Are Tennis Players The Greatest Athletes...

[WiffenPoof]

Of course the U.S. Open is well underway and it represents the highlight of my summer.

There are a lot of great sports and great athletes. However, I'm convinced that tennis players represent the best athletes in the world. With all due respect to professional basketball players (the second most demanding sport), I don't think there is a more demanding sport than tennis...both physically and mentally.

Paige

[LittleBlue]

1. In soccer it's normal for a midfielder to run 11k per game.

And they often play twice a week and run several kilometers per day in training as well.

I've read a soccer player who wrote that off-field life isn't as glamorous as everyone thinks because most players don't have the energy to do anything. Every moment away from the pitch is down time to allow the body to recover from the strain.

[Lizzie Poppet]

4. Yep.

Football (soccer) gets my vote, too...

[phylny]

6. Me three! n/t

[demmiblue]

20. Me four. Although...

this 70 year old ultra-marathoner is pretty bad ass:

[GummyBearz]

8. Its one of the better sports for those who should have been actors but never made it to drama class

[Lizzie Poppet]

16. Basketball's worse these days, though.

Football's actually doing something about the diving these days (more than the NBA's hilariously low token fines). There's been a shift in referee attitudes and FIFA policies, with divers getting yellow cards for "simulation" (as it's called in the Laws of the Game).

In my view, the biggest thing wrong with the sport these days is FIFA's horrible corruption at the upper executive levels.

[KamaAina]

49. As is hockey

The Penguins' Sidney Crosby should have a Summer Olympic gold in diving to go with the Winter Olympic one he obtained at our expense.

[tblue37]

52. OMG--I laughed out loud several times during that video. Hilarious! nt

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

14. Mine too. They play many more games than tennis players

play matches.

Especially the top players who can pick and choose which tournaments they want to play in.

[Mosby]

17. they don't use their upper body much though

Tennis and basketball players use all the major muscle groups and need to have great endurance and quickness.

[HuckleB]

28. Oh, they do.

If you watch a game, you will know that reality. Soccer players must be ridiculously athletic to compete at the top levels, AND be fit to run a marathon. It's outlandish.

[Codeine]

38. I'll remember that the next time I take six or seven

elbows and a full-shoulder barge in the box waiting for a corner kick to be sent in -- and that's in Over-40s. I can't imagine the level of sheer brutal physicality at the highest levels of the game.

[PeteSelman]

2. No. Hockey players are.

Before anything you have to be a world class skater. That's before you get into the conditioning, the hand eye coordination, the sheer toughness and inhuman pain threshold one must have.

All the qualities you need in tennis you need in hockey. Except you're on ice with dudes coming at 20 miles an hour looking to take your head off.

Intentionally and repeatedly throw your face and body in front of a tennis serve. That's hockey tough.

[Dr. Strange]

10. This is, of course, the correct answer.

[WinkyDink]

3. No. Formula 1 drivers are. Incredible reflexes, eyesight, nerves, strength, endurance, little margin

for the proverbial error.

[hifiguy]

11. The nerves of titanium required to drive in F1 or the top-level

sports car races like Le Mans, not to mention all the things you listed, have always seemed almost superhuman to me. Back when it was comparatively a lot more dangerous than it is today, I couldn't believe that a Dan Gurney or Chris Amon could go whistling down the 6-km/3.7 mile Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans at 200+ miles per hour IN THE DARK. And F1 back in the 1960s and 1970s called for a level of physical courage that I cannot imagine. Even the brilliant Jackie Stewart had enough by his early thirties. He had buried too many good friends.

I'd also put NBA players high up on the list in terms of sheer athleticism.

[WinkyDink]

68. An article I read on Larry Bird said his peripheral vision was super-human.

[hifiguy]

69. I became a basketball fan because of

Bird and Magic. Both those guys did things no normal human should ever be able to do, and several times per game each.

