Speed and agility training for tennis and padel, built by AI
10 m bursts, brake and go on every ball. The plan gives change of direction maximum weight, shortens sprints to the distance of your sport and fits around matches and tournaments that have no fixed day.
Updated
What is a speed and agility plan for tennis and padel?
A speed and agility plan for tennis and padel is the version of EntrenAI's Speed and power sport for players whose sprint is 10 metres on a court, not 30 on a pitch. In tennis and padel almost no movement is a long run: two or three steps of acceleration, a brake, the shot and the push-off towards the next ball. So the engine treats your sport differently from the way it treats football (soccer) or rugby.
Three parameters define it. The typical sprint is 10 metres, the shortest of any sport in the app, and starts and sprints in the Acceleration session are cut to match. Change of direction weighs 1.0, the maximum: it is the quality that runs your plan, and in weeks with room for two sprint sessions the second one is Change of direction. And repeated-sprint ability weighs 0.5, the lowest in the app: your sport does not need you to string together ten 30 m sprints on twenty seconds of rest, it needs every single burst to be the best you have. Fewer repeats, more quality.
The rest is shared with the general plan: gym strength (squat, hip thrust, Bulgarian split squat, Romanian deadlift and the Nordic ladder), plyometrics counted in contacts, hamstring prevention and, in your case, adductor prevention with the Copenhagen plank, plus the test battery every five weeks. The 505, the brake-and-return test, is your change-of-direction test and joins the battery from intermediate level.
And there is a practical difference that football does not have: in tennis and padel the match is not always on the same day. Doubles leagues played whenever both pairs can, tournament draws where the next round has no date yet, a Friday americano. The plan accepts "no fixed day", exact dates that override the fixed day, and matches flagged as key so that the week before drops its volume and you arrive fresh.
Tennis and padel
Typical sprint: 10 m- Change of direction100
- Repeated sprints50
- Upper body40
10 m bursts, brake and go on every ball. Change of direction is everything.
A sprint is three qualities, not one
90% of the sprints in a match last under 5 seconds and cover 10-30 metres. That is why the plan does not train "running fast" in general: it trains each phase with its own session, and measures it with its own test.
Acceleration
0-10 mVaried starts, hills, sled. Leg strength in the gym.
Test: 10 m
Transition
10-30 m20-30 m sprints from a standing start, running technique, plyometrics.
Test: 30 m
Max velocity
30-50 m10-20 m flying sprints, wickets, ins and outs. 3-6 min rests.
Test: 20 m fly
Your AI-generated plan
First steps: 10 m starts. The Acceleration session opens with technique drills and moves on to 10 m starts from positions that rotate every week: falling start, three-point start, lying start and reactive start. The longer sprints, 20 or 30 metres in football or rugby, stay at 10-15 in your sport. Rest is one minute per 10 metres with a 90-second floor, and if a sprint comes out slower than the previous one, the set is over.
Brake and go: the Change of direction session. It starts with braking mechanics, 2×4 decelerations with hips back, chest up and short steps, then moves to up to three courses: 505, 45-degree cut, zigzag, pro-agility, T-test and, in the sport-specific phase for advanced players, the reactive drill, where you do not know the side until your partner points. The 505 alternates the turning leg, with two minutes between reps, and is timed: it is your test. Cuts go in sets of 4 with 90 seconds; three sets in the first two weeks of the cycle, four from week three, one fewer in season. The lateral bound, 3×6, comes in as transfer. The course diagrams with their measurements are further down the page.
When it comes in. The first cycle is base for everyone, without specialising. From cycle 2, with four or more days and two sprint slots, the second slot goes to Change of direction instead of repeated sprints. If you pick "change of direction" as your priority, it leads the week from the start. Max velocity is never touched: flying sprints are the weekly exposure that protects the hamstrings (Malone, 2017), in tennis and padel too.
Gym with moderate upper body. Legs and hips as in every other sport. Upper body weighs 0.4, below the threshold that switches on the press-and-pull block used for rugby or handball: at most a row. Adductors go in the Prevention and mobility session, 25 minutes the day after the match: Copenhagen plank 2×20 seconds per side, side bridge with abduction, tibialis, single-leg calf raise, hip and ankle mobility.
