Saturday, August 30, 2025

Tennis Article of the Day: Are Tennis Players the Fittest Athletes?

“[T]ennis players are among the fittest – and toughest – athletes in the world.

It’s hard to think of a sport that requires such an extreme spectrum of skills as tennis. . . . 

Tennis is not a marathon; each match is a series of short sprints in every direction over multiple hours. Tennis at the elite level, though, additionally requires cat-like agility and explosiveness in the blink of an eye to react to an opponent’s latest shot.

It’s not just the extreme physical toll of hours on the court and grind of the gym day-in and day-out. Tennis also requires a massive amount of mental fortitude.”

Are Tennis Players the Fittest Athletes in the World?, by Julia Anderson, CNN Sports (August 30, 2025)

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Tennis Article of the Day: “If You Must Play One Sport, Make It Tennis” 🎾

At its essence, tennis is about moving through space correctly, says John Ratey, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Receiving the ball, you gauge its trajectory—speed, spin, height of the bounce—while determining how to most efficiently reach it. Then, while running, racket outstretched, you decide how you’ll return it, with a new angle, speed, and spin. Ideally, the chosen combination results in the ball landing inside the court, and going to where your opponent is not. Also ideally, the racket (as directed by your body) follows your mind’s split-second intention. You even have to factor in the wind and the sun. The sport demands so much complex motor coordination, as well as finesse, that it carries the same cognitive, balance, and coordination benefits as dancing.” 

By: Alexandra Moe, If You Must Play One Sport, Make It TennisThe Atlantic (August 24, 2025

Thursday, August 21, 2025