[WinkyDink]

72. I go back to worshipping Dave Debuschere, but the Celtics became my team!

[Lizzie Poppet]

18. Hats off to the World Rally Championship folks, too.

Not as physical a sport (although plenty physical), but the drivers are insanely skilled at dealing with wide-ranging (and usually horrible) conditions.

[hifiguy]

27. True, that.

[GummyBearz]

5. Nope race horses are

Imagine doing all that but having some guy on your back the whole time. And yes, I am implying a race horse can serve a tennis ball.

The only thing comparable is bowling

[randys1]

7. Bowlers?

[Snobblevitch]

9. Greatest is certainly a subjective qualifier.

If your criteria are physical and mental endurance are your criteria, then I would have to say collegiate wrestling. If I were to name an individual wrestler as a great athlete, it would be Camel Sanderson, Head Coach at Penn State. He had a college record of 159 - 0 with 4 national championships, starting as a true freshman. He also won gold at the Athens Olympics. (He did lose three times in the 8th grade (varsity level). He then went undefeated his last four years winning four state titles.

[hifiguy]

13. Olympic Gold Medalist and multi-time college champ,

now pro wrestler Kurt Angle was another extraordinary athlete that came out of amateur wrestling.

[Snobblevitch]

24. I am going to show my bias.

When I was in college sometimes we (wrestlers) would start a pick up basketball game. The basketball players would tease us. We invited them to join us in the wrestling room. They never did take up our offer. We even told them they could wrestle the 118 pound freshman.

[hifiguy]

25. Can't say I am surprised.

You should have brought out a monster like Brock Lesnar, who IIRC was a two time Big Ten champ when he wrestled a Minnesota. 6'5", 265 pounds of rock-solid muscle. That guy could knock out a Peterbilt with one well-chosen shot. He's done MMA and WWE since.

Hell, Ronda Rousey would have those basketball players screaming for their mothers in about ten seconds flat, if that.

[Dr. Xavier]

37. Hey Snobblevitch, I posted below

sorry I didn't capitalize your name. I wrestled at 165 and you always apologize to the big boys. So no offense. Sorry to hear about Brock, if anyone can beat a disease it would be a former wrestler, most disciplined athletes in the world.

[hifiguy]

40. He's been back in WWE for a couple of years after a severe bout with

diverticulitis. Still as scary and imposing, and STRONG, as ever. He works about 25 dates per year and his appearances are a Very Big Deal. He's supposedly a very nice, laid back guy outside the ring. Owns a big spread here in MN.

358?!?! That calls Chris Taylor to mind. Undefeated multi-time national champ who wrestled at Iowa back in the late 1970s. He triedpro wrestling for a while at Verne Gagne's camp.

[Travis_0004]

12. My vote would be boxers

Top physical conditioning, perhaps of any athlete, strength, quick reflexes, stamina, and you gotta be brave and or stupid enough to take a punch.

[Logical]

26. I think MMA is even harder. So many different skills needed. nt

[Travis_0004]

29. Certainly a differnt skll set

But I think many MMA athletes lack the physical conditioning that boxers have.

Yes, they have more skills, they are good on the ground, and standup, and a good takedown fighter would beat a boxer in an mma match, but that alone doesn't make them good athletes. Obvioulsy if you were to compare mma or boxing to tennis, you wouldn't stage a tennis match.

You would test speed agility, endurance, strength, and I think a top level boxer would win every one of those.

[Dr. Xavier]

39. While I would never put down another athlete's sport,

boxing is second only to wrestling in requiring discipline, endurance, strength, and concentration. One mis-step and you are gone. Unlike all the other sports, mentioned. What I don't like about boxing is the sport has become, one where you're main objective is to knock the heck out of the other guy. Its a wonder that more boxers don't end up like Muhammed Ali.

[lovemydog]

56. Great point. One mis-step and you're gone.

Many sports, you can have an off moment or even an off day and be okay.

Boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts an off moment can end your career.

