atatu
Legend
You mean like Wes Welker ?
Are there tennis players who are as big or buff as football players?
- Thread starter garyfiddler
- Start date
You mean like Wes Welker ?
rev200g
Rookie
Maybe this will offer some clarification to this discussion:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills
Note that Ice Hockey is ranked higher than either Football or Tennis. Go Canucks (Vancouver)!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills
Note that Ice Hockey is ranked higher than either Football or Tennis. Go Canucks (Vancouver)!
OHAI
Rookie
I think you're talking about linemen not linebackers. Linebackers are usually pretty "Big and Buff."
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, this is what makes me laugh when people talk up the athleticism of American Football players. I just say: what about that line-up right there of guys who look like half their training entailed eating pies.
Fact is, as I said in an earlier post, American Football is a sport of specialist, niche roles which mostly have a very narrow window of required skills. Being great at stuff outside your role's needs is usually of little additional benefit to the team and probably takes up time which could be better used honing the attributes your role does need.
I think sometimes people get carried away and mistake the huge fame they have in America as somehow equating to their athletic ability in the holistic sense when, in generally, it doesn't. Any top tennis player is a more rounded athlete than 99% of American Footballers - simply because to be any good at tennis at all you have to be at least relatively good at every aspect required - natural skill, dexterity, speed, strength, endurance, mental aptitude, tactical awareness and x-factor. Those who fail notably in any area simply cannot compete at a high level no matter how good their 'good' traits are. A huge serve cannot cover being dead slow, nor can being really strong cover for having no head for the game.
Simply being as a big as one of the buff American Football players is irrelevant in most sports - for many American Footballers even. For tennis it would almost surely be counter-productive to your game so, to answer the OP, that's why you don't see them in tennis.
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RogerRacket111
Semi-Pro
Are there any Football players that are as big as sumo wrestlers ?
Point is they need to be big like football players.
Point is they need to be big like football players.
heftylefty
Hall of Fame
Yes...dude could have played football. I took up tennis at the time he was a touring pro.
Dedans Penthouse
Legend
Are there any football players (or sumo wrestlers) as big as Alisa Kleybanova?
kiki
Banned
Somebody asked him, after he made a surprise run towards the FO fourth round in his first year, how was it possible to do well on clay since he had never playe don it...he said " hey dude, it´s still a tennis court.same size, same length..."
heftylefty
Hall of Fame
That's the beauty of tennis back in the day. Guys just *****' played. No need to overthink it. It's tennis!! It's beautiful and demanding but it's just tennis.
FedererBestTennis
Professional
It's a misconception that tennis players are not strong. Just because they are not buff, it doesn't mean they are not strong. How do you think they hit 156 mph serves?
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
FeVer
Semi-Pro
Maybe this will offer some clarification to this discussion:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills
Note that Ice Hockey is ranked higher than either Football or Tennis. Go Canucks (Vancouver)!
Tennis more demanding than rugby?? errrmmmm.......
Ambivalent
Hall of Fame
Actually, Nadal is pretty well built and could play running back with some specialized muscle training...
And Federer wouldn't be a bad safety with his speed and quickness.
And Federer wouldn't be a bad safety with his speed and quickness.
President
Legend
Well there are a variety of categories. Rugby had tennis beat in "Nerve" and "Strength", while tennis won in every other category. Which category do you specifically disagree with?
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
No, because most of the stuff on NFL players is steroids and other drugs.
All this steroid talk is ridiculous. There is probably jut as much performance enhancing drugs in tennis as there is in the NFL. The NFL regularly tests players and keeps a very watchful eye over this. Bringing steroids into this conversation is the same as calling anyone that beats you a sand bagger.
This is a stupid topic. Obviously NFL players are giant and much more muscular than a tennis player. It is two different sports completely.
This is a stupid topic. Obviously NFL players are giant and much more muscular than a tennis player. It is two different sports completely.
dominikk1985
Legend
this.
tennis is just another sport. every athlete is build differently and bigger is not always better. for example marathon runners are very thin and still they are no bad athletes. and discus throwers are even bigger and stronger than NFL players. but neither body is best suited for tennis. tennis players have a tennis players body (with tiny left arms like federer
).
OHAI
Rookie
Grass_for_cows
Semi-Pro
You mean linemen, because linebackers, if they were fat, their hearts would burst and they would die. Linebackers probably do most running of all football players.
