The fast celebrity this year was Olympic medal winning cyclist Christ Newton racing his first marathon in 2:58:52. Fastest non-sporting celebrity was Tom Audenshaw, otherwise known as Bob Hope in Emmerdale, who was joined this year by a number of fellow cast members running for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Fastest female honour went to Nell McAndrew who  improved her best again with an impressive finish in 3:08:25, whilst Jamie Baulch was the victor in a friendly contest over former 400m rival Iwan Thomas,

Below are the finishing times of celebrities in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon. Clicking on their name takes you to the London Marathon result site where you can see the runners split times and a link to the Marathonfoto.com site to see race photos of the celebrity.

Name	2011 Time	Predicted Time	Why Famous	Charity
Chris Newton	02:58:52	03:00	Olympic medal winning cyclist	The National Autistic Society
Nell McAndrew	03:08:25	03:09	Model	Cancer Research UK
Tony Audenshaw	03:18:13	03:10	Bob Hope in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Muzzy Izzet	03:22:36	04:00	ex-Footballer	Wishes 4 Kids
Shauna Macdonald	03:28:07	03:30	Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Richard Harrington	03:28:41	03:30	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Mark Lewis-Jones	03:28:42	03:40	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Henry Holland	03:28:50	04:00	Fashion Designer	Oxfam
Dwight Yorke	03:31:56		Ex-Footballer	Vision
Chris Cogill	03:33:29	04:15	Actor/ Mr Lisa Faulkner	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Richard Moore	03:48:49	05:30	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Luke Allen-Gale	03:48:49	04:30	Actor in Monroe	Brain Tumour UK
Jamie Baulch	03:51:40	03:45	Former 400m champion	Barnardo's
Natalie Robb	03:55:13	04:00	Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Rob Deering	03:55:26	04:30	Comedian	Parkinson's Uk
Tim Delap	03:55:57	03:25	Actor	Motor Neurone Disease
Johnny Mowlem	03:57:41	03:30	Racing Driver	CLIC sargent
Michel Roux	03:59:39	03:35	Chef	VICTA and the Dispossessed Fund
Charlie Webster	04:02:09	03:35	Sports Presenter	Women's Aid
Will Young	04:02:35	03:30	Singer	Catch 22
Chris Perry	04:05:09	04:00	ex-Footballer	Motor Neurone Disease
Matthew Pinsent	04:11:36	04:00	Olympic Champion Rower	Alzheimer's society
Iain McKee	04:11:52	03:50	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Tom Smith	04:14:28		Editors lead singer	Oxfam
Russell Leetch	04:14:29		Bassist with Editors	Oxfam
Neil Madden	04:15:23	03:45	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Monty Halls	04:16:19	04:00	TV Presenter	WDCS
Tuuli Shipster	04:17:40	04:22	Model	Oxfam
Aneirin Hughes	04:24:41	04:00	Actor/ Singer	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Iwan Thomas	04:24:52	03:40	Former 400m champion	Macmillan Cancer Support
John Conroy	04:27:53	04:00	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
David Gandy	04:35:53	04:20	Model	Oxfam
Sarah Anthony	04:36:06		Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Gillies Peterson	04:43:09		DJ and broadcaster	Get it Organised
Derek Jelley	04:43:15	04:15	ex-rugby player	Sparks
Agyness Deyn	04:45:16	04:00	Model/Actress/Singer	Oxfam
Dani Lawrence	04:51:38	05:00	Model	Anthony Nolan
Tom Lister	04:51:49	03:45	Carl King in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Jack Tweed	04:52:35	04:00	Mr Jade Goody	Macmillan Cancer Support
Irwin Sparks	04:55:47	04:30	The Hoosiers lead vocalist	Samaritans
Emma Crosby	04:58:48	06:00	TV Presenter	Wellbeing of Women
Chris Villiers	05:00:49	04:40	Grayson Sinclair in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
John Michie	05:01:14	05:10	DI Robbie Ross in Taggart	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Nicola Wheeler	05:02:14	04:45	Nicola Blackstock in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Charlie Brooks	05:05:47	04:45	Janine Butcher in Eastenders	Sparks
Nadine Lewington Malarkey	05:06:51	04:45	Actress	Great Ormond Street Hospital
Elen Rivas	05:11:39	05:30	Model	Wellbeing of Women
Cheryl Baker	05:19:46	04:30	Bucks Fizz singer	Headfirst
Chriss Simmons	05:23:17	03:40	DC Mickey Webb in The Bill	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Rhys Daniels Trust
Johnathon Ansell	05:27:18	05:00	Singer in G4	Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Emma Pierson	05:44:22	04:30	Actress	Oxfam
Chris Chittell	05:45:34	05:10	Eric Pollard in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Lyndon Ogbourne	05:45:35	03:40	Nathan Wilde in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Calum Best	05:48:20		Model	The Childrens Trust
Roberto	05:57:08		Capital FM DJ	Help a Capital Child
Sophie Raworth	06:22:57	04:30	Presenter	Cancer Research UK
Jay Aston	06:25:54	05:30	Bucks Fizz singer
Jonathan Pearce	06:27:56	05:30	Football Commentator	Lily
Ricky Wilson	DNF		Kaiser Chiefs front man	Alzheimer's society
Katie Price	DNS	05:45	Businesswoman	Vision and the Pituitary Foundation
Mark Wright	Not Found	04:00	Club Promoter	Macmillan Cancer Support
Craig Gazie	Not Found	04:00	Graeme Proctor in Coronation Street	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Nadia Sawalha	Not Found	05:00	Actress/Presenter	Cystic Fibrosis Trust
Matthew Wolfeden	Not Found	04:30	David Metcalfe in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Ray McCallen	Not Found		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Mikyla Dodd	Not Found	04:50	Actress	Sparks
Jo-Emma Larvin	Not Found	04:00	Model/Actress	Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Ronni Ancona	Not Found	04:30	Actress/Impressionist/Comedienne	Trinity Hospice
Tom Aikens	Not Found	03:30	Michelin starred chef	Marine Conservation Society
Johnny Davies	Not Found		New Vinyl singer	Coram
Nick Woodman	Not Found	03:30	Jack Hollins I The Doctors	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Andrew Knott	Not Found	04:10	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Duncan Pow	Not Found	03:30	Actor	CLIC sargent
Greg Kelly	Not Found	03:50	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Ben Jones	Not Found	04:00	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Cal Macaninch	Not Found	03:00	DI John Keenan in Holby Blue	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Joe Pasquale	Not Found		Comedian	Diabetes UK
Ben Thapa	Not Found	04:50	Singer in G4	Mental Health Foundation
Danny Crates	Not Found	03:30	Former 400m Paralympic Champion	Sports Aid
Gail Porter	Not Found		TV Presenter	Coram