[lovemydog]

55. According to espn, you are correct.

Interesting link from espn elsewhere in this thread.

The sweet science ranked numero uno.

[Journeyman]

15. Don't know about the athletes, but the most demanding sport might be Irish Hurling . . .

The hurley stick is solid ash, much like a baseball bat. The sliotar (ball) is cork covered with leather. The mask has only been in use the last 5 years (for a game over 3 millennia old). There are no pads. The blood is real. Some call it the fastest game on grass.

There's another version of hurling, played with Guinness, that's more colorful and certainly has a more unusual soundtrack, but most prefer not to play that game.

[KatyMan]

41. we lived in Ireland

And a guy I worked with played and he said you had to have no fear because if you had any at all you'd get killed. Slight exaggeration of course ,😀 but it is rough. Rugby and Gaelic football too.

[ohheckyeah]

19. Ballet dancers are:

Most people usually do not associate ballet with athletes, but ballet dancers are considered by many to be the best athletes in the world. Hershel Walker studied ballet when he was playing for the Dallas Cowboys as did Walter Payton when he was playing for the Chicago Bears. Many of the men who do the workout are trying to improve performance in sports like basketball, soccer and tennis, said Rebecca Metzger, a former soloist at City Ballet and coordinator for the workout. (New York Times)

[lovemydog]

59. Yeah, ballet dancers

are amazing. I dated a ballerina and couldn't believe the gruesome injury stories and the stamina they have to keep excelling.

[delrem]

21. I've heard that swimmers have the most all-round workout.

[Gman]

22. Olympic Swimmers

Hands down.

[ablamj]

23. Well

Serena Williams is

[Ill16]

31. I like this answer.

I used to play competitive tennis and I watch her and say "How did she do that?"

[HuckleB]

30. Meet Ashton Eaton. He will show you otherwise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashton_Eaton

[Snobblevitch]

36. You might be onto something.

Decathaletes have to be skilled at a variety of events.

(Insert Caitlin Jenner joke here....)

[Dr. Xavier]

33. I agree with snobblevitch but then ...

again, I wrestled in High School. Toughest sport in the world, you do use all the muscle groups, you need endurance, you need to think out a strategy and you need to respond to your opponent's moves in a split second or you've lost. I played other sports: football, basketball, baseball and the workouts were picnics compared to wrestling workouts.

But then again if you ever played co-ed softball, you have met the greatest athletes in the world (at least according to them).

[Travis_0004]

34. ESPN ranked all sports

They included

ENDURANCE: The ability to continue to perform a skill or action for long periods of time. Example: Lance Armstrong
STRENGTH: The ability to produce force. Example: NFL linebackers.
POWER: The ability to produce strength in the shortest possible time. Example: Barry Bonds.
SPEED: The ability to move quickly. Example: Marion Jones, Maurice Green.
AGILITY: The ability to change direction quickly. Example: Derek Jeter, Mia Hamm.
FLEXIBILITY: The ability to stretch the joints across a large range of motion. Example: Gymnasts, divers.
NERVE: The ability to overcome fear. Example: High-board divers, race-car drivers, ski jumpers.
DURABILITY: The ability to withstand physical punishment over a long period of time. Example: NBA/NHL players.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION: The ability to react quickly to sensory perception. Example: A hitter reacting to a breaking pitch; a drag racer timing acceleration to the green light.
ANALYTIC APTITUDE: The ability to evaluate and react appropriately to strategic situations. Example: Joe Montana reading a defense; basketball point guard on a fast break.

Boxing was first, fishing was last.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills

Its still open to debate, but its a good attempt to rank different sports.

[lovemydog]

54. Great list.

1. Boxing
2. Ice Hockey
3. Football
4. Basketball
5. Wrestling
6. Martial Arts
7. Tennis
8. Gymnastics
9. Baseball/Softball
10. Soccer
11. Skiing: Alpine
12. Water Polo
13. Rugby
14. Lacrosse
15. Rodeo: Steer Wrestling

Of course all these sports are grueling if you're among the best.

