Tennis has the Best Athletes of Any Other Sport
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Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
an hour of badminton is def. tougher than an hour of tennis in terms of the work-out you get, I would say. But a badminton match is also a lot shorter than a tennis match.
But again - look at pro badminton players. They're tiny. Not exactly athletes who would excel in a lot of other sports. So in terms of who's the best athletes, I would go with tennis players over badminton players and decathletes over pretty much everyone else (see my post above)
Do you guys actually watch baseball? Do you watch the fielders? If you are a shortstop or 2nd baseman or catcher the variety of skills that you need is crazy. Baseball is not only about see ball hit ball. A shortstop on a major league team doesnt only have to have the skills to hit a 95 mph split finger pitch he also has to field balls hit to his right or left that are coming off of bats at 90 mph and then throw that ball effectivley to make a play. I really dont think many of you who say baseball doesnt require any athletic skill watch baseball. Between the big three sports in the USA it requires the most skill. It is the hardest to master by far. There really isnt anything that is close. It is a skill based sport in the way that golf is but you have to be able to do multiple skills and actually be a good athlete. One could argue well what about a 1st baseman who just needs to be able to hit. Yea and what about Isner who serves and cant do much else and is top 20 in the world.
Edit. And on this note Karlovic just won an atp level tournament. The guy is in his mid thirties and can serve. His athletic ability is very limited yet he just won a pro tennis tournament. No disrespect to him but to say that tennis players are the best athletes overall would not be being honest. Tennis is filled with great athletes but like other sports it has some guys who can do very well and not be the best athletes.
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You wouldnt even hit a lucky pitch at all between anything after 10 pitches. You would be standing there with your mouth open wondering how anyone can hit a round ball going 98 mph with a round wood bat anywhere.
Russeljones
Talk Tennis Guru
You've no idea what you're talking about.
Boxing is 100x more demanding than tennis in various ways. You have to strategize, use proper technique, take a couple of shots, all while trying to maintain endurance throughout the match.
On average, a boxing match requires much more endurance than you think. In all reality, tennis players maybe play on the court for about 45-50 minutes or so when all is said and done when you subtract things like change of sets, change overs, etc.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
No doubt. And honestly, that is what would happen to you if any decent server on the ATP tour decides they want to hit aces on you.
Thats just not true. Just by the fact that there are far fewer aces than strikes by swinging and missing or just standing watching a strikes on the pro level. Its harder to hit the damn ball with a bat than it is with a racket. PERIOD. Mixed doubles is a perfect example. The women can hit alot of serves back by men.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
I'm not debating which is harder. I'm saying that you are underplaying the level at which professional tennis players play to overemphasize your point. You wouldn't be able to return a top players serve if they try to ace you and, quite frankly, they can probably hit forehand winners at will on you as well. PERIOD.
I love tennis. But when people start debating these things they make comments about who isnt an athlete or who is or bla bla. Tennis players are great athletes and you are correct I would get blown off the court. The point I was making was when people downplay other sports saying baseball is not hard or stupid stuff like that they dont know what they are talking about. Hitting is so freaking hard at the major league level it isnt even funny. Not to mention all the other things you have to be able to do. No one would say Isner or Karlovic are great athletes but they win tournaments and both have been top 20 players. You dont need to be a great athlete to succeed in tennis with weapons like Isner or Karlovic. They are like the DH in baseball who all he can do is hit. Or the guy in football who is a blocker. THey might not be great all around athletes but they are making a good living.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
I agree completely with you on that. I ignored this thread for a while before entering because the title is so ridiculous. Atheleticism is very important in tennis (especially now), but you can be a great tennis player even if you are not a great athlete (provided you have major skills of course).
Here is proof:
David Nalbandian
President
Legend
^I actually think Nalbandian was a pretty good natural athlete, I always thought his movement was quite solid, despite his obvious lack of commitment to conditioning. He was an athletic guy IMO, and could have been a really good athlete if he had put in even half the work of players like Ferrer and Murray. Good defense and transition from defense to offense, and very nice footwork.
A better example of someone who is not naturally athletic and succeeded in tennis is someone like Almagro IMO.
A better example of someone who is not naturally athletic and succeeded in tennis is someone like Almagro IMO.
