mental health Archives - Tennis on Point

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a great time to familiarize yourself with education and awareness on the topic. Taking care of your mental well-being and speaking out about mental health should be and can be honored year round. At USTA Mid-Atlantic, we believe tennis has the ability to foster character, community, and well-being for every individual. Part of the well-being aspect of tennis is social, emotional and mental health benefits.

Professional players such as Naomi Osaka have spoken out about just how important it is to take care and acknowledge the state of your mental well-being and shedding light on how it’s okay to just take a break sometimes. According to the Physician and Sportsmedicine Journal Vol 37, when participating in tennis, “Regular participants experience a wide variety of health-related physical and mental benefits, from improved cardiovascular, metabolic, and bone health to improved agility, coordination, and even stress and anxiety management.”

The benefits tennis has on your mental and physical well-being don’t stop there either. “Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, it may generate new connections between nerves in the brain and thus promote a lifetime of continuing development of the brain, reported scientists at the University of Illinois.” Through a multitude of studies conducted, check out this list of 34 specific benefits on how tennis is a lifetime sport for ALL ages!

Tennis is a sport that caters to all ages and abilities and USTA MAS strives to make tennis as accessible to every community as possible. As we recognize Mental Health Awareness month (and national physical fitness and sports month), we are serving up a few ideas for ways you can get into tennis and hopefully experience the well-being benefits the sport provides.

Ways to get out on the Mid-Atlantic courts this season:

Join a USTA MAS League
Finding your place on court to play and compete can be just what you need to bust the stress. Check out our step by step guide to become a USTA Mid-Atlantic adult league player. Still need a little more assistance? Check out Tennis Connect and we will help you find the right match for a team in your area or contact Leagues@mas.usta.com for more information on adult tennis opportunities.
Join a Flex League
Have a busy schedule? Flex Leagues are a great way to still join in on the fun all the while fitting your time on court into your own day! You choose the location, date, and time to play your matches so you can still curate that healthy balance in your life.
Recreational Play
Tennis can be a method of relaxation and not just for competition. Looking to brush up on your skills? Or are you looking to get your family involved in the fun? Recreational play is a great way to just find your passion in tennis and the ability to learn something new!

Taking care of your mental health can look different for each person. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to expressing yourself. Tennis is meant to be a fun sport that gives you lasting experiences you can enjoy! If you are looking for more resources on mental health, USTA has several articles for both adults and youth players.

Jack Groppel & Nicholas DiNubile (2009) Tennis: For the Health of It!, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 37:2, 40-50, DOI: 10.3810/psm.2009.06.1708

To stay up to date on all things tennis in the Mid-Atlantic make sure to follow USTA Mid-Atlantic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

USTA Mid-Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to promoting tennis and its physical, social, and emotional health benefits. Learn about our impact in the Section and how USTA Mid-Atlantic creates community, character, and well-being.

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.

And don’t forget to catch up on the endless physical health benefits tennis has to offer by reading our Improve Your Overall Health with Tennis article.

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

³34 Reasons to Play Tennis, Webinar Series with Dr. Jack Groppel