What does tennis provide to your body compared to other sports?

It has been shown that playing tennis provides a series of health benefits, such as reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes, improving coordination, increasing energy levels, and strengthening the heart.

The frequent movements of the racket also maintain and increase lean muscle mass in the shoulders and arms; core and stabilizing muscles improve with constant body rotation and movement; and sprinting, posture, and prolonged engagement strengthen the muscles in the legs, back, and feet.

These are some of the health benefits of tennis:

1. Muscle Development: Playing tennis is a way to develop muscle, especially in the legs, arms, and abdomen. This sport requires speed, strength, and constant movements from one side of the court to the other, which exercises various muscle groups.

2. Calorie Burning: Similarly, playing tennis can help you burn a large amount of calories in a short amount of time, due to the speed and intensity that can be achieved during a match.

3. Improvement of Resistance and Aerobic Capacity: Tennis is an aerobic sport that requires continuous and intense effort, which helps improve resistance. Being comparable in intensity to activities such as cycling or running, tennis physically challenges you from start to finish.

4. Coordination and Motor Skills: This sport is ideal for improving coordination and developing fine motor skills. The precision required to hit the ball, analyze its trajectory, and move efficiently on the court require a high degree of coordination and dexterity.

5. Improved Agility and Flexibility: The demanding nature of movements in tennis promotes both agility and flexibility. The speed at which you must respond to each play from your opponent helps improve your ability to move and be flexible.

6. Psychological Benefits: Concentration and Emotional Control: Tennis not only strengthens your body, but also your mind. It requires concentration, emotional control, self-confidence, and tactical skills. Playing tennis helps improve your ability to handle pressure and stress, which can have lasting benefits in your daily life.

7. Self-esteem, Discipline, and Strategy: Playing tennis improves your self-esteem by constantly challenging you to reach new goals and overcome obstacles. Additionally, it instills discipline, responsibility, and the ability to develop strategies both on and off the court.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY?

In that sense, three experts share their opinion on the benefits of tennis:

1. “Unlike many other sports, tennis requires a multifaceted use of the musculoskeletal system to play well, even with quick starts and stops and sudden changes of direction."

- James Gladstone, Orthopedist and Sports Medicine Physician, Mount Sinai Health System, USA

1. “Tennis has endured for so long because it can be played at various levels (from social doubles to high-level singles competition) and represents a challenge for the whole body in many aspects, such as speed, endurance, strength, technical skills, and strategic planning."

Benjamin Levine, Director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine (USA).

1. "Repeated movements associated with activity create new bone tissue and help facilitate the breakdown of old tissue. The combination of mechanical stress, hormonal responses, increased blood flow, and enhanced nutrient absorption associated with exercise helps strengthen bones and improve overall skeletal health."

Babette Pluim, Chief Medical Advisor, Royal Dutch Tennis Association.

THE KEYS

• Tennis is a sport that can be played individually or in teams. When playing singles, the match is between two players, one against one. When playing doubles, the match is between two teams of two players each.

• Tennis is played on a rectangular court divided by a net. Players must hit a ball with a racket and send it over the net to the opponent’s side of the court.

• The goal is to prevent opponents from returning the ball or make it bounce twice to score.

• Tennis players must score enough points to win a game, and win enough games to win a set. The winners are the players who have won more sets in a match.