TennisNH

The One-Minute Countdown: Warming Up In Milan

10-Nov-2021 12:46:00 | ATP World Tour

One of the new innovations at this year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals is a shortened warmup, which has seen volley practice go by the wayside.

Players only have one minute to warm up compared to the typical four minutes. And during the warmups on Tuesday before all four matches at the Allianz Cloud, not one volley was hit.

“It's so fast,” top seed Carlos Alcaraz said. “[You] just play some forehands, backhands and serves. You have to warm up before the match.”

After the one minute allowed for the coin toss and the one-minute warmup, there is another minute before the first ball is to be struck, when players are allowed to return to their chair. However, they are also permitted to continue warming up, so long as they are ready to play when that third minute is up.

For the most part, all eight players used the same strategy. After the one-minute warmup, they hit a couple more serves before returning to their chair. According to Brandon Nakashima, “it was definitely very different at the beginning”.

“I felt like I walked out onto the court and then we were just starting the match right away. The one-minute warmup is definitely different from what we’re used to,” Nakashima said. “We just pretty much hit a few balls down the middle and then took a few serves and then we had to be ready to start. It was a little bit tough at the beginning to find some rhythm, but I was able to get a fast start and find my game quickly.”