One thing I've found, as I've had to take breaks from tennis now and then, is to get back out and play the next day.
Whenever I get into the situation where I'm going to be sore, lifting weights, playing a sport I haven't played for a long time, I'm using muscles that haven't had the strain put on them. The next day I start to feel some tightness, and discomfort, but on the second day, I'm full blown sore, and any movement with those muscles is painfull. I've learned that if I go out the next day and do a light workout with the same muscles, doing the same thing, even if it's a little uncomfortable, the second day's soreness is greatly reduced.