6 reasons you should be playing tennis

Whether you’re yet to head onto a court or your tennis racquet has been collecting dust, it’s never too late to get into the game and experience the benefits of playing tennis! Read what our Head of Racquets, Karen Hazzard, has to say about the 6 ways tennis can improve your overall health, wellness, and happiness…

Boosted Brain Power

Forget short-lived brain boosting fads and enjoy a game of tennis. Playing tennis can improve your critical thinking, mental alertness, and tactical thinking by making connections in the brain.

It also helps regulate serotonin—a brain chemical linked to functions such as sleep cycle, appetite, and your emotional state. Having trouble sleeping or keeping your emotions in check? Hit the court!

Fight and Prevent Disease

Regular games or tennis training helps to keep your lipid profile stable. Lipids are molecules that make up the structure of your cells. Looking after your lipids means you’re keeping your cholesterol low. This can decrease your chance of suffering from stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular issues.

Improved Agility, Flexibility and Balance

Have you ever watched tennis on TV and seen the players constantly stretching and reaching to keep a ball in play? Tennis is a sport where you’re constantly moving, changing direction and stretching your body. 

By playing tennis on a regular basis, you’ll also notice an improvement in your agility and flexibility. Top tip: make sure you stretch well before and after your matches!

The Perfect Social Activity

Tennis can be played as a doubles or singles game but either way you have to play with another person. Being able to socialize with opponents and partners is a huge benefit of the game and helps your mental wellbeing. 

You’re also around others who share similar interests and goals which is very physiologically rewarding. Tennis is a particularly great way for young players to make friends and develop their social skills.

Stress Relief

We all have stress in our lives but tennis is a wonderful stress-reliever. 

If you go out for a run or jump on an elliptical, you still have the ability to let your mind race. “What am I going to make for dinner? How many calories am I burning? I still have so much to do before the end of the week and I have a huge deadline at work.” The list goes on.

When you play tennis, your mind is forced to focus on the task at hand instead of focusing on your stresses and endless to-do lists. Think of it as a little vacation for your brain!

It’s a Life-Time Sport

Unlike most sports, tennis can be played at any age. You don’t see many 60, 70, or even 80-year-olds playing rugby or running up and down a football field but many retirees still play and enjoy a game of tennis.

It is a game that can be played easily with friends of all ages and fitness levels!