Playing tennis will typically improve a person’s physical condition considerably. Tennis players are models of strength, agility and fitness. However, while it is largely beneficial to your health to take up a sport like tennis, it is not all good news on the health front for tennis players. Tennis is also a sport known for its overuse injuries and fatigue conditions. The most common health concerns among tennis players are ankle, knee and wrist injuries, chronic back pain and heat stroke. These are all things that can be avoided by a person who practices safety in their tennis playing and is intuitive with their body. However, at least one of these injuries strike nearly half of all tennis players.

Ankle, knee and wrist injuries are common in tennis because it is a high impact sport on these particular joints. Tennis requires very rapid movement around a court which means that the legs are always engaged in a high speed dance. The direction a person moves depends on their opponent’s move, which means a tennis player is constantly making a series of sudden, rapid movements around a court. This puts a strain on the ankle, knee and wrist joints over time, and it increases the likelihood of a stress injury because of how sudden and jerky the movements can be. The wrist absorbs most of the impact of the tennis racket making contact with the ball, so overuse and fracture injuries are not uncommon.

Chronic back pain is another typical discomfort among tennis players. The back is heavily engaged in tennis as all the strength behind a player’s swing originates in their back and arm muscles. The back is easily strained and is a part of the body that requires a great deal of physical care. When it sustains injury, it takes considerably longer to heal than other parts of the body. Back injury can also be permanent and become something that a person has to manage for life. It is critical for tennis players to properly care for their backs while engaging in their sport.

Lastly, heat stroke affects numerous tennis players because of the high level of activity they engage in during a game. Tennis heats a person’s inner core tremendously because of how much it charges the cardiovascular system. Tennis players need to monitor their core temperatures as they play and constantly consume liquids to ensure they do not suffer heat stroke.

Playing tennis is a favorite pass-time of many Americans, Europeans and a number of other regions. Tennis is a highly respected Olympic sport that athletes spend their lives perfecting the art of. Tennis players such as Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are widely considered sports celebrities for their achievement in tennis. One does not need to be a famous tennis player to benefit from the sport of tennis, however. There are many known health benefits to playing tennis even if you are only playing sporadically. These benefits include improved bone and heart health, increased flexibility and balance, and weight loss. Tennis can be taken up for enjoyment or as a health plan because the number of ways it contributes to a clean bill of health.

Exercise is essential to healthy bones. Not only does exercise strengthen bones by working them and training them to take impacts, but it metabolizes the nutrients that bones need to stay strong by nourishing the bone marrow and bone material. Tennis is a form of exercise that virtually works all the major bones in the body. Legs, arms, back and neck are all actively engaged in tennis playing.

Tennis is also excellent for a person’s heart health. Cardiovascular exercise, the kind that gets the heart pumping blood faster, is the kind that strengthens and oxygenates the heart. Tennis is an idea cardiovascular workout because the entire body is constantly engaged and moving quickly.

Flexibility and balance are also increased by playing tennis. Tennis is a sport that requires incredible agility and coordination. The precision of the movements that are made at the rapid pace the game moves at create an athlete that is flexible and fluid in their movements, as well as possessing strong balance and kinesthetic awareness.

And lastly, weight loss is an obvious health benefit of playing tennis. One has never seen an overweight professional tennis player. It would be impossible to play tennis regularly and be overweight. Tennis is far too high impact and intensely aerobic to allow for overweight athletes. Anyone who wants to lose weight could consider tennis a viable weight loss plan.