This week, we resume coverage of Principle 3 from the section in the USTA’s Friend at Court known as “The Code.” Today’s post brings us back to the first part of this principle that I intentionally skipped over last Wednesday. The previous installment focused on the evolving guidelines around warm-up length, but the principle itself begins with a much more foundational reminder.
Warm-up is not practice.
USTA Friend at Court 2025 , The Code, Principle 3 (Partial Excerpt)
The Code makes it clear that the cooperative warm-up has a specific purpose. It exists to prepare both players for the physical demands of the match by easing into the movements and rhythm of the sport. It is a shared courtesy rather than an opportunity to rehearse point-ending patterns or calibrate ambitious shotmaking. Tennis has always relied on a social contract that precedes competition. The warm-up reflects that tradition.
This distinction matters because many players misunderstand or intentionally ignore the intended purpose. Last September, I wrote about the phenomenon of opponents who try to “win the warm-up.” Instead of rallying cooperatively, they rip winners at every opportunity. While intimidation is one possible motive, it is also sometimes a sign of poor control. Either way, the behavior reflects a fundamental misconception. The idea that you warm up the way you play is not part of tennis etiquette.
Some players will defend uncooperative warm-ups with the proverb: “You play like you practice.” Warm-up is not practice. That distinction matters because practice is where players build skills, refine mechanics, and engrain habits through repetition and intentional effort. Warm-up serves an entirely different purpose. It is a brief cooperative ritual designed to prepare the players on both sides of the net for the demands of competition without introducing competitive behavior. Treating warm-up as practice violates both the etiquette and the physiology of the sport. The warm-up is simply the on-ramp to the match. When players conflate warm-up with practice, they misunderstand not only The Code but also the basic logic of how athletes prepare to perform.
A cooperative warm-up prepares the body for impact forces, joint mobility, and timing. It also helps both players calibrate to the surface and conditions. Treating this ritual as an audition for your highlight reel cheapens the purpose and undermines the shared benefit. It can also backfire strategically. If my opponent wants to show me every big shot they have before the match begins, I will happily accept the free scouting report. Many players reveal quirks, directional preferences, or subtle tells when they swing for winners at full speed in the warm-up. That information is helpful.
In college tennis, the abuse of cooperative warm-ups became so pervasive that the ITA eliminated them entirely. Players warm up with their team, walk onto the court, conduct the coin toss, and begin. The solution was to remove the cooperative element because too many athletes treated it as an extension of practice rather than a prelude to competition. For the rest of us, the cooperative warm-up remains the cultural norm, and the expectation of courtesy still applies.
Understanding that warm-up is not practice also clarifies why its quality matters. A rushed or chaotic warm-up does not accomplish its purpose, which is one of the reasons last week’s post focused on the five versus ten-minute debate. Adequate time and respectful behavior during the warm-up are not arbitrary niceties. They affect injury prevention, match readiness, and the integrity of the early stages of play.
Warm-up is not the moment to test your best passing shot or unleash full-pace serves. It is time to establish a rhythm, loosen muscles, and prepare your body to compete. The warm-up is a shared investment in the match you are about to play. When players treat it as practice, everyone loses. When both players honor the intent, the match that follows is almost always better.
- Friend at Court: The Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations, USTA, 2025
- Friend at Court: The USTA Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations, USTA, 2001. (Hardcopy.)