This is joke. A guy who's not naturally athletic will never possess serves and bh of Almagro's caliber. If he had mindset of even just Ferrer he'd be winning slams.
crazyups
Professional
Every sport has some amazing athletes but I think the best athletes in the world are the running backs and some basketball players like Jordan and some soccer players like Pele. Look at the running backs, a great balance of amazing strength, speed and agility as well as requiring talent to react to numerous different situations. I would say Nadal is the greatest tennis athlete. Borg was fast but not as powerful due to his size, and Monfils doesn't have the power of Nadal. I don't think Djokovic is as powerful either but he is pretty close.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
Nalbandian has good footwork for sure, but I'm not so sure about him being a great natural athlete. I was watching the 2005 AO QF between him and Hewitt yesterday and I felt that Nalbandian was not a very explosive mover. Unlike Hewitt, Nalbandian was not quick enough to get his feet underneath the ball when stretched wide; Hewitt was hitting some nice angles which constantly forced Nalbandian to take one hand of the racquet and slice. In contrast, Hewitt (and now Nadal, Murray, Djokovic) could quickly chase the ball down and hit full forehand and backhands on the dead run.
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This statement is fully doubtful. Best athletes have the best endurance and body shape.
In tennis, you can be fat and you can win matches. You can be fat and you can beat slimmer player. You can have pot belly and you can still win grand slam.
In Iron Man Triathlon championships, it is almost impossible to be fat and to win. You have to do all three different sports non stop, in under 17 hours time limit:
3.86 km swimming
180.25 km cycling
42.2 km marathon running
Also, I have never seen a fat guy or girl winning a gold medal in Olympics marathon.
Any extreme endurance sports that produces slim and wiry winners undoubtledly have the best athletes out there. These sports require you to have the best body condition and stamina.
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droliver
Professional
He was most certainly not a "very sought after prospect" in high school baseball. The whole thing with the Birmingham Barons was kind of a PR sham and just a courtesy from Jerry Reinsdorf. Playing amateur, low level scholastic baseball is not really "having a background" in baseball for trying to make it as a professional player 15yrs later. As noted, he was not even really a rookie league caliber player
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
No, I admit I don't. I've tried and found it exceedingly boring (no offense). I do feel I've watched it enough to have some understanding of the challenges, but surely not to the extent that you have.
As a matter of fact, I'm not big on any of the 4 big American sports, but I'm quite surprised you say baseball requires the most skill (then again, skill is not exactly what we're discussing here though it's an element - we're discussing which requires or produces the best athletes). Is that the common view in the US?
See my post 49 on the matter of best athlete (I don't for a second think it's tennis).
The point being is that no one would argue that Jordan wasnt a great athlete probably the best to ever play basketball. But when he attempted to play baseball, a sport which supposedly doesnt have great athletes he was a joke. You can be the best athlete in the world but if you dont play the sport on a regular basis exspeshially a sport like baseball it does not matter. Two guys Bo jackson and deon sanders played both baseball and football. They were both way better football players than baseball players. Baseball takes an enormous amount of skill that most other sports dont.
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heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
Nalby was very athletic. Plenty of ripped guys have no balance or coordination. Don't confuse his paunch with lack of athleticism.
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
By the same token the three sports in a triathlon are also amongst the lowest skilled of all sports. Swimming alone requires a moderate amount of technique honing but, otherwise, all three require basically an astonishing amount of repetition of very basic motions. However, therein lies the difficulty of them - you're pitting your mental and physical endurance against others doing the same.
They may be great athletes but there is no triathlete nor long-distance runner who has to compete every second day for two weeks or a total of 60+ times per year. Their athletic ability in that respect is very different to that of a tennis player.
Lastly, a marathon is only a moderate endurance event by ultimate standards. The fact you don't see any larger marathon winners means nothing. Those guys mostly have the upper body strength of a 10 year old girl too - how do you reconcile that with your claim they're such great athletes?
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
You mean a select few positions take an enormous amount of skill... the positions which make the bulk of the better know and most lauded players in the game?
N
Nathaniel_Near
Guest
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Also just generally the comment was completely pointless, as you don't see fat people winning at a large number of sports, not limited to marathon running or the like.
You don't see fat people winning marathon gold medals, or tennis, or badminton, or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or.
If you find baseball boring thats fine. Many americans find soccer boring. That doesnt mean soccer players are not good athletes. If you do research on sports and see that very very rarely can a kid play pro baseball at 18 in fact it hasnt happened in years since i think Ken Griffey junior. There are 18 year old guys on the atp tour. Becker won wimbledon at 17! Guys get drafted into the NBA at 18 then actually play. The same with soccer guys are playing at 18. No matter how good of an athlete you are it takes a long time to develop into a decent baseball player. Thats just the fact.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
you've got me interested. Do you have a good video and/or text that really highlights the challenges of baseball?
