If the upcoming US Open isn’t enough to get you in the tennis swing of things, then the sport’s staggering fitness benefits might just sway you.
Research suggests that playing the racquet sport could add 10 years to your lifespan with other benefits including improved heart health and muscle strength.
What’s more, health experts say that you don’t have to spend hours on the court and just 11 minutes of tennis a day could get you fighting fit in no time.
Natasha Tavares, a Colorado-based certified personal trainer and yoga instructor, told DailyMail.com ‘Tennis counts toward your 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise a week, which can either be split into sessions across the week.
‘Alternatively, you could play one game while also enjoying other types of exercise.
‘The rewards of tennis are endless, you’re benefiting from being active and from spending time with friends, all of which can help with your short and long-term health.’
The expert noted that playing tennis can quickly help to improve cardiovascular health and open up the arteries to improve blood flow, which can decrease blood pressure, reducing the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
‘Incorporating tennis into your routine helps strengthen your heart, which plays a vital role in your physical health, circulating blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body,’ she said.
Playing a match for 25 minutes three times a week or 20 minutes four times a week can help increase your lifespan
‘It keeps your blood pressure down by improving the efficiency of the cardiovascular system.’
The 2018 Copenhagen City Heart Study followed 8,577 people for 25 years in a bid to find out which sports are the best at boosting life expectancy.
From the data collected, researchers found that tennis is the most beneficial sport when it comes to adding years to your life.
The Danish researchers found that those who played tennis regularly added an average of 9.7 years to their lives compared to those who did not play the sport.
This was well ahead of the second rated life-boosting sport which was badminton (6.2 years), followed by soccer (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years) and swimming (3.4 years).
Natasha Tavares, a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor
The researchers suggested that the social aspect of tennis could play a role in positively impacting both mental and physical health.
They concluded: ‘The leisure-time sports that inherently involve more social interaction were associated with the best longevity—a finding that warrants further investigation’.
According to the CDC, over 800,000 Americans either experience a heart attack or stroke each year, while about 375,000 people die from coronary artery disease annually.
The American Heart Association recommends adults engage in moderate-intensity aerobic activity for about 150 minutes per week, including 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.
About 138,000 Americans died from stroke in 2020, while one American dies of some form of heart disease every 33 seconds and the numbers are rising, especially among young people.
But a 2016 BMJ study shows that playing tennis can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by 56 percent compared to those who do not play the sport.
Furthermore, the British and Australian researchers also found that playing tennis is linked with a 47 percent lower risk of dying prematurely from any cause.
Additionally, Tavares claims that regularly playing a match can help build endurance in the body, which can improve muscle strength, tone the body and increase flexibility.
High muscular strength can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes
Due to the repetitive movements involved while playing a match such as running, hitting the ball and maintaining grip strength, the sport helps build muscles in the legs, core, shoulders and arms.
According to Harvard Health, an average 30-year-old will lose about a quarter of their muscle strength by age 70 and half of it by age 90.
A 2018 Aging and Disease literature review also found that low levels of muscular fitness combined with insufficient dietary intake are major risk factors for illness and mortality from all causes.
Researchers also noted that high muscular strength can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
However, engaging in a game of tennis can help preserve the ability to perform basic activities as well as maintain an active lifestyle.
Tavares told the website: ‘It also helps to build strength, particularly grip strength, which is essentially the amount of force you can exert when squeezing an object with your hand. In this case, the tennis racket handle.
‘Grip strength has been linked with lifespan and overall health, particularly in older adults, mainly because it serves as a good indicator of your overall strength, which plays a key role in adults’ well-being as they age.
‘Maintaining strength can help prevent physical decline and support continued mobility.’
Apart from this, experts also say that an hour-long game of singles tennis burns around 600 calories for men and 420 calories for women, which can help with weight loss.
