Why Tennis Is A Remarkably
Good Workout To Get Fit
Why Tennis Is A Remarkably Good Workout To Get Fit
Tennis is one of the world’s most popular sports, offering a range of health benefits, including a few that might surprise you. However, considering it’s a game and most people play it for fun, it’s reasonable to question whether it delivers a quality enough workout to improve your fitness.
Having first-hand experience playing tennis my whole life, I thought it would be fun to build a case for why tennis is an incredibly effective workout and what you can expect if you pursue it, which I hope will help encourage you to give it a try if you’re new to the sport or to keep on playing if you already love it.
Together, we’ll explore what makes a good workout, whether the sport qualifies as an aerobic or anaerobic form of exercise, some of its key fitness benefits, and how it compares to other forms of physical activity so you can make an informed decision about whether it’s a good fit for you and your needs.
Defining A Good Workout
If you’re like most people, you likely find a ‘good workout’ to be subjective, which depends on your individual preferences, health goals, current fitness level, and the type of exercise you can access.
However, more objectively, a ‘good workout’ is appealing, delivers adequate health benefits, and challenges you to improve while encompassing many, if not all, fitness fundamentals.
Tennis checks all of these boxes. Not only is it fun to play, but its dynamic physical requirements, mental demands, and relatively low impact on your body deliver benefits across a range of essential fitness building blocks while ensuring you can sustain the activity throughout the later years of your life.
As a result, tennis is a high-quality workout and an excellent long-term investment in your health, which effectively and sustainably improves your fitness, leading to overall improved well-being.
Anaerobic & Aerobic
Anaerobic activity involves short bursts of intense physical effort that rely on energy sources stored in the muscles rather than oxygen. This type of exercise improves strength, power, and muscle mass and typically includes activities like sprinting, weightlifting, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and plyometrics. Unlike aerobic activities, anaerobic exercises are performed at high intensity for shorter durations.
On the other hand, aerobic activity requires the muscles to pull energy from oxygen. It primarily uses large muscle groups and improves cardiovascular health by enhancing the efficiency of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system in delivering oxygen to the body. Examples include running, swimming, cycling, and brisk walking.
Tennis is unique because it’s a mixed sport that requires and builds aerobic and anaerobic capacity.1 Players benefit from having a well-developed aerobic base for endurance and an efficient anaerobic system for quick, intense efforts.
The anaerobic aspects involve short, intense bursts of activity, such as sprinting to reach a ball, serving, and hitting powerful shots. Points are played at high intensity with quick changes in direction, requiring the anaerobic system to provide immediate energy, while serving and uncoiling your body for explosive movement to hit authoritative shots are fueled by anaerobic energy.
Meanwhile, the aerobic aspects of the sport include matches that can last for several hours, requiring a continuous supply of energy and the need for cardiovascular endurance throughout a lengthy game. Additionally, the aerobic system helps players recover between points and during breaks.
Fitness Benefits
Not everyone comes to tennis for the same reason, but one thing is for sure: an incredibly diverse set of benefits draws people to the sport. Here, we’ll look at some of the most common reasons I’ve seen players get involved and how you can expect them to improve your fitness.
Weight Loss
Tennis can be a fun and engaging way to aid in your weight loss journey. Weight loss is all about creating a calorie deficit, and tennis can help in this capacity.
During a 60-minute match, women can burn an average of 443 calories, while men can burn around 649 calories.2 Therefore, playing singles and playing regularly can enhance the effectiveness of tennis for weight loss; the more intense the play, the more calories you burn. Furthermore, according to the British Journal of Medical Science, tennis players have a lower body fat percentage than non-players.3
Although tennis is not a standalone weight loss solution, it can be a fun, engaging, and social activity that aids weight loss when combined with a proper diet and a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Pro Tip: If you want to lose weight, join a club or league. The added accountability and structure will help promote consistency, which will go a long way toward achieving your goals.
Cardiorespiratory Endurance
Tennis is primarily a cardio workout – and a good one at that. It involves constant movement using your whole body, increasing your heart rate and oxygen intake. Time on the court also means quick changes in direction and aerobic and anaerobic exercise – together, these can improve cardiovascular health.
Tennis can also improve your VO2 Max, which measures your aerobic fitness or the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise, based on the intensity of play. Remember that intensity is relative. In other words, what’s essential is the activity feels intense relative to your fitness.
Data suggest that tennis players display an above-average maximal oxygen uptake compared with normally active people of the same age and sex.3 Ultimately, good cardiovascular health reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions while improving overall fitness and enhancing quality of life and longevity; all good reasons to hit the court often.
Muscular Strength & Endurance
The physical demands of tennis can also help those looking to enhance muscular strength and endurance. Serving and hitting powerful groundstrokes require significant force, which engages muscles in the arms, shoulders, legs, and core to build strength.
