"Training is Part of My Vacation": What Tennis Pros Really Do Between Seasons

Between those who take a complete break during the off-season to survive mentally and those, like Zverev, for whom the gym is "part of the vacation," the methods differ.

© AFP

Arthur Millot

le 09/12/2025 à 12h29

1 min to read

Extraits de Dossiers Zverev Alexander

What the Pros Don't Say: The Secret Preparation That Makes the Difference

At the end of each season, official statements talk about "well-deserved rest," "essential recovery," and "returning to family."

But the reality is much more nuanced. Alexander Zverev, for example, has admitted several times: he only takes very few days off after the season.

For the German, training is "part of the vacation," a necessary ritual to maintain rhythm, power, and feel.

This approach is the opposite of other players, often exhausted by a grueling schedule, who rely on a complete break, sometimes for two full weeks, to rebuild the mind before rebuilding the body.

A Truth: The Body Never Lies

Physical trainers are unanimous: a major block of work is only valuable if recovery is strictly respected.

Volume is useless without sleep, without relaxation, without hormonal regeneration.

Conversely, cutting off for too long leads to well-known consequences: loss of rhythm, decreased coordination, altered sensations, and decline in muscle memory.

It is this balance point, almost impossible to calibrate, that separates the players who start strong in January from those who take a month to find their bearings.

Find the full investigation on Tennis Temple this weekend

"Tennis: The Little-Known Truths About the Off-Season, Between Rest, Stress, and Physical Survival," available on 12/13/2025.