Quantity vs Quality in Tennis Training – How much is enough?

It seems to me that parents of this day an age are at a loss as to what is too much training is and/or what is too little training when it comes to practicing tennis.  In this article I want to view my opinion on this controversial topic about what is too much and what is too little and also the fear of burnout that so many parents harp on.

Bernard Tomic at the Brisbane International

It seems to me we are stuck in new age of fear. “Fear of what”, I say! Fear that we may damage our kids. Come on get over it and retrace back to your own childhood. What were you doing as a child? Were you sitting in your lounge room playing computer games and watching TV all day as the kids of today do?  I certainly was not! I was out in the bush finding snakes, riding my bike, jumping off cliffs, climbing trees and testing the limits. Then I got hurt and then I got fixed and went tried to do it again. My mother never stopped me. Those were the days kids were allowed to live. Nowadays we are living in a world of fear. I really don’t know what for but we are. Kids are tough, curious creatures and are meant to be that way. Let them get hurt, let them be curious and let them get into trouble that’s how humans learn!

I think the previous statement is  a reflection as to why tennis in Australia is falling flat on its face. The parents are under some kind of spell either by the government or by information handed down to the coaches who in turn hand this phenomenon down to the parents and so on.

Where are all of our players gone from the tennis tour?  We were once one of the dominating countries in the world for the sport of tennis. We have one player that is still the only player for a long time still mixing it with the best but that is about it and who is he? I am pretty sure you know who I am talking about, yes, Lleyton Hewitt.   We also have a new player who has won the Australian Open Boys and US Open Boys championships and he is getting places.  Is it because he is under some kind of spell that the government or some association has handed down to him. To my knowledge he is doing it different to the conventional guidelines provided and is still going tough. Guess who he is? Bernard Tomic from the Gold Coast of Australia.

Lleyton Hewitt

I can also remember the time when Gavin Hopper and his daughter Jade Hopper appeared on the TV show Sixty Minutes but everyone was trying to have a go at them for the grueling tennis schedule she had (Tall Poppy Syndrome). She was quite adamant she wanted to be a  professional tennis player and is still going today as we speak. They were so worried about her burning out, guess what, she has not burned out.  If she did not have a bit of a hiccup in her training she might have been in a different place today. You must be asking yourself the question why I am talking about all these people and there stories, well I want people here in Australia and the world to understand  and know how much (quantity) is required to at least be successful in the sport of tennis.

Quantity

I am now going to ask you two very simple questions.

If you were interested in becoming a Doctor specializing in plastic surgery, what would it take or be required of you to achieve this specialty?

And if you did choose this profession, are you totally guaranteed of achieving it or are the possibilities of burnout included as a result of this heavy study schedule?

Really think about these questions!

Plastic Surgeon

Well to be honest if I really wanted to be a Plastic Surgeon I would at least need an education of 12 years as per government regulations unless I was an absolute genius. But that is not all, I would also need to study hard in order to get my grades to a decent level so that I may be accepted into a reputable university.  No guarantee I might have been refused so now I have to choose a different profession or drop out(similar to burnout or not making it). Twelve years of hard work for no reason at all! Lets say I have been accepted into university, I would now need to put in another what 7 years of hard study to be able to pass and become a plastic surgeon, once that is done then I would need to specialize with regards to the discipline I have chosen to receive a  decent salary and that is not guaranteed. Can you see where I am going with this?

Everything required in life is hard work and there is no guarantees of certain success. Especially in pursuing the sport of tennis as career!

Now lets have a look at tennis. Up until now tennis really wasn’t a career path but more of an entertainment path that only the lucky few could access, well that is how most people perceived it. But in today’s society it is a career path and more so it is a business and a science. The opportunities are endless if you don’t make it.

Fernando Verdasco practising

So to re-iterate the question what is needed to be a professional tennis player?

Well pretty much the same as becoming a Plastic Surgeon if not harder. It has been said that to become an elite tennis professional you need between 8-12 years or around 10,000 hours or more of solid training, these facts are based on talented tennis athletes. That is an extreme amount of hours and would suggest that the person doing this kind of training would fall into the special group of people because this is not normal.

So to look at this in a little more perspective lets work out the amount of hours this  would equate to per year,  per week and  per day.

Training Regime Break Down Examples

Below is a breakdown of training hours based on a 46 week Training Year. This is not set it is just to give you and idea of what is really required. This does not include fitness hours only on court hitting hours.

Training Years: 12 yrs
Weeks / Year: 46 wk
Days / Week: 6 days
Hours / Year: approx 833 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 18 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 3 hrs

Training Years: 12 yrs
Weeks / Year: 46 wk
Days / Week: 5 days
Hours / Year: approx 833 hrs
Hours /Week: approx 18 hrs
Hours /Day: approx 3.6 hrs

Training Years: 11 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 6 days
Hours / Year: approx 909 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 19.8 hrs
Hours /Day: approx 3.3 hrs

Training Years: 11 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 5 days
Hours / Year: approx 909 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 20 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 4 hrs

Training Years: 10 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 6 days
Hours / Year: 1000 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 22 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 3.75 hrs

Training Years: 10 yrs
Weeks / Year: 46 wk
Days / Week: 5 days
Hours / Year: 1000 hrs
Hours /Week: approx 22 hrs
Hours /Day: approx 4.5 hrs

