Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Maria Sakkari quickly returned to the screen during S1 E3 of the Netflix docuseries “Break Point.” The Greek tennis player was shown executing right jabs against a heavy punching bag. In related news, if you ever get into a dispute with Sakkari and she asks if you want to take it outside, the correct answer is “No.”
Sakkari isn’t the first tennis star to be seen working on a heavy bag. In fact, she isn’t even the first female star to be seen using that equipment. An undated video on TMZ shows Serena Williams getting a boxing lesson from none other than Mike Tyson. In fact, Jack Sock, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, and Victoria Azarenka are other professionals who have used boxing as a part of their training.
With so many high-level tennis players jumping into the ring, it is safe to assume that boxing is good for the sport. The questions are why and how.
Training with a heavy bag improves reaction skills, footwork, and overall strength. Working out with a sparring partner who is wearing hand pads for targets also provides the same effect. The smaller speed bag is good for eye-hand coordination, hand speed, and upper-body conditioning.
Working with a jump rope is a boxing training staple that is also widely used in tennis. The same is true about doing rotational movements using a weighted medicine ball. Outside of getting punched in the face, there are a lot of functional movement parallels between boxing and tennis.
I have a device in my home arsenal that can be used similarly to a speed bag. It consists of a foam ball suspended from the ceiling to the floor. In my home gym, I hang it from a TRX suspension mount. A weighted base secures it to the floor.
The advantage of this device is that it is soft foam, so boxing gloves aren’t needed. For me, using it combines cardio agility with the eye-hand coordination benefits of using traditional boxing equipment.
It also takes up very little space and is easy to set up and take down as needed.
If you have been looking to add a little variety to your off-court training, boxing is a great option to consider. The functional movement similarities to tennis will benefit your performance levels. It might even turn you into a badass.
- Serena Williams Gets Boxing Lesson from Mike Tyson, TMZ, undated.
- How boxing can help your tennis game, Gary Kitchell, January 3, 2017
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