There is stuff on the net. It is just one of those sports that takes a long time to develop. Its not a sport where just good athletic ability or instincts will equate to success. You have to be able to think, and read pitchers, have to be able to understand and then develop a mentality that will help you succeed consistently. The thing is in baseball the guys are always scouting each other attempting to figure out their respective weaknesses. Can this guy hit a curve? Can this guy hit a inside fastball? They have charts on all of them. It makes it super hard to succeed day and day out. Thats why it takes so long as opposed to other team and individual sports to develop a great player. Tennis seems to be moving in that direction because of the more physical nature of the sport now. But even Nadal who won the french at 18 and the joker and Fed who were tops in their sport in their early 20s is not normal for a sport like baseball.
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
But you do see fat people hitting baseballs.
LOL. Some power? He was a great athlete. He was a great pitcher even before he became a great hitter. He was a freak of nature.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
been reading a bit. hitting it is def. hard. but I knew that. it's all the other stuff I need to educate myself on.
Naaa thats cool. Its not a sport that people really get at first if ever lol. I dont know a damn thing about cricket for example. I am not sure is it comparable to baseball in its skill set? I have watched it and cant figure out what is going on plus the games last like days?
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
Looked like a major porker in pictures. So you think he was on the level of a Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, athletically?
He transformed his sport. To try and compare him to others in other sports is not possible. Nadal cant run like a kenyan marathoner does that make nadal a bad athlete? Hell Nadal probably couldnt even finish a marathon. I guess that means he is a bad athlete.
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
I train my 2 sons in tennis, swimming, badminton, ping pong, martial arts (Wing Chun), running since they 2 years old.. Tennis is the hardest.. After they get the hang of tennis, everything else seem so easy.. Tennis you have to train everyday, 6 days a week to perfect your techniques, timing, endurance and best of all focus or mental toughness..
The kids mind lost focus easily after 15mins but for tennis, it requires 100% concentration.. After 5 years, my son seems doing much better with any other sports.. he just pick up a ping pong paddle plays for 3 months and can beat many players that have been playing the game for 3 years or even more.. same as well as badminton, paddle tennis, baseball, football.. he hit the home run first time ever hold the bat compare to many other kids that have been playing little league.. so as a parent, Tennis is the toughing thing to teach but also the best thing for the kid to learn..
The kids mind lost focus easily after 15mins but for tennis, it requires 100% concentration.. After 5 years, my son seems doing much better with any other sports.. he just pick up a ping pong paddle plays for 3 months and can beat many players that have been playing the game for 3 years or even more.. same as well as badminton, paddle tennis, baseball, football.. he hit the home run first time ever hold the bat compare to many other kids that have been playing little league.. so as a parent, Tennis is the toughing thing to teach but also the best thing for the kid to learn..
How much you wanna bet he'd come closer than Mark McGuire would?
Well he does have something in common with Mark but it doesnt have anything to do with running:?
martini1
Hall of Fame
Gymnasts should be up there. In fact there are not many rec gymnasts because most of the population cannot even do it. And even if you start as a kid, most people fail to make it at a competition level. And most people do not have the body build to do it. On top of that once you hit a certain age (and very young), especially for women, it is all over.
Thought this video belonged here. During the 2007 Wimbledon final, John Goodall was comparing returning Federer's serve and hitting a fast pitch in cricket. It includes some numbers and visuals. It's short and worth a watch.
You have half a second to react to one of Federer's good serves. And you have half a second to react to a good pitch by cricket pitcher/bowler Andrew Flintoff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x987gs-CNZg
You have half a second to react to one of Federer's good serves. And you have half a second to react to a good pitch by cricket pitcher/bowler Andrew Flintoff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x987gs-CNZg
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
The returner in tennis has to guard a 4.1m wide target box that the server has got to hit into - compared to a barely 1m general target for a cricket bowler.
A serve is also hit with more spin and also generally has to be hit back with some sort of spin in order to be effective at any moderately good level.
Cricket batting is no easy task against fast or spin bowlers but returning a tennis ball requires far more all-round skill imo.
SLD76
G.O.A.T.
Inside guy please. All the great future all star players breakout in their early 20's. Jeter was a rookie at 19 and was ROY. Arod and Jeter came up in the same draft. Both were superstars by 23. Soriano broke out in his mid 20's same as robbie cano.
