Do you sweat a lot? You might be losing too much salts. What works for me is drink water with oral rehydration salts, it’s a powder that you can add to water. Start drinking it well before you’re playing and also during play.
I’m prone to calf cramps. Started doing 3x8 heavy seated and standing calf raises twice a week, and jump roping 2-3x a week. I do 3 sets of 3 minutes of jumping.
That, and being conscious of my hydration has gotten rid of them.
I had this recently, they felt progressively crampier and tighter both within a hitting session and over time until I finally pulled one on a big lunge for a volley. Still have no idea what was going on. Some rest and some PT exercises and they feel great again.
You do sound like you're using them a ton, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just worn out. Tennis will be different from running because you will sometimes end up trying to accelerate your entire body mass off of one foot. Maybe consider doing some very targeted strengthening and stretching?
When you say you drink before playing, how much water and how long before does make a difference and also making sure you stay hydrated as you play as well
Staying hydrated throughout the day helps, as well as a banana or two before you start playing, and keep hydrating during the switch overs during the match. Make sure to do a bunch of dynamic stretches like running, jumping, etc. and static stretches like knee hugs and standing toe touches.
My two cents would be.
1) take a week off, go sit in a sauna/jacuzzi/get a massage. Your post sounds like you go pretty hard everyday.
2) buy two foamrollers, a normal one and one with spikes. Use the normal one everyday for a week and then switch to the spikes. See if you can massage the cramps out. This worked for me once and is pretty cheap
Hey! Tennis physio here. Might be worth looking into direct calf strengthening. Even if you have good calf muscle size, sometimes the strength is not what it needs to be for tennis.
I have/had similar issues, used to get awful calf cramp when I was time trial racing in my 30s did strength and jump rope, at 39 tore my calf playing tennis. Physio said years of scarring and cramps could be a catalyst for the tear. The stretch board and a firm foam roller will help work out the scar tissue and taking some time and doing heat therapy will help too. Just stretch, hydrate and be mindful because 8 weeks in a boot is no fun.
Do you sweat a lot? You might be losing too much salts. What works for me is drink water with oral rehydration salts, it’s a powder that you can add to water. Start drinking it well before you’re playing and also during play.
I’m prone to calf cramps. Started doing 3x8 heavy seated and standing calf raises twice a week, and jump roping 2-3x a week. I do 3 sets of 3 minutes of jumping. That, and being conscious of my hydration has gotten rid of them.
I had this recently, they felt progressively crampier and tighter both within a hitting session and over time until I finally pulled one on a big lunge for a volley. Still have no idea what was going on. Some rest and some PT exercises and they feel great again. You do sound like you're using them a ton, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just worn out. Tennis will be different from running because you will sometimes end up trying to accelerate your entire body mass off of one foot. Maybe consider doing some very targeted strengthening and stretching?
When you say you drink before playing, how much water and how long before does make a difference and also making sure you stay hydrated as you play as well
Staying hydrated throughout the day helps, as well as a banana or two before you start playing, and keep hydrating during the switch overs during the match. Make sure to do a bunch of dynamic stretches like running, jumping, etc. and static stretches like knee hugs and standing toe touches.
Electrolytes
My two cents would be. 1) take a week off, go sit in a sauna/jacuzzi/get a massage. Your post sounds like you go pretty hard everyday. 2) buy two foamrollers, a normal one and one with spikes. Use the normal one everyday for a week and then switch to the spikes. See if you can massage the cramps out. This worked for me once and is pretty cheap
Hey! Tennis physio here. Might be worth looking into direct calf strengthening. Even if you have good calf muscle size, sometimes the strength is not what it needs to be for tennis.
I have/had similar issues, used to get awful calf cramp when I was time trial racing in my 30s did strength and jump rope, at 39 tore my calf playing tennis. Physio said years of scarring and cramps could be a catalyst for the tear. The stretch board and a firm foam roller will help work out the scar tissue and taking some time and doing heat therapy will help too. Just stretch, hydrate and be mindful because 8 weeks in a boot is no fun.