Continuous movement, quick sprints, and frequent changes in direction during rallies further engage leg muscles and improve overall muscular endurance over time.
Using a racquet also involves a wide range of motions, including lunges, pivots, and reaches, which target different muscle groups and contribute to overall muscular development. Studies show that tennis players have significantly better muscular-skeletal function in both the upper and lower body than non-players, so it’s an activity that most definitely aids in this area of fitness.4
Core Stability
If you’ve had any tennis coaching, you’ve probably been told to use your core because several fundamental tennis movements come from the trunk and engage the core muscles.
The core muscles, including the abdominals, lower back, and hip muscles, provide stability and transfer power between the upper and lower body in tennis. These muscles help control body rotation and are crucial for generating power during shots. Core muscles are also essential for balance and quick changes of direction – all part and parcel of a game of tennis.
Overall, tennis is a great way to tone and strengthen core muscles, provided you actively engage these muscles and are coached to ensure their effective use.
Holistic Health
Beyond your body, tennis also offers mental, social, and emotional benefits, which add immeasurable value to the sport as a workout because if you feel good about being active, you’re more likely to stick with it.
Engaging in tennis also helps relieve stress by releasing endorphins and reducing cortisol and provides a constructive outlet for emotions that contribute to overall mental well-being, helping you become more resilient and able to bounce back from whatever life throws at you.5,6
Furthermore, playing tennis often involves interacting with partners, opponents, and teammates, fostering friendships and a sense of community. You’re accountable to those you play with to show up and play your best. Of course, you also have the opportunity to socialize off the court afterward if you choose.
Additional benefits include improved self-confidence by fostering positive physical changes, enhancing body image, and elevated moods, leading to a more positive outlook and overall happiness.
Regular physical activity can also alleviate and prevent symptoms of depression by boosting self-confidence and creating a sense of accomplishment.7 Research by the LTA found that study participants were calmer and more confident due to playing tennis.8
Supplemental Advantages
The main components of fitness are generally listed as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility, and we’ve touched on how tennis hits on most of these. However, tennis also addresses some of the lesser-known or recognized components of fitness, such as balance, coordination, agility, speed, power, and reaction time.
When you’re on the court, all of these are tested as you run, jump, and twist to make the next shot. You can’t predict where the ball will go next, so your coordination, agility, and reaction time are continually tested. The sport further boosts agility and speed via rapid direction changes and quick sprints, and it builds power through explosive shots like serves and groundstrokes.
Tennis also enhances balance through constant weight shifts and direction changes, while accurate ball striking and serves improve hand-eye coordination, making tennis a comprehensive workout.
Calories Burned
Compared to other forms of exercise, tennis certainly holds its own, offering as good a workout on the court as in the gym or on the road. Here’s a table comparing some of the more popular workouts for the average calories burned in 60 minutes for an individual who weighs 150 lbs (68 kg).
To calculate each, I’ve used the Metabolic Equivalent of a Task (MET), which represents the energy an activity burns relative to sitting still for an equivalent period.
| Sport | Calories Burned* |
| Aerobics | 488 |
| Baseball | 357 |
| Basketball | 572 |
| Cycling | 679 |
| Football | 572 |
| Soccer | 500 |
| Golfing | 268 |
| Hiking | 429 |
| Tennis | 607 |
| Running | 700 |
| Swimming | 572 |
| Weight Lifting | 214 |
| Yoga | 214 |
*Calories burned for an individual weighing 150 lbs (68 kg) who engages in each activity for 60 minutes
Closing Thoughts
Tennis is a dynamic form of exercise that delivers considerable aerobic and anaerobic benefits while enriching a player’s life through invaluable mental, social, and emotional benefits. It’s no wonder more than 87 million players worldwide take to the court to enjoy the sport annually.
In their article “Tennis: For the Health of It!” Jack Groppel and Nicholas DiNubile summarize it well.
“Regular [tennis] participants experience various health-related physical and mental benefits, from improved cardiovascular, metabolic, and bone health to improved agility, coordination, and even stress and anxiety management… Based on the scientific evidence available, it is difficult to find an activity that offers as wide a range of overall health benefits as tennis, and individuals who take up tennis reap tremendous rewards.”
Whether you’re considering taking up the sport for the first time or a seasoned player looking to reinforce your commitment, I hope this article encourages you to hit the court to get some exercise. What’s your take? Do you think tennis is a good workout? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
References
- Aerobic vs anaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system
- Nutrition For Tennis
- Health Benefits Of Tennis
- The Musculoskeletal Health Benefits of Tennis
- The Exercise-Glucocorticoid Paradox
- Investigation of Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Psychological Well-Being Levels of Individuals Who Regularly Play Tennis
- Psychological Benefits Of Tennis
- How Tennis Can Help Boost Your Mental Wellbeing
5-Point Friday
A brief recap of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about in tennis.
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