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.