Every Tuesday, this site takes a look at a training or technology concept that shapes how tennis is played. This week’s post is a continuation of an idea that I have been revisiting on and off over the past week.
Last Tuesday, I posed a simple question. Do tennis players still perform traditional sit-ups and crunches as a standard part of their training? My curiosity was sparked by extended viewing of the “Behind the Scenes” training feed from the Miami Open, which led me to realize I could not recall seeing a single professional player performing those exercises in any off-court setting. The absence led me to speculate that the traditional abdominal work of my junior playing days may have fallen out of favor in high-performance tennis training.
That curiosity sent me looking for a more structured answer, which led directly into last Thursday’s review of Complete Conditioning for Tennis. That book provided an important piece of context. Sit-ups and crunches have not disappeared entirely, but they have clearly evolved. The emphasis has shifted away from isolated torso flexion and toward core stability, balance, and control. Even the few remaining “crunch-like” movements have been modified to introduce instability and better reflect how the body actually functions during tennis.
The hallmark of those modified movements is the abdominal curl performed on a stability ball. In essence, this is still a crunch. However, the introduction of the ball changes the nature of the movement in a meaningful way. By placing the body on an unstable surface, the exercise forces continuous engagement of the trunk muscles to maintain balance throughout the motion. That shifts the emphasis away from isolated contraction toward integrated stabilization.
The execution is straightforward but requires some discipline. Lie back on the stability ball with your feet flat on the ground and your body balanced so that the lower back is supported. From that position, engage the abdominal muscles and lift the shoulders and upper torso slightly. The range of motion is intentionally limited. Once the movement exceeds roughly 45 degrees of spinal flexion, the hip flexors take over, detracting from the primary goal of strengthening the abdominals. The movement is small, controlled, and deliberate.
A major motivation for this exploration is that I hate doing sit-ups and crunches. In the intervening week, I started to wonder whether the exercise would be more palatable to me with the introduction of the stability ball. I already had one sitting in my home gym, so testing it out was easy. I have started layering in abdominal curls using the ball, and discovered that I do not mind this variation of the exercise at all. In fact, I actually like it. The instability changes the feel of the movement enough that it no longer resembles the traditional sit-ups and crunches that I have been avoiding for years.
There is a broader principle at play here that ties directly into functional tennis training. The ball introduces instability, forcing the core to engage in the same way it does on the court. The core is not just responsible for bending the torso. It plays a critical role in stabilizing the body while transferring force through the kinetic chain. Efficient tennis strokes depend on that smooth energy transfer.
The stability ball itself is one of those pieces of equipment that deserves its place in a home gym. It is inexpensive, takes up very little space, and can be used across a wide range of exercises that emphasize balance and control.
Beyond formal workouts, I have also used my stability ball in place of an office chair while working at my desk. It forces a more active sitting posture, and I have found that my hips do not tighten as much as when sitting in a traditional chair for extended periods. It is not a perfect substitute, but it is another example of how a simple piece of equipment can have benefits that extend beyond its “on-label” use.
Stability Ball (<- Sponsored Link)
Due to my personal bias, I am ready to declare traditional abdominal exercises obsolete, at least for tennis. Standard sit-ups and crunches are not “bad,” but context matters. There is simply a better way to work those muscles for functional tennis training. A stability ball may be your catalyst for transforming and fully committing to regular core work. It did that for me.
Fiend At Court participates in the Amazon Associates program and receives a paid commission on any purchases made via the links in this article. Details on the disposition of proceeds are available on the “About Fiend at Court” page.
