Most people understand how important it is to warm up before heading out for an important tennis competition or even just a friendly hit around.

Yet despite this, many remain unaware of how to warm up properly in order to prevent injuries and ensure they are playing at their absolute best.

Here are three really simple warm-up exercises which you might like to try before you step out onto the tennis courts for your next big game.

Walking Lunges

Lunges are a great way to get your lower body stretched out safely and get the blood pumping through your calves and quad muscles.

All you need to do is place your hands on your hips and take long steps from one end of the court to the other, bending mid-stride so that your forward leg becomes parallel to the ground above the knee.

Shoulder Windmills

Once you have your legs warmed up, you need to make sure your shoulders are loose and flexible as well.

In a calm and controlled manner, hold your arm in the air and bring it down and forward around your body like a windmill, rotating it all the way up to the starting position.

Make sure to keep your arm as straight and perpendicular to the ground as possible, and don't rush this exercise as it is always possible to injure yourself if you are not careful. 

Jumping Jacks

Now that the individual parts of your body are warmed up, it's time to start getting the whole body working as one in order to ensure your heart and lungs are ready to get to work.

Everyone knows how to do the standard jumping jack, so try a quick set of ten coupled with a few general twists and bends to help get your entire body loosened up.