[Nye Bevan]

35. Surely hitting a baseball is harder than hitting a tennis ball?

It's not like the best tennis players are only able to make contact with the ball 30% or so of the time.

[hifiguy]

42. Time and again I have heard it said that

consistently hitting a small round ball with a round bat is one of the very hardest things in all of sports. And that ball is also traveling 85-100 mph and moving in three dimensions. Anyone who consistently hits well over .300 - I remember Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Tony Oliva in particular, is performing something close to sorcery.

[geek tragedy]

43. While covering a plate the size of your living room? nt

[JVS]

53. A player who succeeds at hitting the ball 1/3 of the time is considered a good baseball player.

A tennis player who can only make 1/3 of the shots is considered horrible.

[ileus]

44. Bicycling IMHO rules.

Followed by Bass fishing.

[cwydro]

46. I'm a huge tennis fan, but I gotta give it to

soccer players too.

And have you ever seen hurley?

[Orrex]

47. Billiard players. Hands down.

[Fix The Stupid]

48. Don't laugh - Motocross

yes, it is true.

I have played many sports. Played a little Junior hockey, baseball, soccer, football, lacrosse, tennis, etc, etc.

By far the greatest workout I ever had or still get is riding moto-cross.

There are times I am so spent after an hour rip or so, I have to go to bed.

It works out muscles you didn't even know you had

It's like the bike is trying to rip your arms off

And the mental workout is there as well... your brain is constantly, always, reading bends & curves, jumps, etc and processing information at an incredible rate - it better be, or the results will be disastrous

[AngryAmish]

50. 1. The US Open that counts was won by Jordan Spieth on Father's Day

I have my country club sport and I am sticking to it!

2. Horses for Courses. Back in the day iirc on The Superstars, many competitions were won by a motorcross racer. Marty Hogan did ok. Renaldo Neiamiah did ok. I think we can agree that most golfers and bowlers are not the best pure athletes. But after a bit of specialization comparing athletes across sports is hard. Except for Bo Jackson. He could have done anything.

[lovemydog]

58. Yes, and the car racers did very well too,

Emerson Fitipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti. The timing & coordination & speed & reflexes suited the all around athletes like motorcycle & car racers well.

And yes, Bo Jackson is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Unbelievably good in both baseball and football.

I think Roy Jones Jr. did something like that too, where he won a college basketball game and a boxing match in the same day. Unreal.

[WiffenPoof]

51. In Defense of Tennis

Well, in reading through this thread I have to agree that there are a lot of sports that are far for difficult and demanding than I had previously thought. Of course, I'm not sure about golf...I mean John Daley used to smoke during the majors.

But on to tennis...

First and I think foremost is that tennis suffered from the perception that it was a "pitty-pat" game that really wasn't for the macho athlete. This was particularly true in the early part of the Modern Era. It wasn't until the mid-seventies that both the athletes and the equipment improved dramatically. There was actually a time when many of the greatest players were not very tall...relying on their quickness to dominate.

As the athletes started to catch up to the technology, the game changed and the server started to dominate. This of course, featured taller players and much shorter rallies. Much of this remains true in todays game.

Let's consider a few things...

Tennis doesn't really have a "season." Many players are active year round. Continually traveling around the world playing tennis can be grueling. In addition, many (if not most) tennis players play injured. Compare this to a baseball player who barely makes contact with the center field fence and falls on the ground writhing in "pain." Soccer players suffer from the same theatrics.

A tennis player can fall on the ground with cramps and he is not to be touched...the clock keeps ticking while he sacrifices point, game and finally match. It happened today to Jack Sock (USA). The humidity was so bad that he started to cramp. He eventually was helped off the court and had to retire. There were a few moments there that some actually believed that his life was in danger. His body core was over-heating.

