• Pre-workout routine: "I eat breakfast, then ride the stationary bike for five to eight minutes before stretching for 10 minutes. I choose a performance goal to practice for the day and think about that goal while I am on the bike and stretching. I then play tennis for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, either drilling, match play or ball- machine practice. "
• Morning or evening workouts? "I prefer morning practice, but I am flexible, depending on who my match play is with. I rarely play at night. Sometimes I will play twice in a day, with one session being singles or drilling and the other being a doubles practice. This simulates tournament play, where I play both singles and doubles each day."
• Typical training week: "I practice tennis six to seven days a week. A week before the tournament, I focus on match-play practice, playing sets or points with practice partners. I do stretching and additional fitness (mainly stationary bike, elliptical, and free weights twice a week). The other weeks, I drill half the time and play sets the other half. I add the fitness training three to four times a week."
• Routine while on the road: "Tournaments can be different, but I usually have housing or stay in a condo, so I can eat 'in.' Before a match, I will ride the bike, stretch and get mentally ready for my match. I usually find someone to warm up with for 30 minutes – and then wait for my match time. I repeat this procedure if I have an afternoon doubles match. Otherwise, I watch my friends play, watch tennis on TV, play bridge, or go back to my lodging and read."
• How to eat well on the road: "With housing in the U.S., it is easy to eat the food I usually eat at home. In Turkey, since I wasn't sure what the food would be like, I took Gatorade powder and Clif bars. As it turned out, our facility had a lot of fruit, pasta, vegetables, and chicken, which is what I normally eat."
• Favorite exercise for tennis: "Tennis is a game of movement, but running lines or agility drills on court is too hard on my body and joints, so I do leg exercises that are not jarring, like doing sprints on the stationary bike, balance exercises, like standing on one leg and lowering myself to touch the floor.
"I repeat that movement until I do a total of 50 and then do the other leg, and do lunges in several directions (like the spokes of a wheel). I also do 15 to 20 minutes of core exercises, like the plank (being horizontal on the ground and then holding a position off the ground on your toes and forearms). Hold the plank for 1 minute, rest and repeat."
• Favorite quick meal or snack: "I like to snack on pretzels. My quick meal is a turkey sandwich."
• Worst injury and how you recovered: "My worst injury was a torn miniscus (left knee) when I was 32. Surgery was quite successful, but it took almost four months to return to competition, and I have worn a knee brace to stabilize nearby ligaments ever since. Doing the physical therapy to strengthen my leg was certainly more painful than the injury or the surgery."
– Sam McManis
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