‘Not Known’ are celebrities listed as running in the official marathon press release but I couldn’t find their time. This could be because they didn’t run, didn’t finish or the registered under a different name than they are famous for. If you know any pseudonyms let me know and I’ll update the table.

Less than 4 weeks to go now until 2011 Virgin London Marathon. It’s starting to dawn on the runners how close it is following the arrival last week of the race magazine with the final instructions. But for those not running and spectators who don’t really have any personal interest in the race the question is ‘Which celebrities are running the 2011 London Marathon?’

Last years fastest celebrity was Oliver Gavin a former British F3 Champion and F1 test driver who finished in 2:54:19. Fastest non-sporting celebrity was Tom Audenshaw, otherwise known as Bob Hope in Emmerdale. Tony also achieved the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathoner dressed in baby diapers in 3:13:30.

The fastest female honour went to TV presenter Jenni Falconer in 3:31 although she won’t be running this year, due to her recent pregnancy announcement. Fortunately we do have an elite celebrity female to watch through Nell McAndrew. Nell completed the 2005 London Marathon in just 3 hours 10 placing her in the ‘elite’ athlete category and was the first celebrity runner to cross the finish line in 2009. Nell will be running from the elite women’s start this year.

Fastest predicted times this year go to Cal Macaninch (DI John Keenan in Holby Blue) and Olympic medal winning cyclist Chris Newton who are both aiming to complete the marathon in 3 hours.

If you are competing on the 17th you can use the table below to motivate yourself over who you will not allow yourself to be beaten by (UPDATE 12 April 2011 Unfortunately Katie Price has had to pull out again this year); if you are supporting on the streets you can guesstimate when you will see these running celebs; and if you won’t be anywhere near London on the day you can use their race number to track your favourite on line on race day. You can use the search box to type in a celebs name directly, see who is predicting a time similar to yourself, or is running for your favourite charity (click on charity to be taken to donation page).  Alternatively click on the arrows on the the tables headings to arrange by predicted times or 2010 results.