The four majors feature five set matches for the men. There has been talk lately from the tennis powers that be who want to reduce the sets from 5 to 3 because they are starting to realize what sort of damage is being done to the players. I recall seeing a five set match that lasted just under six hours. In those cases Boris Becker is right..."the fifth set has nothing to do with tennis." You have hit the wall at least once and you have called upon your second, third and fourth wind just to remain on the court. I have seen some professional tennis players throw up at the end of the court because their bodies are suffering trauma.

You are dealing with a serve that can reach speeds of 135 mph (and even higher...I think the record is something like 148 mph). A typical fastball in "the great American past-time" is a mere 95 mph.

The game has changed considerably from the days of Chrissie Everett's finesse shots to the blistering forehands of Serena Williams. From the days of John McEnroe's soft hands at the net to the blazing ground strokes of Novak Djocovic.

Anyway...yes, I suppose that there are other sports that demand more and require skills that tennis players can't match (tennis still ranks number 7 on ESPN's all-time most difficult sports)....but I hope that this will help dispel the idea that tennis players are...well, weaker athletes.

----------

As a side note...and why I love tennis so much:

The match between number 4 Wozniacki and number ? Cenkovska just ended. What should have been a routine victory for Woz turned into an epic three set battle. Cennkovska won in a third set tie-breaker. She is 30 years old and has been waiting for her sacrifices to pay off. They finally did. Her coach was in tears and you could feel the emotions of joy expressed to her from the NY crowd. She still has to play in two days...let's hope that her dream stays alive and that her body will repair in time.

-Paige

[lovemydog]

57. Wonderful well-written post.

Thanks. That was a pleasure to read!

[lovemydog]

60. The simple fact is that all great athletes in every sport

totally kick ass. ESPN tried quantifying it (great link elsewhere in this thread). But when you think of all the top sports, the great athletes really are amazing. I love tennis. I love soccer (which I played in high school). Can't argue though with espn's ranking of boxing as numero uno though, considering what happens to you if you make the slightest mistake.

[Spider Jerusalem]

61. Boxing is the hardest sport there is

We sized them up. We measured them, top to bottom. We've done our own Tale of the Tape, and we've come to a surprising conclusion. Pound for pound, the toughest sport in the world is . . .

Boxing.

The Sweet Science.

That's the sport that demands the most from the athletes who compete in it. It's harder than football, harder than baseball, harder than basketball, harder than hockey or soccer or cycling or skiing or fishing or billiards or any other of the 60 sports we rated.

In Page 2's Ultimate Degree of Difficulty Grid, boxing scores higher than them all.


But don't take our word for it. Take the word of our panel of experts, a group made up of sports scientists from the United States Olympic Committee, of academicians who study the science of muscles and movement, of a star two-sport athlete, and of journalists who spend their professional lives watching athletes succeed and fail.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills

[trumad]

65. Agree..

I boxed a bit in the Army.

I've played just about every sport including Soccer.

Albeit grueling, it was nothing compared to boxing.

[RedCappedBandit]

62. No. MMA/Boxing, Football, Endurance sports, IMO.

[trumad]

64. I say boxing.

Get in a ring and try boxing for one round.

[HughBeaumont]

66. I would think this sport has some degree of difficulty to those playing it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw

[Drahthaardogs]

67. Um,no....

Demanding does not mean most athletic. IF you include size, speed, strength, and power, tennis players are not even in the top 10. They have endurance and hand eye coordination and quickness. Most are not particularly powerful. It is certainly not a requirement to play the game , although new tennis players are indeed more powerful than those fifteen years ago. The game has changed.

Most athletic body types would have to be gymnasts. Size, speed, power, strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and endurance are all required. I am assuming by "best athlete" you mean a sport that requires the most varied physical attributes to be successful.

[taught_me_patience]

70. basketball no other sport is close

For pure speed, explosiveness, and hands eye coordination.

[spanone]

71. mano a mano for four hours, yes they are.