its physiotherapist that says flexibility "is important for avoiding injury", which the trials above don't support, and a Tennis Wales injury prevention routine with no static stretches.

Sources 47, 48

The same reasoning

Rotation both ways, shoulders, hips and balance. Padel players should take extra care with weight on the hands, because the elbow is the commonest padel injury site. Our tennis and padel, squash, badminton and pickleball pages cover each sport.

Source 3

How often

Once or twice a week on non-match days or after play, 20 to 30 minutes. The junior trial used 2 sessions a week for 8 weeks, and power and strength training twice a week was enough in the tennis trials.

Sources 4, 33

Around matches

The racket warm-up before you play; yoga after, or the next day. Keep long holds and hard classes away from the day before a match.

Both sides

Do every rotation and balance the same on both sides, weaker side first. That's our suggestion: no trial has tested it.

Long holds before you play

Holds of a minute or more per muscle cost a little power and aren't needed before tennis. Keep them for afterwards.

Sources 11, 6

Tennis elbow or a sore wrist

Downward dog, plank, chaturanga and crow on your forearms, fists or at the wall, and no hard gripping.

Deep backbends with back pain

Leave out wheel, bow and camel if your back hurts when you arch: the serve already arches the lower back. A young player's lasting back pain needs checking.

The sleeper stretch for everyone

Only for a clear loss of inward turn on one side, as our shoulder guides say.

Sources 9, 10

After a shoulder dislocation

No end-range overhead holds, binds or extended puppy pose until you're cleared.

Stop an exercise, or shrink its range, if you get the feeling the shoulder is about to slip out (editorial).

Source 14

Headstands, shoulder stands and plough

Not needed for tennis, and hand, shoulder and head stands are the practices most often linked with acute yoga injuries; US health advice says people new to yoga should avoid them.

Sources 49, 50

Chest pain or fainting: call 999

Call 999 if:

• You get sudden pain or discomfort in your chest that doesn't go away; it can feel like squeezing or pressure, burning or indigestion.
• The pain spreads to your left or right arm, or your neck, jaw, stomach or back.
• You have chest pain and feel sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath.
• Someone faints while exercising, can't be woken within 1 minute, or has chest pain or a pounding, fluttering or irregular heartbeat.

Sources 13, 51

Unusual breathlessness

Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.

Source 52

An elbow or arm injury

Go to A&E or call 999 if you've injured your arm and it is numb, tingling or has pins and needles; a bone is sticking out or a bad cut is bleeding heavily; or the arm or elbow has changed colour or shape, or is at an odd angle. Don't drive yourself.

Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E for a pop or snap and sudden pain during an effort, which could be a torn tendon, as our tennis elbow guide says.

Urgent treatment centre or A&E: a pop or snap and sudden pain during an effort, which could be a torn tendon. At the front of the elbow, with bruising and a bulge in the upper arm, don't wait for it to settle: a torn biceps tendon is best repaired within the first 2 to 3 weeks. If it happened weeks ago, still get it checked: repair is often still possible, though it may need a tendon graft.

Source 15

A shoulder injury

Call 999 or go to A&E if, after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, you cannot move your arm, or your shoulder is painful, bruised or swollen. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.

Same day (GP or NHS 111): sudden or very bad shoulder pain; you cannot move your arm; the arm or shoulder is badly swollen or has changed shape; pins and needles that do not go away; no feeling in the arm; the arm is hot or cold to the touch; pain that started after an injury such as a fall; or severe pain in both shoulders.

Your shoulder has partly or fully come out of joint, or you worry it might.

Sources 53, 14

An elbow or shoulder that won't settle

See a GP or physiotherapist for elbow pain that hasn't gone after at least 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, or shoulder pain that is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks, or if it's very hard to move your arm. In many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy. Tennis elbow that hasn't improved after 12 to 24 weeks of good care needs referral, as our tennis elbow guide says.

Sources 43, 53

A knee injury

Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.

Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape, or it locks, gives way or clicks painfully. A pop, quick swelling and a knee that gives way point to an ACL injury: our ACL injury guide says what to do.

Source 16

Ankle or knee injuries

Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin has turned blue or grey or is cold. Get help from NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre if you can't put any weight on it or walk more than a few steps.

Source 54

A sudden pain in the calf

Tennis leg feels like a sudden, sharp or burning pain in the calf, sometimes with a sound, and most players can't carry on. Stop playing, keep weight off it, and use ice, a compression bandage and raising the leg, as the ITF advises; see a doctor if it's severe or you're unsure. A snap at the back of the ankle with difficulty walking needs the checks in our calf pain and Achilles guides.

An eye hit by the ball

Go to A&E or call 999 if something hit your eye at high speed, your sight has changed, you have severe pain in the eye, a headache or sensitivity to light, you feel or are sick, you can't move your eye or keep it open, or blood or pus is coming from it. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111 if it isn't getting better after 24 hours.

A knock to the head

Call 999 if someone has hit their head and has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, can't stay awake or keep their eyes open, has a fit, has fallen from a height of more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, has problems with their vision or hearing, has clear fluid coming from their ears or nose, has new numbness or weakness, has problems with walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing, hit their head at high speed, or their behaviour has changed. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood. If you're told to go to A&E (accident and emergency), don't drive yourself there if you have hit your head.

With a suspected concussion, if in doubt, sit them out. The UK's grassroots guidelines say no sport for at least 24 hours, get checked by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 within 24 hours, follow a staged return, and no competition before day 21; if symptoms last beyond 28 days, stay out of sport and see a doctor. Yoga waits too: gentle breathing fits the early, light-activity stages, and no head-down poses or inversions until you're cleared (our reading). Our concussion guide has the stages.

Sources 55, 56

A young player's back

Back pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks and is worse arching backwards, as in the serve, can be a stress fracture of the spine: see a GP or sports physiotherapist (our spondylolisthesis guide).

During yoga

A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.

Before you start

The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.

"Tennis players need more stretching to prevent injury"Strong evidence

Stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries, experts don't recommend stretching for injury prevention in general, and the tennis prevention programme's designers dropped static stretches for lack of evidence.

Sources 5, 31, 6, 32

"Stretch before you play to avoid injury"Strong evidence

Stretching before exercise didn't prevent injury in 1,538 recruits, and long holds just before effort cost a little performance.

Sources 31, 11

"Tight shoulders cause tennis injuries, so everyone should do the sleeper stretch"Mixed evidence

Lost inward turn isn't consistently linked with injury. Stretching restores range when there's a clear loss, which is when to use it.

Sources 35, 9, 10

"Yoga will improve your serve"Mixed evidence

No trial has measured it. Jump and strength training raised serve speed in trials.

Source 33

"Tennis wrecks young backs"Emerging evidence

Competitive 12-year-olds had no more back pain than schoolchildren; sudden jumps in training load went with back pain.

Sources 42, 28

"The more flexible the better"Emerging evidence

Athletes with very flexible joints had about 3 times the odds of shoulder injury, in low-quality studies. The NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can".

Sources 57, 58