10 reasons to play tennis

Why you should play tennis

Some people interested in tennis hesitate at first: What does tennis promote? What exactly is trained in tennis? Is playing tennis healthy? In short, why should I play tennis?

We would like to give you 10 reasons why you should definitely pick up a tennis racket and start playing tennis.

For us, tennis is already the best sport in the world and below we explain why – enjoy reading.

1. Tennis promotes concentration

In tennis as an individual sport, winning and losing depends on one’s own skills. In addition to the right stroke technique, this includes concentration in particular.

The longest tennis match in history between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010 at the Wimbledon tennis tournament had a total pure playing time of 11 hours and 5 minutes. Don’t worry, normally a tennis match lasts about 90 minutes, but exceptions prove the rule.

Those who keep their concentration high in the last set and don’t lose their nerves usually leave the tennis court as winners. With every tennis match played, the ability to concentrate is trained and improved correspondingly.

2. Tennis strengthens body and mind

Playing tennis uses your entire body – including muscle groups that you may not have known about before. Through regular tennis training and different movement patterns, all muscle groups – e.g. arm, thigh, calf, abdominal, shoulder, back and buttock muscles – are trained accordingly, which is reflected in a well-trained body.

Likewise, the mind is trained by constantly improving one’s perceptiveness. Each opponent has different strengths and weaknesses. Players who grasp their opponents’ weaknesses more quickly and exploit them consistently usually leave the court as winners.

3. Tennis strengthens body and mind

As an individual sport, tennis gives the impression of little social interaction. This appearance is very deceptive, because tennis is very often played in tennis clubs and communities, where socializing through joint events is writ large: Tennis tournaments, medal matches, summer parties, joint celebrations, etc.

But also on the tennis court, especially in doubles, you are exposed to constant interaction with your own playing partner and opponent(s). Applauding spectators additionally increase the sense of community and thus your own well-being.

4. Tennis is an age-independent sport

Tennis kann mit 5 Jahren, mit 30 Jahren, aber auch mit 60 Jahren angefangen werden. Tennis kann auch bis ins hohe Alter gespielt werden, so werden regelmäßig in der Konkurrenz über 80 Jahre noch Medenspiele ausgetragen.

Zusätzlich kann Tennis alleine, aber auch als Paar begonnen werden. Hauptsache der erste Schritt zum Tennisschläger wird gemacht. Die meisten TennisspielerInnen, wenn einmal vom Tennisfieber gepackt, spielen den Sport dann regelmäßig bis ans Lebensende.

Roger Federer hat mit seiner Spielästhetik, seiner Art und seinen Siegen im hohen Tennisalter das Tennisspiel wie kein Zweiter geprägt und bestätigt, dass Tennis altersunabhängig ist. Roger Federer: Die Biografie* ist für jeden Tennisbegeisterten eine Pflichtlektüre.

5. Tennis is played all year round

Tennis can be played all year round regardless of the weather. From spring to fall, the summer season takes place in the open air under hopefully blue skies.

From autumn to spring, on the other hand, the yellow tennis ball is most likely hit across the tennis court in the club’s own or external tennis halls.

At the latest after the training session, the last of the everyday stress is relieved on the terrace with a cool drink and the head is cleared again.

6. Tennis prolongs life

We’ve always suspected it, but science confirms it. Tennis increases life expectancy by a decade, according to the Copenhagen City Heart Study.

The Copenhagen City Heart study analyzed the life expectancy of over 20,000 participants over a 25-year period in relation to various sports and leisure activities. Tennis, by the way, achieved the best result.

7. Tennis improves coordination

Tennis is one of the more complex sports, especially in terms of movement sequences. On the one hand, the cognitive abilities are promoted, because every tennis ball bounces a little differently. This inevitably leads to a pronounced hand-eye coordination in tennis players.

In addition, the use of force must be correctly dosed for each tennis stroke. Young people thus gain a coordinative advantage early on, and playing tennis keeps seniors fit to an above-average degree into old age.

8. Tennis increases endurance and reaction time

We know that tennis matches can sometimes last a little longer. If you have the necessary condition reserves in the decisive set and don’t get muscle cramps, you can concentrate much better on the essentials and decide the match in your favor.

The ability to react is constantly improved by playing tennis. On the one hand, quick reflexes are required at the net for an ideal volley, on the other hand, even on the best tennis court, a tennis ball sometimes bounces off the line, so that the movement sequence must be quickly adjusted.

Thus, playing tennis regularly increases one’s own endurance and reaction skills in the long term.

9. Tennis increases the ability to assert oneself

In tennis, people often talk about the absolute will to win. The players who want to win more and put more effort into it often prevail in the end.

Tennis is not only pure power, but also a lot of tactics. Which move works best against your opponent? Serve to the outside and forehand cross? The player who sets the tactical moves and gets the better of the opponent before hitting a winner has a decisive advantage.

The assertiveness gained from tennis can also be transferred to any situation in life outside the tennis court and thus be useful.

10. Tennis is a lot of fun

And last but not least, tennis is a hell of a lot of fun. Looking back, every young person has fond memories of summer vacation camps with a final tournament. Every adult remembers a victory after defending a match ball.

Tennis is so diverse and has so many facets that you just have to love this sport.

11. Summary and conclusion

It remains to be said that there are at least 10 very good reasons to start playing tennis. No one has ever regretted trying it at least once – there is nothing to lose, only to gain.

Have fun with the best sport in the world: tennis!

ForFriends UG (haftungsbeschränkt)