Health is Like Tennis, You Need To Focus on More Than Just Your Serve.
You can have a powerful serve, but if your footwork’s off or your focus fades, the match can slip away. Health is a lot like that. We often focus on one part, maybe eating better or exercising more but forget that it’s all connected. True wellbeing comes from the full game: the balance between how you eat, move, rest, breathe, manage stress, and connect with others.
If you’ve been feeling low on energy, motivation, or simply not yourself lately, it might be time to check in with your body and see which parts of your “health game” need more attention and practice to feel good.. and increase your chance to win!
Nutrition - Your Fuel for the Match
The right fuel sets the tone for your performance both on and off the court. You wouldn’t show up to a match if you’ve not eaten in the lead up. Nutrition isn’t about perfection or counting calories; it’s about giving your body what it needs to stay energised, focused, and satisfied. When you eat regularly, try to include a variety of colourful foods, and listen to your hunger cues, you create a stability that keeps you strong through every set of the day. If your energy crashes and cravings take over, or you feel constantly “off,” it might not be about eating less, but eating smarter.
Movement - Getting to the ball
Tennis isn’t static, it’s dynamic like good health. Movement keeps your body capable, your mind alert, and your mood balanced. Moving more doesn’t always mean training harder, it can be as simple as stretching between meetings, walking instead of scrolling or during a call, or warming up before a match (or anything). Consistent, enjoyable movement is what builds endurance and confidence in both sport and life. Getting fit and strong and maintaining it is essential, so movement includes giving your body what it needs. You can’t turn up to a court expecting to play without a racket and ball, just like you can’t continue enjoying an active lifestyle if you’ve not brought the right gear.
Stress Management - The Mental Game
Anyone who’s played a tough match knows that mindset matters. You can have the best skills in the world, but if your head’s down or the big emotions are impacting decision making, everything can go downhill. The same applies to daily life. Chronic stress can drain energy, disturb sleep, affect digestion, and even change how your body uses nutrients. Learning to recognise when you’re tense and needing to take a moment (whether through breathing, mindfulness, journaling, or simply taking a break), can change everything. It's the pause and the physical or mental reset you need to take after a bad line call before the next point begins.
Breath - The Hidden Advantage
Your breath is one of the most powerful (and underused) tools for your health. It can calm your nervous system, lower stress, improve focus, and even influence your energy levels. Most of us forget to breathe properly, usually we rush, hold our breath, or stay in shallow chest breathing all day. A tennis player uses breath to stay relaxed, learning to inhale when the opponent hits and exhale when making contact with the ball. This helps to reduce tension and fatigue. Taking a few moments to slow your breath, especially during stress, is like calling a strategic timeout: a small action that changes the entire game.
Sleep - Rest and Recovery
No one performs their best running on empty. Sleep is when your body repairs, rebalances, and stores the energy you need to take on tomorrow, and you next opponent. When sleep suffers, everything else does too including mood, metabolism, motivation, even willpower. Creating consistent sleep habits (winding down, limiting screens, keeping a regular routine) is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to improve your health. This recovery is the foundation for performance.
Social Connection - Your Support Team
No one succeeds alone. Behind every player is a coach, a training partner, and someone in the crowd cheering them on. Connection is a vital part of health. Meaningful relationships and a sense of community help lower stress, boost resilience, and make life more enjoyable. Whether it’s catching up with a friend, joining a class, or simply chatting with people who share a common interest, these social connections keep you grounded and motivated. And let’s not forget its role in wellbeing and longevity, in addition to the having support and feeling part of a team.
Checking-In
When was the last time you stopped to reflect on how all these areas are working together for you? Have you ever run it past an expert to double check that what you’re doing is helping you reach your goals? Maybe you don’t know yet what those goals are…? If not I think a Health Audit can help! It’s an open, friendly and professional conversation focusing on you and your lifestyle behaviours. It’s an opportunity to look at your whole picture: what’s working, what’s missing, and what small changes could make big differences. It’s an interactive session and assessment that will give you personalised and reliable actions. Health isn’t about being perfect, it’s about awareness, balance, and learning how to play the long game. And keeping with the theme, it’s why tennis players never stop working on those forehands, backhands, volleys, returns, serves, smashes, dropshots, etc, to continuously improve every part of their game!
Sometimes the best move you can make is getting someone to coach you from the players box, guiding and supporting each aspect of your game. And don’t forget to breathe and check your preparation/alignment before you take your next serve!