Top tennis player Henri Kontinen counts on Avantopool
Finland’s number one tennis professional Henri Kontinen, 27, is the latest ambassador of Avantopool’s cold recovery pool. Kontinen has been using cold-water immersion therapy to help in recovering from training and games since the start of his career, and he thinks the new, Finnish Avantopool Kinos is clearly better than any other pool he has tried.
”Avantopool Kinos is the first cold recovery pool that displays the precise temperature of the water, which you can adjust to your liking. It is also clearly more hygienic than the pools you see at many tournament venues. It’s also the first pool that I could easily have at home. Thanks to its compact size, the pool can be installed almost anywhere”, Kontinen says.
Kontinen is the most successful Finnish doubles player in history – the only Finn to ever conquer the top spot of the ATP doubles rankings. Kontinen is also the first Finn to win a Grand Slam tournament. Last year, Kontinen and his Australian partner John Peers took the Australian open, the Washington and Beijing ATP tournaments, the Shanghai Masters and their second consecutive ATP Finals tournament in London.
A professional athletes life consists of travel, training and tournaments. ”I’m on the court essentially from sunrise to sunset. The season lasts for 11 months, and I only have two weeks of proper holiday each year. Proper bodily recovery is vital to keep me fighting fit. Cold-water therapy is the best way to recover, in combination with stretching and regular massages”, Kontinen says.
In tennis, ice baths have long been established as a way to help the body recover from an intense workout, and most tournaments offer cold-water pools. Cold therapy has been scientifically shown to speed up recovery, boost the circulation, alleviate muscle pains and reduce stress. All professional players take ice baths. Cold-water recovery is suitable for any physical sport and can also benefit regular fitness enthusiasts. ”After hard training, it’s nice to know that I won’t suffer from sore muscles the next morning if I take a cold bath”, says Kontinen.
His tennis club HVS will purchase an Avantopool Kinos pool for use of its top players. In the future, Kontinen hopes to see Avantopools not only at tournaments, but also at gyms and sports centres. ”Finnish engineering and design is trusted for its high quality. I see great potential for Avantopool Kinos on the global market too”, Kontinen says.