The 2010 celebrity results can be found here . UPDATE 20.04.11 Check out the actual 2011 finishing times here

Name	Race Number	Predicted Time	2010 Time	Why Famous	Charity
Tom Aikens	51234	03:30		Michelin starred chef	Marine Conservation Society
Luke Allen-Gale	28301	04:30		Actor in Monroe	Brain Tumour UK
Ronni Ancona	49072	04:30		Actress/ Impressionist/ Comedienne	Trinity Hospice
Jonathan Ansell	28308	05:00		Singer in G4	Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Sarah Anthony	TBC	TBC		Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Jay Aston	28282	05:30		Bucks Fizz singer
Tony Audenshaw	28215	03:10	03:13:30	Bob Hope in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Cheryl Baker	28278	04:30		Bucks Fizz singer	Headfirst
Jamie Baulch	28103	03:45		Former 400m champion	Barnardo's
Charlie Brooks	28153	04:45		Janine Butcher in Eastenders	Marie Curie Cancer Care & Sparks
Chris Chittell	28216	05:10		Eric Pollard in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Chris Cogill	28235	04:15		Actor/ Mr Lisa Faulkner	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
John Conroy	28236	04:00		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Danny Crates	28277	03:30		Former 400m Paralympic Champion	Sports Aid
Emma Crosby	49858	06:00		TV Presenter	Wellbeing of Women
Johnny Davies	28307	TBC		New Vinyl singer	Coram
Rob Deering	28289	04:30		Comedian	Parkinson's UK
Tim Delap	43180	03:25		Actor	Motor Neurone Disease Association
Agyness Deyn	28313	04:00		Model/ Actress/ Singer	Oxfam
Mikyla Dodd	48046	04:50		Actress	Sparks
David Gandy	28314	04:20		Model	Oxfam
Craig Gazie	28229	04:00		Graeme Proctor in Coronation Street	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Monty Halls	28276	04:00		TV Presenter	WDCS
Richard Harrington	28225	03:30	03:42:18	Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Henry Holland	28312	04:00		Fashion Designer	Oxfam
Aneirin Hughes	28238	04:00		Actor/ Singer	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Muzzy Izzet	50701	04:00		ex-Footballer	Wishes 4 Kids
Derek Jelley	28271	04:15		ex-rugby player	Sparks
Ben Jones	28265	04:00		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Greg Kelly	28234	03:50		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Andrew Knott	28224	04:10		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Jo-Emma Larvin	28303	04:00	04:20:32	Model/ Actress	Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Dani Lawrence	34254	05:00		Model	Anthony Nolan
Russell Leetch	28317	TBC		Bassist with Editors	Oxfam
Nadine Lewington Malarkey	28296	04:45		Actress	Great Ormond Street Hospital
Mark Lewis-Jones	28226	03:40		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Tom Lister	28217	03:45	04:28:14	Carl King in Emmerdale	Hope For Justice and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Cal Macaninch	28228	03:00		DI John Keenan in Holby Blue	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Nell McAndrew	479	03:09		Model	Cancer Research UK
Neil Madden	28231	03:45		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Ray McCallen	TBC	TBC		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Shauna Macdonald	28233	03:30	03:45:20	Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Iain McKee	28233	03:50		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
John Michie	28221	05:10		DI Robbie Ross in Taggart	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Richard Moore	28200	05:30		Actor	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Johnny Mowlem	28288	03:30	04:05:42	Racing Driver	CLIC sargent
Chris Newton	28324	03:00		Olympic medal winning cyclist	The National Autistic Society
Lyndon Ogbourne	28293	03:40		Nathan Wilde in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Joe Pasquale	28274	05:30		Comedian	Diabetes UK
Jonathan Pearce	28283	05:30		Football Commentator	Lily
Chris Perry	28299	04:00		ex-Footballer	Motor Neurone Disease
Gillies Peterson	28305	TBC		DJ and broadcaster	Get it Organised
Emma Pierson	28315	04:30		Actress	Oxfam
Matthew Pinsent	52169	04:00		Olympic Champion Rower	Alzheimer's society
Gail Porter	28309	TBC		TV Presenter	Coram
Duncan Pow	28286	03:30		Actor	CLIC sargent
Katie Price	28292	05:45		Businesswoman	Vision & the Pituitary Foundation
Sophie Raworth	28298	04:30		Presenter	Cancer Research UK
Elen Rivas	28309	05:30	05:23:38	Model	Wellbeing of Women
Roberto	28280	TBC		Capital FM DJ	Help a Capital Child
Natalie Robb	28237	04:00		Actress	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Michel Roux	28258	03:35		Chef	VICTA & the Dispossessed Fund
Nadia Sawalha	28156	05:00		Actress/ Presenter	Cystic Fibrosis Trust
Chris Simmons	28304	03:40	05:25:37	DC Mickey Webb in The Bill	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research & Rhys Daniels Trust
Tuuli Shipster	28311	04:22		Model	Oxfam
Tom Smith	28316	TBC		Editors lead singer	Oxfam
Irwin Sparks	46568	04:30		The Hoosiers lead vocalist	Samaritans
Ben Thapa	28290	04:50	05:14:51	Singer in G4	Mental Health Foundation
Iwan Thomas	28270	03:40	04:19:39	Former 400m champion	Macmillan Cancer Support
Jack Tweed	42061	04:00		Mr Jade Goody	Macmillan Cancer Support
Chris Villiers	28219	04:40		Grayson Sinclair in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Charlie Webster	28297	03:35	03:56:55	Sports Presenter	Women's Aid
Nicola Wheeler	28223	04:45	05:09:00	Nicola Blackstock in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Ricky Wilson	28319	TBC		Kaiser Chiefs front man
Matthew Wolfeden	28218	04:30		David Metcalfe in Emmerdale	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Nick Woodman	28227	03:30		Jack Hollins in The Doctors	Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research
Mark Wright	42056	04:00		Club Promoter	Macmillan Cancer Support
Dwight York	28920	TBC		Ex-Footballer	Vision
Will Young	28275	03:30		Singer	Catch 22

