For many years, the public viewed tennis as an elite, expensive, "easy" sport played for fun, not exercise. Today, professional tennis players are some of the most well-conditioned athletes of any sport, and recreational players are increasingly hitting the court to burn calories. Before you decide to invest in a tennis racket or club membership, review the pros and cons of the sport to make sure it's a good choice for you.
Advantage: Health Benefits
Tennis offers a wide variety of health benefits, helping you strengthen your heart, burn calories and develop improved brain function. Depending on your level of play, tennis is either aerobic or anaerobic. For skilled players, especially those who play singles, tennis is anaerobic, raising your heart rate higher than 80 percent of its maximum. The sport requires that you play short, high-intensity points, followed by a recovery period. This burns more calories than aerobic exercise. If you play doubles, you may keep your heart rate in your aerobic range for most of the match but still get the benefits of frequent recovery. Because each tennis point involves problem solving, you may build new brain synapses, improving your cognitive function, according to Jack Groppel, cofounder of the Human Performance Institute and an adviser to the U.S Tennis Association Sport Science Committee.
Disadvantage: Injuries
Tennis is a high-impact sport and one that requires many repetitions of strenuous movements. Playing too hard before you develop correct strokes can result in repetitive-stress injuries to your shoulder, elbow and wrist. The fast running can result in muscle sprains and tears, knee injuries and falls that lead to broken bones.
Advantage or Disadvantage: Expense
Depending on your access to a tennis court, the game can be either affordable or expensive. If you have access to a public court, you can buy a dependable racket online, at a used sporting-goods store or at a big-box retailer for about $20 at the time of publication. A can of balls costs around $2 at a grocery or general retail store and can last you for several matches or more, depending on how hard you hit the ball. Public courts are often free. If you live in a cold-weather area, you may need to buy a tennis-club membership and pay court fees, anywhere from $5 per person to $60 per hour or more.
Disadvantage: Time Investment
Tennis is relatively easy to learn but takes a time investment to master. With the games-based learning approach and low-compression balls, you can start rallying and serving during your first lesson. To move from a beginner-level player to a more competent middle-level player may take less than a year. To move from middle to advanced takes longer, since you'll need to learn accuracy, direction, spins and power.
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