Why Does My Elbow Hurt When I Start Hitting Tennis Balls?

Your elbow may hurt during the first few tennis shots because the tendons around the joint have stiffened from repeated strain and have trouble handling impact before the arm fully warms up.

You may notice your elbow feels mostly fine walking onto the court, then suddenly grabs or aches once you start hitting. The first few forehands can feel rough, especially when the ball hits harder than expected or you tighten your grip during contact. This usually happens because the tendons on the outside of the elbow have become sensitive from repeated tennis strokes and stiffen up between sessions.

You might also feel like the arm needs several minutes to “wake up” before your shots feel normal again. The elbow can feel tight during early swings, weaker during backhands, or sore when you extend the arm through contact. Even if the pain settles once you warm up, repeated hitting often keeps irritating the same area, which is why the soreness tends to return during practice, later in matches, or afterward once the arm cools down.

The First Few Shots Feel Sharp And Tight

You may feel a quick jab or pulling sensation right as the racket contacts the ball.

The elbow often feels worst during the opening minutes because the forearm tendons are still stiff from previous strain and inactivity. Early contact can feel harsh before the arm loosens up, especially during harder forehands, serves, or off-center hits. Once circulation improves and the muscles warm up, the elbow may temporarily feel more flexible and less painful.

Repeated Hitting Keeps Re-Irritating The Same Spot

You may notice the pain fades for a while, then slowly builds again as you keep playing.

Long rallies, repeated gripping, and constant racket vibration can keep stressing the irritated tendon attachment near the elbow. You might feel the arm getting weaker or tighter as the session goes on, especially if you play several days in a row without enough recovery time. The area often feels more sore later that evening or the next morning after the tissues tighten back up again.

Why Your Elbow Could Be Taking Longer To Heal

Your elbow has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your elbow feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Elbow Feel Better

Your elbow starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why does my elbow hurt most during the first few tennis shots?

The tendons around your elbow are often stiff at the start of play and react more painfully before the arm fully warms up.

Why does the pain ease once I keep playing?

Movement and increased circulation can temporarily loosen the area, making the elbow feel less tight for part of the session.

Can tennis elbow start gradually like this?

Yes. Tennis elbow commonly builds slowly from repeated hitting, gripping, and racket impact over time.

Why does my elbow feel worse again after tennis?

The area can tighten back up once activity stops, especially if the tendons were stressed repeatedly during play.

Should I stop playing if my elbow hurts early in matches?

If the pain keeps returning, becomes sharper, or starts affecting grip strength and normal swings, reducing strain and getting evaluated is a good idea.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.