Using some artistic licence in calling it the ‘World Cup’ in the same way baseball competes in the ‘World Series’. The 46 teams comprised predominately from the US, although I was assured a team from Canada did play on Saturday and teams from both Oxford and Cambridge universities had originally signed up from the UK, thereby justifying the international title.

The players and spectators included bemused passer-by’s, Harry Potter fans, children in costume, competitive sports enthusiasts and comedic entertainers.

Far from being played by geeky Harry Potter fans, a lot of the players included athletic, rugby types and play was getting decidedly rougher as the matches became more competitive and significant. It is actually quite a physical and entertaining game to watch if you ignore the fact that the players are mounting a broom (which according to the official rules can be ‘wood or plastic pole at least 40’’ long with or without bristles’) and the game is derived from a children’s book where the characters fly in the air.

There was also a lot of skill, as essentially you have to catch with one hand as you are holding the broom with the other, there was a special knack to running with a stick between your legs and tacking became quite dangerous when a pile up occurred with brooms sticking in everywhere. I noticed the medical technicians being called to the pitches quite often.

The people acting as the Snitch runners were either very fit or loved playing the fool. The rule book suggested they should be cross country runners or footballers as they need good stamina as they can be running for over 30minutes trying not to be caught. One excited spectator explained to be how they can run anywhere including down the street or into shops (?). Other Snitch runners seemed less fit but played the role of a joker in teasing the Seekers but all were involved in some dangerous looking wrestling moves as they tried to keep onto the Snitch.

For those of you like me who have never read a Harry Potter book here is a brief summary of the rules of Quidditch.

• Each team is made up of at least 7 players with only 7 in play at any one time. Each team must have at least 2 players of a different gender from the other players.

• 3 members are Chasers, wearing a white headband. These players must move the Quaffle (a volleyball) down the field by running/ and or passing, with the aim of throwing or kicking it through the opposing team’s hoops to score 10 points.

• 2 players are Beaters, who wear black headbands and throw the Bludgers (a dodge ball) at opposing player s to temporarily knock them out of play.

• The Keeper wears a green headband and is responsible for defending his team’s hoops and preventing the other team from scoring the Quaffle through them.

• Finally there is a Seeker wearing a yellow headband whose job is to chase down the Snitch Runner and remove the Snitch from him/her. Once the Snitch is caught, the game end and points tallied up. The team that caught the Snitch gets an extra thirty points.

