health and tennis Archives - Tennis on Point

For both your physical and mental health

Putting an emphasis on self-care, in any form, has been a priority for most during the COVID-19 pandemic. But have you thought about fortifying your mental health lately? An easy and fun way to prioritize your mental health is by picking up a tennis racquet. Tennis unlocks many benefits for you physically, socially, and emotionally. With a racquet in your hand, you can gain more self-confidence, while reducing stress.

Now you may be thinking, how do tennis and mental health go hand in hand? Well, you’d be surprised to know that tennis is one of the leading sports that benefit your mental well-being.

“Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, it may generate new connections between nerves in the brain and this promotes a lifetime of continuing development of the brain,” according to scientists at the University of Illinois. In turn, advancing your brain function helps reduce stress which supports your mental health.

The mental and social challenges involved with tennis can increase your capacity to deal with stress.¹ The best part is, there is no time limit on when you can take advantage of the psychological benefits the sport has to offer. Whether you are a brand new player or someone who used to play tennis and is ready a get back out on the court, tennis creates well-being at any stage.

Tennis helps strengthen your mental health by²:

Developing a work ethic: Improvement through lessons or practice reinforces the value of hard work.

Managing mistakes: Learning to play within your abilities and realizing that managing and minimizing mistakes in tennis or life is critical.

Managing adversity: Playing tennis enables you to learn to adjust to the elements (e.g. weather, a hard match, tiredness) and still be able to compete tenaciously.

Learning to solve problems: Since tennis is a sport based on angles, geometry, and physics you learn to anticipate certain scenarios in order to play out a point during a match.

Accommodating stress effectively: The physical, mental, and emotional stress of tennis will force you to increase your capacity for dealing with stress. It will also help you learn how to recover from a stressful situation.

We can’t forget about the social benefits tennis has to offer. Tennis will help you³:

Develop performance rituals before serving or returning to control your rhythm of play and deal with pressure. These skills can transfer to taking exams, conducting a meeting, or making an important sales presentation.

Learn sportsmanship since tennis teaches you to compete fairly with opponents.

Learn to win graciously and lose with honor. Gloating after a win or making excuses after a loss doesn’t work in tennis or in life.

Learn teamwork since successful doubles play depends on you and your partner’s ability to communicate and play as a cohesive unit.

Develop social skills through interaction and communication before a match, while changing sides of the court and after play.

And most important, when you play tennis you will have FUN… because healthy feelings of enjoyment, competitiveness, and physical challenge are inherent in the sport.

At USTA Mid-Atlantic, we believe tennis creates well-being. Playing tennis an hour a day may improve your physical, mental, and emotional fitness. Get out and play today so you can maximize those benefits on and off the court. During Mental Health Awareness Month, inspire yourself and others to make tennis a part of your mental health journey.

Let’s strengthen our mental health together. Meet us out on the tennis court to take advantage of the lifelong benefits the sport has to offer. To access more resources from USTA and to participate in webinars on Physical Wellness and Enhancing Your Child’s Well Being Through Competition, click here.

We can’t wait to see you out on the courts!

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¹USTA.com, Tennis Makes You Happy and Healthy, Study Shows, 2019

²Health Benefits of Tennis: Why Play Tennis by Dr. Jack Groppel

Top Reasons to Play

Have you thought about your heart health lately? In February, the NHLBI encourages you to celebrate American Heart Month to get motivated to adopt heart-healthy behaviors. One of the ways you can take care of your heart and improve your health is by playing tennis with your friends and family.

In other words, join the 3 million new players who picked up a racquet for the first time in 2020 because tennis is the safest sport to play in order to maintain social distance and safety while having fun.¹

Reasons to play:

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Research shows that we’re more successful at meeting personal health goals when we join forces with others. When we take care of our hearts as part of our self-care, we set an example for those around us to do the same.”

There are a multitude of reasons why playing tennis is a great activity to improve your health at any age. Whether it is your first time picking up a racquet, or if you are a seasoned player the heart health benefits are endless.

Play tennis to improve your health by:

Get fit, lose weight and burn more calories: An hour of singles play can burn 580-870 calories. Put on your favorite fitness tracker, hit the tennis court and watch those calories sizzle away!²
Live longer: Playing just three hours/week will reduce your risk of heart disease 56%³
Strengthen your heart muscle and your bones: Compared to other sports, tennis players have the lowest incidence of cardiovascular disease⁴
Develop hand-eye coordination: Playing tennis involves several skills that all contribute to good hand-eye coordination. You can improve your agility, balance, coordination, reaction time, and more.

Together we can celebrate American Heart Month with stronger and healthier hearts today by getting out to play.

But wait there’s more. The advantages of playing tennis do not stop there.

Additionally, the lifetime sport of tennis helps your mental and overall well-being by:

Reducing stress: Tennis helps you with physical, mental, social, and emotional challenges which increases your capacity to manage stress
Increasing brain power: From alertness to tactical thinking, tennis enhances the neural connections in your brain. Kids who play tennis regularly get better grades.⁵
Helping you learn to problem-solve: Tennis is a sport that is based on evaluating angles, geometry, and physics to get the best result, which translates into better problem-solving off the court⁶
Enjoying time with family and friends: Great for the whole family no matter what your age. With minimal equipment needed, it’s easy to meet up with a friend to play or find one through the game
Developing teamwork and sportsmanship skills: From doubles play to team and league play, tennis develops your ability to communicate and work together
Improving social skills: Tennis outperforms all other sports in developing positive personality characteristics⁷

Ready to get out on the courts?

Most importantly, playing tennis is not just about the competition, it is about living your life to the fullest potential. Additionally, tennis can become part of your life at any age. So get started and gain a positive impact on your life immediately. During American Heart Month, inspire and motivate yourself and those you love to make heart-healthier choices as a regular part of your routine – go play tennis!

We can’t wait to see you out on the courts!

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¹2020 Physical Activity Council Participation (PAC) Report

²Oja, et al, Brit J Sports Med, 2016

³According to a 2016 Harvard University study

⁴40-year study conducted by Johns Hopkins University

⁵ 2013 USTA Study

⁶In a study in the late 1990s, several experts proposed that tennis, since it requires alertness and tactical thinking, may generate new connections between nerves in the brain and promote a lifetime of continuing brain development. This was supported in John Ratey’s book “Spark.” Ratey was quoted in USA Today as saying, “A heart-thumping game of tennis can keep the brain in top shape.”

⁷According to a study by Dr. Jim Gavin at Concordia University