Grass_for_cows
Semi-Pro
And for how many mins. of a 5 set match is the ball in play?
Kobble
Hall of Fame
Chang's legs were as developed as any football player.
For upper body, I would say Gambill and Tsonga.
Interesting thread.. about the body types:
As other posters have indicated tennis doesn't favour an "NFL body." NFL players train for bursts of strength and power. But they need limited stamina. Thus you see very big strong guys on the field.
Certainly cornerbacks and some wide recievers could probably transition to tennis without much trouble body type wise. But the other positions require too much strength and power. You would have to lose muscle mass..
There was this Div. I linebacker that played tennis on his schools team and he noted that he was too bulkly to really play as well as he should be able too. But he didn't want to lose the weight and wreck his football..
As other posters have indicated tennis doesn't favour an "NFL body." NFL players train for bursts of strength and power. But they need limited stamina. Thus you see very big strong guys on the field.
Certainly cornerbacks and some wide recievers could probably transition to tennis without much trouble body type wise. But the other positions require too much strength and power. You would have to lose muscle mass..
There was this Div. I linebacker that played tennis on his schools team and he noted that he was too bulkly to really play as well as he should be able too. But he didn't want to lose the weight and wreck his football..
This is kind of off the original topic of the thread but I think its an interesting point that was brought up in this thread. Everyone gets caught up in defending the athleticism of tennis players..
Yes there are athletic players who I feel would be great in other sports (Del Porto could play in the NBA, so could Monfils - if they grew up playing hoops), Nadal could absolutely be an NFL safety or an Major League outfielder - if he had grown up in the states.. Pete Sampras could have played another sport and so on..
But even so tennis is indeed 'less athletic' then other sports. Why? It simply because tennis is a high skill sport. It takes YEARS of practice from a very young age to be a pro tennis player. Mardy Fish will tell you that the only reason he is a succesful pro tennis player is his family. He isn't an exceptional athlete - but is exceptionally skilled.
Football while still requiring skill is less of a skill sport. For example Stephen Neal of the Patriots was a world class wrestler. He never even played football - but he was coached up into being a very good offensive lineman for many years.
World class sprinters have gone on to be succesful wide receivers without playing football. Yes it takes a while to learn and it's not easy. But such a transition is impossible in tennis.
You are NEVER going to see say Rajon Rondo quit basketball and become a tennis pro. Not physically because he couldn't do it (he is IDEALLY suited to being a tennis pro IMHO). Its just because the skill cap is too great..
This is what makes tennis such a great sport to play though - the combination of needing skill but still rewarding athleticism.
Golf is another 'high skill' sport. And while Tiger is supposedly an excellent all around athlete - its hardly necessary for golf. His athleticism never really 'shines.' In tennis you get the best of both worlds.
Yes there are athletic players who I feel would be great in other sports (Del Porto could play in the NBA, so could Monfils - if they grew up playing hoops), Nadal could absolutely be an NFL safety or an Major League outfielder - if he had grown up in the states.. Pete Sampras could have played another sport and so on..
But even so tennis is indeed 'less athletic' then other sports. Why? It simply because tennis is a high skill sport. It takes YEARS of practice from a very young age to be a pro tennis player. Mardy Fish will tell you that the only reason he is a succesful pro tennis player is his family. He isn't an exceptional athlete - but is exceptionally skilled.
Football while still requiring skill is less of a skill sport. For example Stephen Neal of the Patriots was a world class wrestler. He never even played football - but he was coached up into being a very good offensive lineman for many years.
World class sprinters have gone on to be succesful wide receivers without playing football. Yes it takes a while to learn and it's not easy. But such a transition is impossible in tennis.
You are NEVER going to see say Rajon Rondo quit basketball and become a tennis pro. Not physically because he couldn't do it (he is IDEALLY suited to being a tennis pro IMHO). Its just because the skill cap is too great..
This is what makes tennis such a great sport to play though - the combination of needing skill but still rewarding athleticism.
Golf is another 'high skill' sport. And while Tiger is supposedly an excellent all around athlete - its hardly necessary for golf. His athleticism never really 'shines.' In tennis you get the best of both worlds.
Who cares how long the ball is in play? Isn't the whole point of a sport to be entertaining. I know myself and millions of others are entertained by watching NFL.
Sorry buddy the jokes on you.
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