• The Snitch Runner is not a member of either team and is dressed in all yellow and gold with the loose end of the sock holding a tennis ball of the Snitch tucked in the back of his shorts and tries his best to evade capture by either team’s seeker. Snitch runners are encouraged to be creative in their evasive tactics.

“Muggle Quidditch,” or “Ground Quidditch,” began in 2005 as an intramural league at Middlebury College in Vermont. The rules were adapted from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels by Alexander Manshel, the first Quidditch Commissioner. This I am assured had nothing to do with Middlebury taking the Cup for the fourth year in a row. I wonder how long they will maintain their dominance when it truly becomes a ‘World Cup’ and more international teams participate. At the moment it is predominantly a University sport although rarely recognised as such for funding by University sports unions. But I’m sure it won’t be long till the UK is bidding to bring the game back to the home of Harry Potter and to be the next hosts of the Quidditch World Cup.

Today is Guinness World Record Day, a day when anyone can attempt to break a world record. Forget Usain Bolt’s 9:58 for 100m or Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 for a marathon, today’s record attempts are the ones everyone aspires to.

Who doesn’t want to be the world record holder for 100m – dressed as a pantomime animal, be credited for the most skips on a pogo stick in one minute, or lay claim to the longest duration spinning a basketball on the nose.

Check out these sport related record attempts confirmed for today.

• 07:30 Fastest 100m on Space Hopper Backwards (record to be set) Location: Pottersfield Park, Close to Tower Bridge, City of London.

• 09:00 Fastest Pantomime Animal – 100 metres (record to set 20secs) Pantomime animals from various productions across London will be challenging each other to become the fastest over 100 metres. Location: Battersea Athletics Track (Millennium Stadium)

• 09:00 – 17:00 8 Different Fitness Records – Most Full Body Explosive Clap Push Ups in one minute, Most Clap Push Ups in one minute, Side Jumps in 30secs, Tricep Dips in one minute, Star Jumps in one minute, Squats on a Swiss Ball in one hour and one minute. Stephen Buttler is 36 years old fitness fanatic from Shropshire, fund raising for Help for Heroes and Hope House Location: Lilleshall National Sports Centre, Shropshire.

• Time TBC: Most pull ups in 6 hours (record to be set) Stephen Hyland is 58 years old fitness fantatic who runs his own building company and is doing the record to better his previous record of most pull-ups in hour. Location: Surrey

• Most Consecutive Double Dutch Skips, Idaho, USA
• Most skips on a pogo stick in one minute (male), New York, USA
• Longest duration spinning a basketball on the head, toe or nose, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Furthest distance static cycling in 3 minute, Tenerife, Spain.

Unfortunately the 2011 Edition has already been printed and you may need a little practise before breaking a record but fortunately they have produced some sets allowing you to attempt your own record along with a book highlighting the current records.

How about turning one of your favourite childhood activities into a world record attempt?. The Guinness World Records Space Hopper Set will help you break the current 100 m record of 30.2 seconds. What’s more, if you can gather 1,009 people together for a mass space hopper bouncing session you will have broken that record too. 

Can you Diabolo? This Guinness World Records Diabolo Set contains a Diabolo instructions on how to do it and records for you to attempt to break for yourself! The highest number of catches per minute was set at 16 in 2007 think you can beat this?  

The record number of rope skips in a minute is an astonishing 332. This set contains a skipping rope which records each revolution so it won’t lose count, even if you do. There are many more skipping challenges in the accompanying mini book together with fun facts and ideas for other fitness-based records. So can you break the record? 

Fancy juggling your way into the record books? You ll have to practice hard to beat the record for the most juggling catches in a minute. The current record was set at 337 in 2008. This contains three Guinness World Records juggling balls and a mini book to help to perfect your juggling technique. The book is also crammed with lots of other juggling records for you to try at home or it may inspire you to set your own.  

There are many other Guinness Word Record Kits are available and hopefully with a bit of practise you’ll soon be a world record breaker.

From my experience last year and hearing from a few other runners don’t rely on Royal Mail on getting your entry in on time even if you send it recorded or registered delivery. Things still go missing in the post and its hard to get compensation for a piece of paper. Get you proof and entry in now and if it goes AWOL in the postal system you will have time to resubmit another entry.

