I play Tennis. What kind of cardio exercises can I do to get quicker?

[Lincoln]

It seems like when I'm not at an organized lesson or practice, the idea of just sprinting places discourages me from making progress. Is there a specific way I can organize a quick cardio workout that'll speed my little ass up a bit without having to go to private lessons at the courts?

[Robinder]

For tennis, as much as I hate doing them myself, I'd recommend shuttle runs. Back and forth between the boundary lines over and over.
That, combined with ~30 minutes of mid-speed running every day should give you the agility and quickness as well as endurance for the sport.

Gah, I hurt just thinking of that.

Edit: Always remember that there is a serious difference between quickness and fitness. For most sports, including tennis, you have to train both.

[Lincoln]

For tennis, as much as I hate doing them myself, I'd recommend shuttle runs. Back and forth between the boundary lines over and over.
That, combined with ~30 minutes of mid-speed running every day should give you the agility and quickness as well as endurance for the sport.

Gah, I hurt just thinking of that.

Edit: Always remember that there is a serious difference between quickness and fitness. For most sports, including tennis, you have to train both.

What's the difference?

[Robinder]

Fitness is your ability to maintain your effort level over a long period of time, whereas your quickness simply dictates how quickly you can get from point a to point b. This is mostly change of direction and acceleration.

[Misha]

I have to second the shuttle runs. Definitely made my game a hell of a lot quicker and actually helps with core function and endurance as well.

[5252]

Right here as well, i agree with the rest. :P

[haiqtpi]

It seems like when I'm not at an organized lesson or practice, the idea of just sprinting places discourages me from making progress. Is there a specific way I can organize a quick cardio workout that'll speed my little ass up a bit without having to go to private lessons at the courts?

I was an All-State Tennis player here in the US--my suggestion would be a bit more complex, depending on how serious you want your tennis game to be. Shuttle runs are great, but I always felt that they lacked the context of a tennis match, so what I found to be the best way for me to improve speed was actually just hitting with someone, and telling them to play like an asshole and throw drop shots in as frequently as they could, to keep me on my heels. If you do decide to do shuttle runs, make sure that you at least do them with the racquet in hand--it will make a difference. Cross country running is helpful as well, since tennis is more about endurance.

[MikeyR]

Plyometrics will also help. It's important to be explosive.

However, it's more important to just play. Playing more will get you more familiar with trajectory of the ball. This will allow you to react quicker to the shot taken; you react quicker, you take off quicker, you have more time to get there. This is super important.
Also, make sure you're doing split steps while playing; a split step is the small hop you take before the other player contacts the ball. You will be much more explosive when you take off towards the ball.