Training Years: 9 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 6 days
Hours / Year: approx 1111 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 24 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 4 hrs

Training Years: 9 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 5 days
Hours / Year: approx 1111 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 24.15 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 4.85 hrs

Training Years: 8 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 6 days
Hours / Year: 1250 hrs
Hours / Week: approx 27.17 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 4.53 hrs

Training Years: 8 yrs
Weeks / Year:46 wk
Days / Week: 5
Hours / Year: 1250 hrs
Hours /Week: approx 27.17 hrs
Hours / Day: approx 5.5 hrs

Pretty amazing stats huh! Pretty scary too when you realize what it really takes to be a professional tennis player. To be quite honest it was not really clear on whether this time included matchplay. So to answer the question you need to to start tennis pretty much from an early age and dedicate your life to it as you would to become a doctor. And as usual there is no guarantee as it is a guideline to possibly achieving a professional status in tennis.

Nadal Practicing At Australian Open

So why is it that so many people who supposedly want to be professional tennis players are not putting these kind of hours in in Australia(Juniors). In my opinion, I am pretty sure that parents are being misguided when it comes to achieving professionalism in this sport. You need to put in the hours from a young age and that is all there is to it. Planning is key, though it is not a guarantee!

From this a another topic within this topic is “burnout” which always rears its head. Whenever I talk to so many parents and tell them that this is what is required of your child if they think they want to make it, they basically cry out the kids will burnout! Burnout, yes I agree the child might burn out and not make it as a professional but the reality of it is that maybe the kid is not tough enough, its not meant to be. So to put it bluntly to all:

“IF YOUR CHILD BURNS OUT  HE OR SHE IS NOT  TOUGH ENOUGH TO BE AN ELITE PROFESSIONAL SPORTSMAN!”

That is all there is to it. Please don’t get me wrong you do not just go out onto a tennis court and aimlessly train. To spend the amount of hours on court you need a well thought out plan and structure (This I will discuss in another article in the near future). I think I will write an article totally based on the burnout sometime,anyway to get back to the main topic about quantity and quality. To become skilled the statistics pretty much prove the amount or quantity you need in order to become a professional tennis player.

Quality – What is it and how do we achieve it?

If you were looking for a car mechanic to fix your car, what would you be looking for? A mechanic that has just started his apprenticeship and has not had the hours and his quality of work is average or would you rather look for a mechanic you knew would give you quality because he has put his hours in?

Federer at the French Open

I think I would choose the latter! Well to put it into perspective to get quality what did that mechanic do? He put many hours of training to get to a point of quality in what he does. It took him time as does with tennis. I have heard so many people put Bernard Tomic down and said his training were long hours everyday and with no quality. Of course he is a kid training but what he is actually doing is achieving a skill in chosen sport. He is now reaching a level of quality in his tennis that has taken time.

So basically to get a high level of quality in anything you need the quantity first and that takes discipline. They do not go out onto a tennis court and give quality as a child until they understand what it is.  The child or junior needs to learn it first. When they have done that only then may they cut down their training hours because they can. Even still tennis professionals of today are training long hours. I was reading an article in an Australia Tennis Magazine where Nadal had just come off the court after 10 hours of training because it had started raining. He was unhappy and pissed off because he could not finish his session or what he was trying to achieve. Really do I need to say anymore!

So basically a player who has reached this level still puts in these kind of hours. Go figure! So while tennis professionals are not in tournament mode they would put in between 4- 6 hours on court and then more hours into fitness after. While at tournaments players would be putting in around 1 – 2 hours and then some time for fitness included. If you go to Bolletieri Tennis Academy players pretty much play tennis all day until 4-5 with fitness included and the really dedicated ones are out there longer.

So my message to all parents who are following the conventional guidelines take them and throw them away if you are serious about becoming a professional tennis player. I do not believe in them and never will. Ask John Tomic what does it take? He will answer guaranteed ” Hard Work”.  To me all the parents who believe 1 to 2 hours a day cuts it and if they do the child is a freak! Seriously, How can you say that his system is wrong look where his son Bernard is. Quality training is important to improve but this is a learned experience and only quantity of a chosen field will teach you discipline to put in a 100% training quality to get rapid results.

So to sum up! As it is with most worthwhile pursuits, the extent of one’s accomplishment is proportional to the effort made.  If you want to your child to be a tennis professional basically cut the nonsense and allow them to do the work. If the kid burns out then he or she burns out! Stop making excuses! There is nothing you can do about that. That is why you need to have an education or plan B to back you up. So toughen up and and your kids will follow suit. This is a hard sport and is only for the tough.  So do your research instead of relying on word of mouth! Remember the kids will let you know if it is too much.

Please feel free to leave your comments.

Until next time train hard but train smart!

P.S. When in a Bolletieri Coaching camp in Tokyo, Japan, I had Gabe Jaramillo who was then Nick’s partner for nearly 30 thirty years approach me and say these words on training for a 7 year old kid. “4 hours a day 5 times a week, with a lot of match play.” Something for you to think about coming from a system that has reputable alumni.

P.P.S Just before I finish up, please take a look at this girl who is planning to turn professional by the time she is 14 years old. She trains an average of 6 hours a day 6 days week. Click here to see here on You Tube