Matches and tournaments with no fixed day. If your match is always on the same day, you set it and the week is built around it. If not, you choose "no fixed day" and add the dates you know: when one passes, the next takes over on its own, and an exact date overrides the fixed day in its week. If you flag a match as key (a final, a tournament, a club trial), the week before drops volume to 70% and the match week to 60%, with only a microdose to keep the spark. With no match in fourteen days, the week is trained as pre-season.
The week is built around your match
You tell the app which days you train with your team and when you play; it places its sessions by distance to the match. Example week: club on Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday, three sessions of your own.
- MonMD+2Base strength54’
- TueMD-4Club + speed microdose28’
- WedMD-3Acceleration39’
- ThuMD-2Team training
- FriMD-1Rest or activation15’
- SatMDMatch90’
- SunMD+1Rest or prevention
- The speed session goes on MD-3 or MD-4: far from the match, when you perform best and risk least. If max velocity does not fit, a microdose of flying runs after club training.
- Nothing hard the day before. The day after, only prevention or rest.
- 48 hours between two intense sessions, counting the match as one of them.
- The minutes you played set the recovery: 60 or more means two days without high load.
- If your coach already includes all-out sprints, the app does not duplicate them.
Who is this plan for?
-
League or club padel player: you train on court two or three days and play at the weekend, sometimes Friday, sometimes Sunday. You mark court days as team training and add match dates; that leaves you one sprint session of your own per week (two if you are advanced) and one gym session, and the plan places them three or four days before you play.
-
Tournament tennis player who does not know which day the next round will be. You choose "no fixed day", add the draw dates you know and flag the tournament as key: the week before drops to 70% so you arrive fresh.
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Anyone who feels late to the ball: you start well but brake badly, or the other way round. The 10 m, broad jump and 505 tests tell you which of the two you lack, and your profile shifts the emphasis of the next cycle.
-
On your own or in pre-season, with four days: two sprint sessions never back to back, gym the day after running and, from cycle 2, Change of direction in the second sprint session.
-
With adductor or groin niggles: the prevention session includes the Copenhagen plank from the first cycle, and groin pain in the daily check-in turns the speed session into prevention.
You do not need a running track: with 20 metres of grass, park or the court itself, two cones and a friend to time you, you can do almost all of the plan. The 10 m starts, the 505 and the T-test fit in 20 metres. Max-velocity flying sprints need 40 straight metres; if you do not have them, the app swaps them for long acceleration and tells you so in the session.
The courses this plan uses most
In speed work the measurement is the instruction: where the cones go, how long each segment is and which part is timed. The app shows you this sketch before every course-based drill, with the distance adjusted to your sport and level.
- Change of direction
5-10-5 (pro agility)
Start at the middle cone: 5 m one way, 10 m the other and 5 m back. Touch the line with your hand at every turn.
- Change of direction
T-test
Forward on the way out, sideways without crossing your feet, backwards on the return. It measures braking, shuffling and re-accelerating.
- Change of direction
Cone zigzag
Five cones in a line 3 m apart; you are the one zigzagging. Short steps into each cone and push off the outside leg.
- Change of direction
Reactive change of direction
You do not know which side until you reach the cone: your partner points. That is what happens in a match.
- Change of direction
3-step deceleration
Sprint 10 m and stop in three steps, hips back and chest up. Braking well is what protects the knee.
- Change of direction
45° cut
Plant the outside foot. Knee in line with the foot, never caving in: that is the movement that protects the ligament.
Measured with what you have: a friend, a tape measure and a phone
Every five weeks, in the deload week, the app walks you through a short test battery. No €300 GPS pods, no lab: three attempts, the best one counts, and the result is compared against yourself.
10 m
Acceleration: the start.
A friend with the phone stopwatch, or normal-speed video.
30 m
Acceleration plus transition; top speed is estimated from here.
Same. With a 10 m split if you have two watches or video.
20 m fly
Pure max velocity. Optional, for advanced players.
30 m build-up and 20 m timed: you need 50 m of clear ground.
Broad jump
Horizontal power, the one that drives acceleration.
A tape measure. Best of three.
Vertical jump (CMJ)
Vertical power and neuromuscular fatigue. Optional.
With My Jump or height estimated from video.
505
Change of direction and left-right asymmetry. Optional.
Two cones and a stopwatch, two attempts per leg.
