Why do tennis pros not have bigger muscles since they workout?

We know almost all tennis professionals including the past greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to newcomers Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz workout with some weights, so why do they not have bigger muscles? The answer lies with what they workout and how they workout. Tennis pros train for power, endurance and flexibility not muscle size or hypertrophy. There is a difference in the sets, reps and tempo used between the two. For power, you want explosiveness, which is a necessity for tennis athletes. Strength is the ability to exert force, while power is the ability to do that quickly.  Power exercises require lower reps and heavier loads with a strong rate of force production.

Tennis pros primarily focus on the core, legs and shoulders (I guarantee you Nadal did some bicep exercises) in their strength and power training. They don't need bigger biceps, triceps or chest muscles. Many of their routines also include injury prevention exercises for the lower back, hips and shoulders. They perform squats, lunges, overhead presses and exercises with medicine balls, resistance bands and box jumps....and almost all use some form of an hand eye coordination drill.

In addition to lifting weights, tennis pros use a lot of plyometric and SAQ (speed, agility, quickness) drills. This is to enhance their ability to accelerate, decelerate and change direction quickly on the court.

Pros also have to spend time on the court, so you can imagine the demands place on their schedule, therefore somewhat limiting their ability to be in the gym 3-5 days a week. With the amount of calories tennis pros burn, they need proper nutrition, rehydration and sleep.

However, if the tennis pros take fitness seriously by going in the gym, so should you as a tennis player.....maybe it's not to the same degree, but it will help improve your game and help with injury prevention.