Good For Age Entries

You can apply for a good for age entry if you’ve run a full marathon in the same time, or faster than, the times listed below:

More information about Good For Age entries can be found here or for Championship entries here. If you entered in the general ballot you will find out in early October.

2008 US Open Final - Andy Murray and Roger Federer

Following the epic match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at the beginning of Wimbledon 2010, Andy Murray tweeted ‘This is why tennis is one of the toughest sports in the world, this will never ever be matched again’.

After watching some of the world’s elite footballers play so disappointingly during the World Cup, supposedly their sports most prestigious competition, Murray’s point is justified. Football is a team competition; players can be rested during matches, be substituted when injured and even miss matches by suspensions. Even the winning team will have only played 7 matches of 90mins (with possible extra time of 30minutes) over a period of 4 weeks.

In comparison Isner and Mahut’s single match took a record breaking 11 hours and five minutes, with the final fifth set alone taking eight-hours 11-minutes. In total 980 points including 215 aces were played over 183 games, the final score at  6–4, 3–6, 6–7(9–7), 7–6(7–3), 70–68. However, when you see slightly overweight, middle aged people inspired by Wimbledon fortnight, playing tennis on your local courts tennis doesn’t seem so demanding.

So why should tennis be considered a tough sport?

Whilst a knock about on the beach or the local park does not seem that strenuous, professional competitive tennis requires a combination of physiological and unpredictable variables. Each match depends on adapting to a number of factors:

• Match duration (3 or 5 sets)
• Weather
• Opponent
• Surface
• Level of play

But within each match or indeed between each point there are also a number of variables that need to be considered:

• The length of the point
• Playing style of both players
• Velocity of shot
• Shot selections

Tennis players need to train specifically for their sport and playing style. During high level matches points have an average length of between 3 seconds to around 15 seconds on some of the faster surfaces such as grass and indoor. However the total playing time is only between 20-30% of the total match time and varies considerably between when the player in control of a rally is an attacking player who hits the net hard then consistently comes to the net, a whole court player, or a baseline player.

Is Tennis an Aerobic or Anaerobic Sport?

Tennis requires short explosive bursts of energy repeated hundreds of times per match which as we have seen can be of a long duration. This requires players to be trained anaerobically for performance and aerobically to aid recovery during and after play.

Maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂ max) is used as a marker of aerobic capacity. Generally VO₂ max and heart rate increases as the game progresses, decreasing during rest periods and end changes. VO₂ max in competitive high level tennis players has been reported to be greater than 50ml/kg/min classifying tennis players as highly aerobically trained with aggressive attacking players having a lower VO₂ max than baseline players.

The mean heart rate in trained players aged 20–30 years has reported to be between the ranges of 140–160 beats/min during singles matches. The long duration and moderate mean heart rate during a match suggests that tennis an aerobic sport.

However the explosive nature of the serve and ground strokes, along with rapid changes of direction requires a tennis player to have a high anaerobic capacity. Together with the need for a high percentage of fast twitch muscles tennis could be considered more as a predominantly anaerobic activity, needing high levels of aerobic condition to avoid fatigue and aid recovery between points.

Strength, Speed and Agility

In addition to stamina tennis players need fast reaction times to respond to every shot from the opponent. They are required to move not only forwards and backwards but also sideway and diagonally, so need to be agile, able to accelerate and move at a maximum speed.

Strength training is also important not only in muscles and joints for performance but also to reduce injuries. As well as the expected required strength in the shoulder and upper arm, tennis players require a firm wrist to direct the racket head under high speeds. Players also require a deal of flexibility, not only through reaching for or playing a racket shot but also when throwing the ball when serving.

There is no doubt that training as a competitive tennis player is demanding. You need to be both anaerobic and aerobically fit, have stamina, strength, speed, flexibility and agility, as well as being mentally aware to respond to your opponent’s shots. There are however other professional sports which could arguably also be considered some of the toughest in the world.

Triathletes competing at Ironman distances for example, may argue that a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run, raced in that order and without a break, is also quite tough.  As might the cyclists competing in the Tour de France covering around 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) through 21 stages over 3 weeks.  But considering it took Rafael Nadal 17 and half playing hours, over the course of two week tournament to win 2010 Wimbledon championship I will concede to Andy Murray that professional competitive ‘tennis is one of the toughest sports in the world.’