Tennis scheduling

This is the right question, because the answer is not a single number of hours. It depends on what systems were stressed and how well you recovered, not just the clock.

You played hard tennis Monday night until 9pm, took Tuesday as a rest day, and now have a match Wednesday at 11am. That gives you ~38 hours.

Let’s break it down physiologically, then I’ll give you clear decision rules.

1️⃣ What tennis actually taxes

Tennis stresses four systems, each with a different recovery curve:

🧠 Nervous system (CNS)

• Reaction time

• Decision-making

• Coordination

Recovery: 24–48 hours

Often recovers faster than muscles if sleep is good.

💪 Muscles (especially legs, forearms, shoulders)

• Eccentric loading

• Explosive starts/stops

Recovery:

• Light/moderate match: 24–48 hours

• Intense match with tiebreaks: 48–72 hours

🦴 Tendons & connective tissue

• Elbow, shoulder, Achilles, knee

Recovery: 48–96 hours

Tendons are the rate-limiting factor, especially as we age.

🔋 Energy systems (glycogen)

• Depleted in long matches

Recovery:

• With good nutrition: 24–36 hours

• With under-fueling: longer

2️⃣ Where you likely are

today

(Wednesday 11am)

Based on what you reported:

✔ You iced the arm

✔ Slept

✔ Ate protein

✔ Took a full rest day

✔ Arm/tendon “survived”

Estimated recovery status:

• CNS: ~90–95%

• Muscle: ~80–90%

• Tendon: ~70–85% (this is the watch item)

• Glycogen: ~90% if you ate carbs

This is playable, but not fully restored.

3️⃣ So is recovery 36, 48, or 72 hours?

The honest answer:

• You can play at 36–40 hours

• You feel best at 48 hours

• Tendons fully relax closer to 72 hours

But you don’t need full recovery to play — you need sufficient recovery.

4️⃣ How to tell if you should play every other day vs every 3 days

Use these four markers, not the calendar:

① Morning stiffness test

• Wake up

• Walk downstairs

• Grip something firmly

✔ Mild stiffness that loosens in 5–10 minutes → OK

✖ Sharp pain or stiffness lasting >30 minutes → wait

② Warm-up response test

During warm-up today:

• Do legs feel springy by minute 10?

• Does the arm loosen by minute 5?

✔ Yes → play

✖ No → stop or play light

③ Performance drop test

Ask:

• Can I accelerate to balls?

• Is timing clean?

If timing is off but strength is fine → CNS fatigue

If legs feel dead → muscle/glycogen

If arm feels “tight and grippy” → tendon fatigue

Tendon fatigue means reduce frequency.

④ Next-day feedback (most important)

The morning after today’s match:

• How does the arm feel?

• Any tendon soreness?

If soreness increases across sessions → you’re playing too frequently.

5️⃣ Practical rule for YOU

Given:

• High training volume

• Pickleball + tennis

• Strength work

• Age-related tendon recovery (normal, not a flaw)

Best sustainable pattern:

• Tennis every 48 hours as default

• Back-to-back days only occasionally

• 72 hours between very intense sessions

Wednesday play is reasonable, but I would:

• Warm up longer (15–20 min)

• Avoid over-gripping

• Keep serve volume moderate

• Ice afterward again

6️⃣ How pros and advanced amateurs manage this

Even pros:

• Train daily

• But don’t compete maximally daily

They rotate:

• Hard day

• Light/technical day

• Rest or cross-train

You’ve already discovered swimming works well for you — that’s ideal on in-between days.

7️⃣ Bottom line

• Recovery is system-specific, not a fixed hour count

• 36–40 hours = playable

• 48 hours = optimal

• 72 hours = tendon-friendly reset

You can play today — just don’t stack another hard match tomorrow unless it’s lighter.

If you want, I can:

• Help you design a tennis/pickleball weekly rhythm

• Or give you a pre-match readiness checklist

• Or help you decide mid-warmup whether to go full intensity

Just say which you want.