Tennis is a sport that allows you to have fun and make new friends while improving your physical fitness. Almost every muscle group in the body is used, worked and strengthened during a match, and the energy exertion required during play can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes, depending on your height and weight. Tennis also requires a high amount of agility, flexibility, quick reflexes and aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.
Legs
Due to the swinging of the racket, tennis is often thought of as an upper-body sport, but in actuality your leg muscles, including your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, are actually doing most of the work out on the court. Tennis requires a good deal of running; if you can't get to the ball then you cannot hit it back over the net. Your feet never stop moving during a point --- even when you opponent has the ball --- and sprinting is required when going to hit a specific shot. Additionally, the power for your serve, forehand and backhand originates in the legs and travels up through your body to your racket. Playing tennis will help to strengthen your legs, but if you are a serious player, consider adding additional leg exercises to your workout routine, such as squats, lunges and step-ups.
Core
Agility, balance and strength all come from your core --- your lower back and stomach muscles --- which is used during absolutely every shot and movement during a tennis match. Not only does your core connect your lower body to your upper body, most movements in your body originate in your core. Additionally, the different actions in tennis require that you quickly change directions while moving forward, backward and side to side. A strong core keeps you balanced and stable so that you can focus on hitting the ball. Playing tennis helps you to develop a strong core; every time you hit a forehand or backhand, you are working your abdominal muscles, especially the obliques, which run alongside your torso.
Arms and Shoulders
The back, chest, shoulder, biceps and triceps all come into play during a tennis swing or tennis serve. The movement begins in your legs and travels up through the core, and then the upper body is responsible for the final execution and follow through on the shot. You will strengthen these muscles through practice and match play. Conditioning these muscle groups off of the court may be helpful to your game, but it is best to engage in functional exercises that will strengthen while also keep them loose and flexible. Wellness Massachusetts recommends doing seated rows, overhead presses, bench presses and lat pull-downs.
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