During her long career as a professional tennis player at the top of her game, Venus Williams has learned a lot about the importance of strength training, while also coping with a fair few injuries. However, with the 46-year-old returning to Wimbledon 26 years after she first won the women’s title there, she’s been working hard to create an effective off-court stretch routine.
Venus is due to compete in the women’s doubles with her younger sister, Serena, who has also come out of retirement to play in the world-famous tournament. The five-time Wimbledon champion is still in fantastic shape, but doesn't undervalue the importance of good mobility exercises before a workout.
"I'm sharing some of my favourite stretches that help me recover after a match, improve my flexibility, and stay injury-free. As a tennis player, recovery is just as important as training, and these stretches have been key to keeping me on top of my game," she says.
Venus Williams' mobility routine
Leg and hip stretches
- Leg raises : Lying flat on her back, Venus raises each leg from the mat to straight above her five times to stretch out her hamstrings.
- Hamstring stretch: Venus then straightens one leg above her and brings it close to her body to give a good hamstring stretch. She then bends and straightens it five times, first straight above her, then at a 45-degree angle out to each side, before switching to the other leg.
- Hip stretch: Keeping her leg bent, Venus then works on her hip mobility by holding a bent leg and moving it out to each side for a 5-second hold, which helps her hips loosen up.
- Kneeling lunge: The next move Venus does is a kneeling lunge, which is a great stretch for the hip flexors and quads. She then sits back on her heel to give the hamstring and calves a good stretch, too.
- Pigeon pose into downward dog: One way to really open up your hips is to do pigeon pose, which involves having one leg bent in front of you, while the other is straight out behind. Venus keeps this dynamic by moving into a downward dog position a few times before swapping legs. Downward dog will open up your upper back and also stretch your calves and hamstrings.
- Side lunge: This exercise will stretch your hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors. Put one leg straight out to the side while kneeling on the other leg. Move your body lower to the mat to increase the intensity.
Upper-body stretches
- Lunge with rotation : Staying in the kneeling lunge position, Venus then works on her upper body by straightening each arm above her head and alternating them for a back and shoulder stretch.
- Cobra into press-ups : To stretch out her abs and upper back, Venus lies on her front on the mat. She straightens her arms to stretch her shoulders and upper back, before doing a couple of press-ups to get her arms moving.
- Cat-cow (/camels): Venus says she was experiencing a backache, but when she started focusing on her posture and doing mobility exercises, it stopped. She says she does cat-cow pose, or ‘cat-camel’ as she calls it, before adding in the thread to stretch the shoulders.
- Open book and round the clock: Lying on her side, Venus then works on her shoulder mobility by opening out her arms straight at a 90-degree angle in ‘open book’ pose. She then moves one arm around her head in a 'round the clock’ pose to work on her shoulder rotation. Doing these stretches on your side will also loosen your lower back muscles.
- Bent knee stretch: To increase the lower back stretch, Venus then brings a bent knee over the straight leg and stretches her arms out wide, which also works her pectoral and upper back muscles.
In the video, Venus reveals that Serena is “so much looser than me” – something fans have seen when she’s done the splits on tennis courts in the past. But Venus says that she actually ended up hurting herself when she tried to be as flexible. This is why she is focusing on strengthening through dynamic stretching, which increases the blood flow to your muscles, preparing them for exercise, or helping them recover afterwards.
While Venus is obviously a professional athlete, she says she recommends this routine to everyone. “Stretching makes you feel good,” she says - and we couldn’t agree more!
