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7. Why is Tennis Being Hailed as the ‘Healthiest’ Sport?

This Wimbledon season, let’s explore how tennis offers an all-inclusive blend of fitness, mental well-being, and social connection.

Wimbledon, one of the Big Fours of tennis, reminds us each year of the sport’s timeless appeal and its many benefits beyond elite competition. If you are looking for an escape from repetitive solo workouts or crave the fresh air and spontaneity of outdoor play, tennis is the perfect answer. It does not care if you are a beginner or a veteran. At the least, it demands a racquet, a court and an opponent. In return, it provides some wide-ranging benefits.

Physical and Physiological Benefits

Tennis involves a combination of sprinting, jogging, running backwards, stopping immediately, jumping, changing direction, swinging the racquet or stretching your body to reach that odd angle. Thus, you are using the muscles of your arms, shoulders, legs, back and core. On top of that, it activates both, fast-twitch muscle fibres, responsible for speed and quick movements, as well as slow-twitch muscle fibres, associated with endurance and stamina. So, it is quite literally, a full-body workout.

Tennis also lowers body fat percentage, enhances lipid profile, and improves aerobic and anaerobic fitness, which is directly linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It also leads to increased plasma HDL cholesterol, which further lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases and events. In fact, studies indicate that playing tennis for an average of 3 hours per week reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 56%. This is one of the highest decreases recorded in any sport!

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The constant motion and quick activity required in tennis leads to increased bone mineral density and bone mineral content in the long run, leading to a healthier bone health and a reduction in the risk of osteoporosis because of age. This is particularly palpable in load bearing bones such as the femur, the humerus and the lumber spine. These benefits are visible even if you pick up tennis during your middle age.

Lastly, while playing, you often have a split second to gauge the path of the ball, change direction if required, and stop yourself from falling over to reach the ball. It requires good hand-eye coordination, dynamic stability and precise muscle control. Thus, other less palpable benefits include improved balance, agility, flexibility and reflexes.

Psychological Benefits

From a psychological lens, tennis offers a variety of benefits in terms of consistent focus, strategic thinking and instant problem-solving. Whether it is anticipating and countering the opponent’s move, recovering from an error or deciding how to return the ball, you need to think on your feet and follow through with the necessary action. This has been linked to heightened cognitive abilities along with protection against age-related decline of mental capabilities.

This is coupled with a demand for constant emotional regulation to avoid blunders from the frustration of making an error or losing a point. Learning to ride the highs and lows of a match with a level attitude also builds resilience over time, while solving instant and otherwise small challenges repetitively boosts confidence and self-esteem. Thus, you develop valuable coping mechanisms and emotional intelligence as you learn to handle victories and defeats with grace.

Picture Credits: Pexels

To top it off, tennis requires unequivocal focus on the game, unlike solo activities like running or lifting weights, which are generally repetitive and leave plenty of room for your mind to wander back to routine problems and daily worries. Tennis, on the other hand, offers complete mental immersion which often functions as a ‘break’ or a ‘vacation’ for you to detach from the day-to-day stressors.

Also, tennis is usually played outdoors, which means there is a steady stream of Vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D is negatively correlated to mood disorders. Therefore, when combined with the physical exertion and the mental release, tennis goes a long way in supporting your overall cognitive and emotional stability.

Social Benefits

Tennis naturally encourages interaction, cooperation and friendly competition, functioning as a convenient medium for building social connections and communities. It requires an opponent, and also a teammate in case of doubles. Usually played in local parks, residential club houses, community clubs as well as formal academies, it brings together people of diverse backgrounds and ages.

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Friendly matches build camaraderie, mutual respect, and sportsmanship. This creates a culture where competition is balanced by courtesy and empathy. Playing doubles particularly fosters teamwork, communication and trust between teammates, since success here does not depend upon individual skill, but rather, is a product of clear communication, coordinated movement, and strategy.

Local competitions and group coaching sessions inculcate a sense of belonging and shared purpose. The familiarity and trust built through such collective involvement can often evolve into meaningful, long-term friendships and informal support systems. Thus, playing tennis in a local setting helps you combat feelings of loneliness and isolation by promoting social growth.

Tennis isn’t just a game, it is a complete wellness practice wrapped in sport. With benefits ranging from the physical and physiological to the psychological and social, it covers all aspects of your well-being. It is adaptable, enjoyable and remarkably effective. Most importantly, it is comparatively less intensive, so age is just a number when it comes to tennis. As we continue to seek new ways to stay healthy and connected in our fast-paced lives, tennis makes a strong case for itself—not only as one of the healthiest sports, but as one of the most fulfilling as well.

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