Fittest tennis player of this millenium? Let's talk about who is fittest on different parts of fitness and decide who has overall best tennis fitness

[mindmaster]

what is the most important part of fitness in tennis? I'ts very easy for me to say that David Ferrer is the fittest guy that has ever played on tour. That guy has run 10 km in 34 minutes which is unbelieveble for a tennis player! Roger Federer in 2004 ran in cooper test (12 minute run)3300 meters which is good enough for him probably and in 40 minutes he was able to run 9300 meters. That means David Ferrer runs 10 km with faster speed than Federer does in 3 km run so its obvious that Ferrer's aerobic endurance is on it's own league with other players. He had a habit of starting warmups with a 10km jogging doing sick amount of different moves like 200 situps and that was just to get him warm for real training session. He did also daily bicycle sessions. He would beat all other players in all kind of fitness tests at least when he was still playing but he still seems to be as fit as he used to be when competing. Djokovic also has been able to get himself in superb condition as he was so often getting tired in matches when he was younger. One tennis commentator said that he does 3 hours of stretching daily. He obviously is very flexible and it probably helps him a lot in recovering. Murray is one of the hardest working guy on tour. I think I have read his marathon time but dont remember his time but I think it was between 3.10-3.20h. Very good time for a guy from other sports than running. If pro players would be put to an army fitness test who do you think would get the highest score? making pushups situps and so on. Like I said Ferrer was on whole different league on fitness I had to include former players from recent years as I have not followed closely tennis in recent years But Alcaraz Seems to also be very fit. I have allways thought that Nadal is very overrated in fitness. He is very injury prone and doesn't recover quickly from long matches like Ferrer, Nole and Murray. And it's not a surprise if he doesn't even train on gym like I heard some commentator say that all training he does is on court. That really makes me wonder that doesn't he even have fitness trainer? Hitting tennis balls daily for hours without other training is easy way to ruin your body. I forgot to mention a beep test which is quite good at testing tennis endurance

 

[beanchillin]

Its probably Ferrer, but Nadal isn't in this conversation (by his own will). Nadal would kill himself and pull every muscle in his leg to reach a ball on clay and I reckon that would be why he avoided the gym. His muscles were always strained after matches, and most gym exercises involving weights and stretching could easily cause him an injury and tear because these exercises pull muscles. It's also the reason why Nadal often took breaks during HC and Grass seasons.

 

[Bambooman]

Ferrer only ran 36 ish and I don't believe Murray ever ran a Marathon.

I have done faster. I did not play on the tour however.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Not really sure, but Ferrer seems like a very good candidate. Novak would rank high, and going back a few decades, Borg was an exceptionally fit athlete.

 

[Mazz Retic]

According to Ferrer it’s Djokovic.

And it’s not just his friends who speak so highly of him, but his ATP tour rivals too. “He has the best fitness on the tour,” David Ferrer tells us, with the kind of honesty you wouldn’t normally expect from a regular opponent. Ferrer is 41, with 27 career titles and a highest ranking of three. He has beaten Djokovic but he has also lost to him, many times, saying modestly: “To beat him I need to have a very good day while he has a bad day.

Is Novak Djokovic the Fittest Athlete of All Time?

From interviews with those who know him and those who played against him, Novak Djokovic is the perfect tennis specimen. This is how he became the greatest

www.menshealth.com

 

[The Blond Blur]

People seem to be conflating fitness with overall health. To me there’s a big difference between being fit/in shape/well conditioned and healthy/not injured. RAFA for example was a freak conditioning wise and could play 5-6 hour matches no problem, but he’s also been injured a lot throughout his career. Lol at him avoiding lifting, stretching, and not having a trainer. All the top guys spend millions of dollars investing in gyms and teams around them to get/stay in shape. You don’t have the kind of career he’s had by skipping all that stuff.

 

[nolefam_2024]

People seem to be conflating fitness with overall health. To me there’s a big difference between being fit/in shape/well conditioned and healthy/not injured. RAFA for example was a freak conditioning wise and could play 5-6 hour matches no problem, but he’s also been injured a lot throughout his career. Lol at him avoiding lifting, stretching, and not having a trainer. All the top guys spend millions of dollars investing in gyms and teams around them to get/stay in shape. You don’t have the kind of career he’s had by skipping all that stuff.

Yes these players are in top most shape. Injury is different than endurance and speed.

 

[Kralingen]

Want to give a bit of love to Gilles Simon. Just purely game wise and weapons he should not have had anywhere near the sustained success he did. Comparing him to even Ferrer, at least Ferru’s FH was a credible weapon capable of dictating rallies especially on clay. Simon’s weapons - from serve to FH to BH - all were average at best.

Simon had no issues playing 40 shot rallies every point if needed and sustained great longevity as well.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I'ts very easy for me to say that David Ferrer is the fittest guy that has ever played on tour.

It's just as easy for most others to say Thomas Muster or Borg. Both of their resting pulse rates were 36.

 

[nolefam_2024]

It's just as easy for most others to say Thomas Muster or Borg. Both of their resting pulse rates were 36.

Yeah I don't know if ferrer is the fittest. He is among the fittest.

 

[mindmaster]

Want to give a bit of love to Gilles Simon. Just purely game wise and weapons he should not have had anywhere near the sustained success he did. Comparing him to even Ferrer, at least Ferru’s FH was a credible weapon capable of dictating rallies especially on clay. Simon’s weapons - from serve to FH to BH - all were average at best.

Simon had no issues playing 40 shot rallies every point if needed and sustained great longevity as well.

Yeah I totally forgot to mention Simon. I have watched so many grueling matches of him and I don't think I have ever seen him looking tired. Simon was a master at conserving energy on those long rallies. His shots always looked very effortless absobed the pace from his opponents. He would probably be one of the best marathon runners

 

[Bambooman]

It's just as easy for most others to say Thomas Muster or Borg. Both of their resting pulse rates were 36.

Myth about Borg. Nor does resting pulse really tell how fit someone is.