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 Tennis, The Atlantic (August 24, 2025)