Tennis Preparation Tips From Pat Purcell

Pat Purcell is a St. Louis & USTA Missouri Valley Tennis Hall-of-Famer for good reason – her list of accolades is too long to pen. She is widely respected as a teaching professional, providing a bevy of lessons and leagues around the area, including World Team Tennis.

She is still going strong as a player, as well. Most recently, Purcell has been chosen by the USTA to represent the United States in the International Tennis Association (ITF) Alice Marble Cup – the 60s team. The tournament typically involves about 16 other countries around the globe and the last team standing is the world champion. 

Tournament results — Purcell plays in about five major tournaments a year on all surfaces — and the selection to the Alice Marble Cup team does not come without a great deal of grit and hard work. Preparation is key.  The best part? You can apply some of the same ideas to the way you get ready for your USTA tournaments too!

There are many facets to laying the groundwork for tournament success — playing a lot of tennis for sure — but getting in better shape plays a big role for Purcell. 

“Six weeks before a tournament, I ramp up the amount I am playing. I try to play a competitive match of singles or doubles for two hours, four to five times per week. One day a week is set aside for weight training. The other day is sometimes spent on the ball machine working on problem areas.”

As the tournament nears, rest is important. Yes, playing too much tennis is a very real thing! You want to arrive at an event well rested and ready to go.

Purcell said the risk of injury increases with playing too much. So does burn-out. 

“The last week before I leave I cut down on playing time as it is important to arrive at the event rested. You know you are playing too much when you keep getting hurt or you are forcing yourself to go play.” 

Maybe you do not play many tournaments. You do play in USTA leagues, however. No matter the level, there are still great ways to improve via preparation. How? Knowing what parts of your game need work. Sounds simple, right? It can be a bit trickier than it sounds. 

Purcell explains that it is easy to identify what parts of your game are suffering, but it is much more difficult to figure out how to adapt in the moment. 

 “Improvement involves knowing what has to change to make you a better player. It is also knowing why you win,” Purcell said. “If you missed your backhand twenty times in the last match, you show up at your tennis lesson and tell your pro you need to work on your backhand, which is true.