With Roland Garros in full swing in Paris, why not take a closer look at the benefits of tennis?
It’s a well-known fact: sport is one of the main levers for good health. But did you know that some sports are particularly renowned for gaining years of life? Racquet sports top the list of sports synonymous with longevity. Witness the performance of China’s Ni Xia Lian, who was competing in her 6th Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, at the age of 61. The ping-pong player holds the record for the oldest person to win a table tennis match at the Olympics, after a successful 40-year career in the discipline. Another figure illustrates this theory: Zeng Zhiying, also a table tennis player, took part in her first Olympic Games at the age of 58.
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Racquet sports are synonymous with longevity
A number of studies point to the beneficial effects of racket sports on longevity, including one conducted on over 80,000 adults over a 9-year period, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which compared the impact of different sporting activities. The latter concluded that those who regularly played racket sports reduced their chances of death by 47% compared with those who were not active. This was almost 20% more than swimming, which came second with 28%. The chance of dying from cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack, etc.) was reduced by 56%. With swimming, this risk is reduced by 41% and 36% with fitness.
How can this be explained? Excellent cardiovascular training, racquet sports are both aerobic and anaerobic activities, combining all the benefits of both types with endurance efforts and short, intense periods. This combo is highly beneficial for heart and vascular health. In addition to the obvious cardio benefits, tennis, squash and table tennis improve both physical and cognitive capacities. Through physical and mental coordination, they improve balance and agility, reflexes, concentration and mental alertness. At the same time, they mobilize every muscle in the body: thighs, back, shoulders, arms, abs… Muscle mass and strength are thus maintained over the long term. The energy expenditure of a racket sport is high, and helps maintain a healthy body weight. For example, 400 to 600 calories per hour can be expended during a tennis match.
Another benefit, regularly cited by Dan Buettner, the longevity expert who has studied the blue zones populated by centenarians all his life: racquet sports are team sports and therefore social. Human contact and social interaction are synonymous with longevity, as all the studies on the subject have shown. In fact, according to the journalist, loneliness in the USA costs Americans 15 years of life expectancy. “We are social beings by nature, and relationships with others are fundamental to our psychological well-being”, explains psychologist Unai Aso. Regular contact with family and friends improves brain health, prevents brain decline and may prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Tennis increases life expectancy by almost 10 years
Among racket sports, the healthiest is tennis. According to research, male and female tennis players increase their life expectancy by an average of almost 10 years – 9.7 years, to be precise! In second place? Badminton with 6.2 years. Soccer comes third with an average of 4.7 years, followed by cycling with 3.7 years and swimming with 3.4 years. And just as well, a cool wind is blowing through the sport. Tennis clubs bring people together in a community spirit, and leading brands are devoting collections to the sport that are a cross between athleisure and sport.