The two numbers you see
- Top speed (km/h)
The number people quote in the changing room. From the 20 m fly, or estimated from the 10→30 m split.
- Speed-power index (0-100)
Percentile against players of your sex and level, weighted by what you said you wanted to improve. It places you; improvement is measured against yourself.
So that noise does not count as progress
- Hand-held stopwatch: the app adds 0.24 s (Mann 2015) and notes it on the record.
- With two or more tests, your own typical error sets the smallest change that matters: about 0.06 s over 30 m, about 6 cm on the jump. Below that, no improvement or loss is announced.
- If you change timing method, the app warns that it is not comparable and starts a new series.
- What already comes in from Strava or Garmin (top speed of each activity) counts as a trend, never as a test.
Your first weeks, in detail
Week 3
In season, cycle 1: club Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday| Day | Session type | Detail | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Base strength (MD+2) | Back squat 4×6-8, Barbell hip thrust 4×6-8, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Standing calf raise 3×8-10, Pallof press 2×10 per side | 63 min |
| Tuesday | Club + speed microdose (MD-4) | Build-ups 40-60 m 2×40 m, 10-20 m sprint 4×20 m | 20 min |
| Wednesday | Change of direction (MD-3) | High knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 3×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 3×4, Cone zigzag 3×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Pogo hops 3×10, Alternating split jump 2×10 | 52 min |
| Thursday | Team training (MD-2) | Your coach runs today. Eat well and sleep: it is load the plan accounts for. | — |
| Friday | Rest (MD-1) | Recovery | — |
| Saturday | Match (MD) | Play. Afterwards log the minutes you played: the plan adjusts the next two days. | 90 min |
| Sunday | Rest (MD+1) | Recovery after the match | — |
Week 8
On your own, cycle 2 (strength and power): four days| Day | Session type | Detail | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Change of direction | High knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 4×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 4×4, Cone zigzag 4×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Pogo hops 4×10, Alternating split jump 2×10 | 60 min |
| Tuesday | Max strength | Barbell jump squat 3×5, Back squat 3×4-5, Barbell hip thrust 4×4-5, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Pallof press 2×10 per side | 62 min |
| Wednesday | Rest | Recovery | — |
| Thursday | Acceleration | High knees 2×20 m, Butt kicks 2×20 m, 3-point start 5×10 m, 10-20 m sprint 3×20 m, 10-20 m sprint 7×10 m, Pogo hops 5×10, Alternating split jump 3×10 | 62 min |
| Friday | Rest | Recovery | — |
| Saturday | Running technique | High knees 2×20 m, Butt kicks 2×20 m, Walking high-knee lunge 2×20 m, Build-ups 40-60 m 4×40 m, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s | 33 min |
| Sunday | Rest | Recovery | — |
These examples are real extracts from the EntrenAI planning engine. Your personal plan adjusts to your level, equipment and availability.
Equipment needed
EntrenAI automatically substitutes any exercise if you don’t have the gear.
- 20 metres of court, grass or park: enough for the 10 m starts, the 505 and the T-test. With 40 straight metres you can add max-velocity flying sprints
- Four or five cones to set up the change-of-direction courses (505, zigzag, pro-agility and T-test)
- A friend with the phone stopwatch for the 505 and the 10 m, or the app's video timer if you train alone
- A tape measure for the broad jump
- A gym with a barbell, or dumbbells and bands; the band also works for the assisted Nordic
- Optional: mini hurdles and a box for plyometrics, a medicine ball, a sled or a hill for resisted acceleration
What most people get wrong (and how to avoid it)
- 1
Training speed like a footballer
30 m sprints and long flying runs train a quality you hardly use on a court where the sprint is 10 metres. The plan cuts starts to 10 metres and the longer sprints to 10-15, and spends the rest of the time on braking and pushing off, which is what decides a ball.
- 2
Cutting at speed before learning to brake
The Change of direction session always begins with 2×4 decelerations: hips back, chest up, short steps and the knee over the foot. If it caves inward, you slow down until it stops. Braking well is what protects the knee and what makes you quick on the turn.
- 3
Adding short-rest repeated sprints to survive the third set
A block of sprints on 25 seconds of rest trains you to repeat efforts at 90%, not to start faster. In tennis and padel repeated-sprint ability weighs 0.5, the lowest in the app: the week's second sprint slot goes to change of direction, and intense repeated sprints go far from the match or into pre-season.