Mike trout is what 22 23? It's simply a falsehood to say stud baseball players don't emerge young.
And finally while baseball requires tremendous skill and coordination to play, it is not the most physically demanding sport.
Tennis players play often, but they rest often too. Once they play, mostly they play for about 2-3 hours. That is nothing compared to Iron Man Triathlon 17 hours non stop competition.
Do not think Iron Man athletes compete once and then rest for a long time. They have a gruelling training before competing. And for your information, there are 100 ++ Iron Man events this year. I know some Iron Man athletes who train almost every single day and their training can not be compared to tennis in terms of endurancehttp://ap.ironman.com/events/triathlon-races.aspx#axzz2tZdDM8oq
Ok. Marathon is moderate endurance. Stick to the Iron Man Triathlon then. Compare them to a 10 year old girl. If you think their upper body strength is the same as a 10 year old girl's, then I am sure you are talking nonsense.
Ask a 10 year old girl to lift an adult bicycle over her head and hold it for 1 minute. Ask also a pro marathon runner to do the same thing. See which one can hold it longer. If the 10 y.o. girl win, you are a genius. If the 10 y.o. girl can not even lift the bike, then you might need to do a more rigorous research on this. I am not a pro sports man nor an athlete, mostly do office works, yet I can lift my bicycle easily.
Tennis players play often, but they rest often too. Once they play, mostly they play for about 2-3 hours, not to mention the amount of wasted times in warming up, sitting down, bouncing the balls, picking their bottom, asking for towels, etc, etc. That is nothing compared to Iron Man Triathlon 17 hours non stop competition.
Do not think Iron Man athletes compete once and then rest for a long time. They have a gruelling training before competing. And for your information, there are 100 ++ Iron Man events this year. I know some Iron Man athletes who train almost every single day and their training can not be compared to tennis in terms of endurance. http://ap.ironman.com/events/triathlon-races.aspx#axzz2tZdDM8oq
Ok. Marathon is moderate endurance. Stick to the Iron Man Triathlon then. Compare them to a 10 year old girl. If you think their upper body strength is the same as a 10 year old girl's, then I am sure you are talking nonsense.
Ask a 10 year old girl to lift an adult bicycle over her head and hold it for 1 minute. Ask also a pro marathon runner to do the same thing. See which one can hold it longer. If the 10 y.o. girl win, you are a genius. If the 10 y.o. girl can not even lift the bike, then you might need to do a more rigorous research on this. I am not a pro sports man nor an athlete, mostly do office works, yet I can lift my bicycle easily.
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Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
For a start, you were making the claim that ironman athletes basically are bigger bolder rougher tougher etc etc. They are not. They are specialists in their discipline. And that discipline is repeating amongst the most joke easy activities imaginable skill-wise for hours and hours on end. That is where their skill it. There isn't a top competing Ironman on the planet who could beat a top 20 tennis player over 100m or 400m.
Additionally. Ironmen athletes rarely compete in more than a handful of races per year regardless of how much they train. Tennis players train for many hours a day too between and during tournaments. If you want to make it a competition of who trains the most each day you'll find that even Ironman don't come close to some sports. But, as for the athletic ability required to be a top competitor they are merely supremely conditioned in their specific and extremely narrow range of activities.
Ok, since you're down into specious, spurious examples refer to my comment above about running 100m and 400m races. Each sport has its own sweet spot for the things it needs. Tennis needs a far broader and rarer set of athletic abilities than doing triathlons, regardless of how brutal they may be.
merlinpinpin
Hall of Fame
Well, maybe the 10-year old girl comparison is too much, but take off his armor and Iron Man is not that impressive an athlete, imho.
http://brightlightsfilm.com/71/71downey_ross.php#.UwH96c6YaM8
chrischris
G.O.A.T.
Squash players are pretty fit maybe even better then tennis players.
Xcountry skiers are the best athletes imo though.
After them , tri athletes , soccer players and boxers.
Xcountry skiers are the best athletes imo though.
After them , tri athletes , soccer players and boxers.
For a start, you're making things up.
Who said ironman athletes bigger? bolder? rougher? I did not write that they are big, bold or rough.
I said that they are slim and have good body shape. Slim and wiry. That what makes them great athletes.
Meanwhile,
Tennis players are bigger:
Young Black Tennis Player Told by USTA She is Too Fat to Compete
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