Season 2, Episode 5 of the Netflix docuseries Break Point primarily spotlighted the struggles of Jessica Pegula and Maria Sakkari to secure titles in 2023. However, this week’s exercise from that episode doesn’t feature either of those two players. Instead, Joran Vliegen was glimpsed in the deep background of the exercise featured in “A Fascinating Twist” last Tuesday. This is one of the “most cameo” of cameo appearances on the show.
Joran Vliegen is a professional Belgian tennis player primarily known as a doubles specialist. At the 2023 Mubadala Citi Open, he reached the men’s doubles draw semifinals partnered with Sander Gillé. The duo lost that match to Andrés Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez on the same day that Pegula and Sakkari played their semifinal singles match. As Pegula performed the lateral step-up variation that I wrote about last week, Vliegen can be seen performing Bulgarian split squats in the background.
The Bulgarian split squat is performed by standing on one foot in front of a bench or box with the top of the other foot resting on the elevated surface behind it. While keeping the chest upright, the front knee is bent to lower the hips toward the ground. The objective is to move the back knee down as far as possible and for the front thigh to be nearly parallel to the ground at the bottom of the movement. The heel is then pressed into the floor to return the body to the starting position in a controlled motion. This is another of those cases where an animated gif is worth a thousand words, so people whose email clients or web browsers block images might want to navigate to the image directly.
This exercise can be done with body weight alone or while clutching dumbbells, as Vliegen does here. He is also performing a variation in which he presses back upward, strong enough to temporarily elevate his front foot off the ground.
The Bulgarian split squat is particularly beneficial for tennis players because it develops unilateral leg strength. That is crucial for frequent lunging, sprinting, and direction changes. Isolating each leg helps correct muscle imbalances and improves overall lower-body power, enabling more explosive starts and quicker recoveries on the court. The movement also enhances hip mobility and core strength, which is essential for maintaining balance during rapid lateral movements and open-stance shots.
When I perform Bulgarian split squats, I typically use a standard weight bench as the elevated surface. However, a chair can also be used when a bench isn’t available.
After the post on Pegula’s lateral step-up twist posted last week, I was asked about the weight bench in my home gym. In 2019, I purchased an XMark 7-Position Adjustable Weight Bench. It provides rock-solid stability and adjusts to support both incline and decline exercises. This bench is also heavy enough to anchor resistance bands, which is always important for tennis players. Since my home gym has a very small footprint, the transport wheels make repositioning effortless, which is essential for my use. Without hesitation, I would select this same model again if I were equipping a new home gym today.
XMARK Adjustable Weight Bench (<- Sponsored Link)
As demonstrated by Joran Vliegen, the Bulgarian split squat is a must-add for recreational tennis players. It builds essential leg strength, improves balance, enhances hip mobility, and reduces injury risk. What are you waiting for? This is an easy addition to any fitness routine that only requires a bench or chair and a couple of dumbbells.
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