Why pro tennis is tougher than many other pro sports.

[kevhen]

Tennis needs more paying fans for them to make more money. It's not a major sport in this country. Most people prefer to watch team sports like football, basketball, or in other countries soccer.

 

[topspin]

I agree datacypher about energy being influenced by skill level. I'm sure the pro badminton players don't use up nearly as much energy for their shots as recreational players.

I think the 2 sports are very different. The only similarity is that they are both racquet sports and played with a net. But other than that, it's really not easy to compare the two. Blind makes some good points too. Both require top energy levels to play at a high level. Badminton just seems to tap out your energies a lot faster, doesn't mean it's a better workout, just more intense. Just like in hockey, you have to play a 30 second shift and then rest, because that shift is really intense.

Back in college, I had taken some badminton lessons and got a buddy to try it. This guy was heavily into tennis at the time and at first he was putting down badminton. After he tried it and took a lesson himself, he got so hooked on it and said he loved it more than tennis. It's incredible to see the respect that people gain for badminton once they try it for themselves.

 

[Datacipher]

I agree the different nature of the energy expenditures makes comparison difficult. Even for those here that have played both at a reasonably high level, the experience is subjective. When I was training athletes, some would prefer I made them run 4 400 at's 80 percent...some would rather I made them run 10 100's at 90 percents etc....

I do sympathize with your perceived lack of respect for the demands of badminton. After all, we suffer from that in tennis and badminton probably much more so.