The reign of tennis fitness terror waged on this blog over the past few months is coming to a close. The week after Maria Sakkari was upset in the first round of the US Open, we have finally arrived at the final clip from her intense training montage featured in S1 E3 of the Netflix docuseries “Break Point.” The Greek tennis player was shown performing tire flips on a sand volleyball court.
Tire flips are a functional strength training exercise that targets the muscles in the lower body. It is good for developing the legs, hips, and lower back muscles. Tire flips help build explosive power, core strength, and overall body coordination. Those are all good things for tennis players.
Tire flips mimic real-world movements, such as lifting and pushing heavy objects. That includes things like moving furniture, luggage, bags of groceries, and all those Amazon boxes that mysteriously keep appearing at your door. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you ever need to change a flat tire, this exercise would be useful to develop the strength required to perform that task.
In addition to the lower body strength and core stability that is the usual hallmark of training techniques that are beneficial for tennis, tire flips are also good for developing grip strength. The movement requires a strong grip to lift and flip the tire, which can enhance racquet control.
There is emerging research that supports the efficacy of the technique. In 2020, a group of researchers published an assessment of an eight-week tire-flipping training regimen for overall physical fitness. The results of this study justify its use. Improvements in the bench press, intermittent endurance, horizontal jumps, and agility were all noted.
Tire flips are quite obviously impractical for a home gym. I wouldn’t recommend this as a backyard activity in the south either, as the tire wells are prime breeding grounds for mosquitos. Consequently, I think that tire flips are best done indoors at a commercial gym with enough space to cater to this strong-man exercise.
When Sakkari was bounced out of the US Open this year, she complained about the smell of marijuana wafting over her court from the stands. In related olfactory news, the pungent smell of tires is also quite distinctive. I… just don’t want the smell of tires on my hands.
- Maria Sakkari Complained of Marijuana Smell at 2023 US Open During Upset Loss, Scott Polacek, The Bleacher Report, August 28, 2023.
- Physical fitness improvements of 8-week light vs. heavy tyre flip training in young adults, Del P. Wong, Biology of Sport, September 2020.