- 4
Doing the speed session the day before a match you had not entered
Nothing hard goes the day before a match, and two days out only technique or prevention. With matches on no fixed day that only works if the app knows the dates: add the ones you know and when one passes the next takes over on its own.
- 5
Forgetting the adductors
Programmes with Nordic and adductor work halve hamstring and groin injuries when they are actually done (75% compliance or more). That is why the Prevention and mobility session carries the Copenhagen plank 2×20 seconds per side and side bridge with abduction from the first cycle, and why groin pain in the check-in turns the speed session into prevention.
- 6
Arriving at a tournament on a full load week
With a match every week you cannot taper before each one: that is the microcycle. What does exist is the key match: flag it and the week before drops volume to 70% and the tournament week to 60%, with a speed microdose so you do not lose the spark.
Other Speed and power plan variants
Back to the general Speed and power plan
- Speed training for football players, without leaving your clubAI speed plan for amateur football (soccer) players: 20 m sprints, gym and hamstring prevention placed around your club sessions and Saturday's match.
- Speed and agility training for basketball, built by AIAI speed and agility training for basketball: 15 m sprints, braking, change of direction and vertical jump, placed around your club sessions and your games.
- Speed and power training for rugby, built by AIAI speed and power plan for rugby: sled acceleration loaded to your profile, upper-body work in the gym, repeated sprints and prevention around your match.
- Speed training for handball: faster on the fast breakAI speed training plan for handball: 15 m fast breaks, feints and changes of direction, jump shots and upper-body strength, built around your match week.
- Gym workouts to get faster: strength and power for sprintingNo room to run 40 metres? Leg strength, loaded jumps and plyometrics in the gym to sprint faster, plus one weekly outdoor sprint outing to keep top speed.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In the app they are a single option, "Tennis / Padel", with the same parameters: a typical sprint of 10 metres, change of direction at maximum weight, repeated sprints at the minimum and moderate upper body. What differs between them is what you enter: your court days, your matches and what you most want to improve.
It is the brake-and-return test: a 15 m run, a 180-degree turn on the line and 5 metres back; the 5 metres in and the 5 metres out are timed. You need three cones, 20 metres and someone with the phone stopwatch (the app adds 0.24 seconds to correct for hand timing). In the battery it is 2 attempts per leg, the best counts and the app records the asymmetry between right and left. It comes in from intermediate level: a beginner first learns to brake. And only a change bigger than 0.06 s counts as an improvement.
When you configure the plan you choose "no fixed day" and add the dates you know under upcoming matches with exact dates. When one passes, the next takes over on its own. If you have a usual day but one week moves, the exact date overrides the fixed day. And if a match is a final, a tournament or a club trial, flag it as key: the week before drops volume to 70% and the match week to 60%. With no match in fourteen days, the week is trained as pre-season.
In season, beginners and intermediates do a single intense sprint session a week on top of the match, advanced players two; the gym is separate, up to two sessions. With court on Tuesday and Thursday and a match on Saturday, the usual layout is gym on Monday, speed on Wednesday and prevention on Sunday, with 48 hours between any two demanding sessions. If your coach already includes all-out sprints, they are not duplicated.
Not for your work. The 10 m starts, the 505, the zigzag and the T-test fit in 20 metres of grass, park or court. Max-velocity flying sprints do need 40 metres; if you say you only have a short space, the app trains max velocity as long acceleration and says so in the session. And if you only have a gym, the sprint session becomes power and jumps with one weekly outing outdoors.
It is kept, but it does not lead. Upper body weighs 0.4 in tennis and padel, below the threshold that switches on the press-and-pull block used for rugby or handball: the gym carries squat, hip thrust, Bulgarian split squat, Romanian deadlift, your Nordic rung, calves and Pallof press, and at most a row. Being faster on court comes from the legs and hips; the stroke you already train every day with the racket.
Yes. It is EntrenAI's Speed and power sport with your sport selected, with the same 7-day free trial and the same price as the rest: €7.99 a month or €23.99 a year, cancel any time. It is on iOS and Android, and the speed panel, with your 505, your 10 m and your index, lives in the performance screen.
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