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.’

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The studies finding make great headlines, but I wouldn’t consider them typical of the British youth. Over 1000 school children aged 8-15 were questioned in an online survey, restricting the demographic of the study to those who have access to the computer and internet and also the time and inclination to fill in an online survey (which from my experience you have to be referred to by an adult who is signed up to an online survey company). Taking into account this selected group of respondents it’s not too surprising that 55% of the children said that they spent 60 minutes or more a day texting, talking on the phone or using instant messaging and social networking sites. Apparently in this selective group of children, one in three did less than an hour a week of physical activity, surprising considering compulsory sports lessons at school.

If the same survey was taken of the children who visit the park from my house the results may be very different. Large groups of children hang around from the end of school till dusk, kicking a football on the astro-turfed pitch, cycling round the surrounding paths or just running and chasing each other. Although I doubt if you asked this group if they did regular exercise they would think that they did. Also the secondary schools in my area are over a mile away and each day you see the constant stream of children walking to and from school. If brisk walking is classified as moderate exercise then most of these are getting at least 60 minutess exercise a day without even trying or being aware of it.

One statistic that was interesting is that 20% said they thought they did not need to exercise because they were not overweight. Most health advertising is about watching watch you eat and being active to reduce obesity. Those in a healthy weight range probably don’t think it applies to them, so it is good that this year’s campaign is to encourage the importance of physical activity for all through an Ultimate Dodgeball event.

I teach both private and school swimming lessons and yes there are some obese children and those who try to get out of the lesson, but at the junior school age group I would estimate only 10% of those I teach are overweight. I have noticed however, that increasingly religion is becoming an excuse, the girls can’t swim because the costumes clings to their body when it gets wet, they are weak from fasting or the pool water can’t touch their lips. Perhaps these excuses should be addressed by the relevant bodies so children are freely able to participate in exercise classes and learn valuable live saving skills though swimming, without restrictions through their religion.

The BHF’s Food4Thought is a valid campaign and to make it into the tabloids it needed its shock statistics about the downfall of modern Britain, for papers like the Daily Mail to publish and promote the scheme. But can we have too many surveys like this putting down today’s youth and will children pay attention to a campaign that is already so critical of them? Maybe to be more active children need more freedom and fewer restrictions and they will happily ride their bikes to their friends’ house, choose to go to the swimming pool after school, or kick about the football in the park, without seeing exercise as a chore.

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