Serving It Up In Women's Tennis

Chelmsford Physio • March 28, 2023

Firstly, I would like to say hello. It’s my first blog here at Chelmsford Physio and I am settling in well amongst some great clinicians and fantastic clients.


Let’s get to it in the performance blog series!

I am extremely proud to introduce my new role as a performance coach for Leylah Fernandez – Canadian professional tennis player. A role that mixes Sports Therapy, S&C and Sports Science allows me to maximise her performance on and off the court.




Recently I have returned from the US after a short period training in Miami and my first tennis tournament – Indian Wells. Indian Wells has been around since 1974 and takes place in California with the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.


Tennis is a sport based on unpredictability. The unpredictability of point length, shot selection, strategy, match duration, weather and the opponent all influence the complex physiological aspects of tennis play. As a performance coach of a professional tennis player it is important to understand the demands of the sport and the capabilities of the player.



So let’s take you through a typical training day...


We start the day off with a 15 – 20 minute mobility routine before breakfast and then head to the practice courts. When at the practice courts we do a 10 – 15 minute warm up incorporating skipping, footwork and reaction drills. After this she goes onto court where the tennis coach takes over and we use a lot of video analysis to break down her technique. This session lasts approximately 2.5 hours before we head to the gym for our daily strength/speed session. During a strength session we look to target a high number of anti rotation work with trunk strength stability. After lunch we go back to the court to work on the

corrections from the morning session before finishing the day with a daily treatment.


I hope this gives you a little bit of an insight into the life of a performance coach on tour with a professional tennis player. I will be back next time to talk about all things performance nutrition and how to fuel for training and competition like a professional athlete.


You can catch me in clinic on a Tuesday and Thursday!

Tom


Chelmsford Physio

hello@chelmsfordphysio.co.uk

01245 895410

Riverside Leisure Centre, Victoria Rd, Chelmsford CM1 1FG

How Athletes Adapt Their Training to Cope with High Temperatures: The Science of Heat Acclimatisation

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Athletes competing in hot and humid environments face significant physiological challenges that can impair performance and increase the risk of heat-related illness. From marathon runners in tropical climates to footballers playing summer tournaments, the ability to tolerate and perform in high temperatures is a critical component of elite sport. As a result, many athletes use structured heat acclimatisation strategies to prepare their bodies for environmental stress.  What Is Heat Acclimatisation? Heat acclimatisation refers to a series of physiological adaptations that occur when an athlete is repeatedly exposed to hot conditions during training. These adaptations typically develop over 7–14 days and help the body improve its ability to regulate temperature, maintain performance, and reduce cardiovascular strain during exercise in the heat. Common methods include: ● Training in hot environments (natural or artificial heat chambers) ● Passive heat exposure (saunas or hot water immersion post-training) ● Adjusting clothing to increase thermal load during sessions ● Gradual exposure to increased environmental temperatures The goal is to safely stress the thermoregulatory system so the body becomes more efficient at dissipating heat.

Why Footballers & Athletes Use Ice Baths: The Science Behind Cold Water Immersion

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Ice baths, also known as cold water immersion (CWI), have become a common recovery strategy among elite athletes, particularly footballers. From Premier League changing rooms to Olympic training camps, many professionals immerse themselves in cold water after intense matches and training sessions. While the sight of players sitting in freezing water may seem extreme, there is growing scientific evidence explaining why this recovery method is so widely used. What Is an Ice Bath? An ice bath typically involves immersing the body (or lower limbs) in water between 10–15°C for 10–15 minutes shortly after exercise. The aim is to promote recovery by reducing muscle soreness, inflammation and fatigue, allowing athletes to perform consistently during periods of heavy training or competition. Why Do Footballers Use Ice Baths? Football is a physically demanding sport involving repeated sprinting, jumping, tackling, rapid changes of direction and high-impact collisions. These actions create microscopic muscle damage and trigger an inflammatory response. Cold water immersion is commonly used because it may help: ● Reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) ● Minimise post-exercise swelling ● Decrease perceptions of fatigue ● Improve recovery between matches ● Maintain performance during congested fixture schedules For professional footballers playing two or three matches per week, rapid recovery is often as important as training itself. 

The Physio’s World Cup Playbook: Most Common Injuries at FIFA World Cup 2026 (and What to Do About Them)

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
The FIFA World Cup is a unique tournament environment: elite athletes compressed into a short, high-stakes schedule, with repeated sprinting, sudden acceleration/deceleration, frequent collisions, and often limited time for full tissue recovery. It’s not surprising that the injury pattern in football tends to cluster around the lower limb—particularly the hamstrings, groin/hip-adductors, knee, and ankle. Across football research more broadly, these are repeatedly identified as the most common locations and/or injury mechanisms, even if the exact percentages differ by competition and injury-reporting method. Below is a physio-focused overview of the most common injury “types/regions” you should expect to see at World Cup 2026, along with practical assessment and management themes. 1) Muscle strains—especially hamstrings (HSI)  Why they happen in tournaments: Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) are strongly associated with high-speed running and the physical demands of sprinting mechanics. In injury surveillance and football epidemiology, hamstring injuries consistently appear among the most common soft-tissue problems, with meaningful recurrence risk. What a physio will look for: - History: onset during acceleration/sprinting, feeling of “pull,” bruising (sometimes). - CNS/tissue considerations: prior injury, training load spikes, inadequate sprint exposure progression. - Clinical exam: focal tenderness, resisted muscle testing, and functional tests aligned to your local protocols (e.g., pain-free activation and lengthening tolerance). Rehabilitation themes: - Restore capacity for high-speed eccentric/concentric demands (not just range of motion). - Use progressive loading and functional return-to-play criteria to address reinjury risk—because football research highlights that the hamstring is one of the most frequently reinjured regions.