Tennis is a great sport to keep you fit. Tennis involves a lot of running and lunging, which provide an excellent full-body workout. 

How many calories does tennis burn?

An average club-level singles tennis player will burn around 400 calories per hour. Depending on your weight, age, gender, and skill level, you can burn between 300 and 700 calories per hour. If you are playing doubles or spend a lot of time picking up balls, you are likely to burn fewer calories.

Tennis is a sport that can be played at various intensities. If you are just casually hitting balls with no sprints, your calorie burn will be at the low end of the range. On the other hand, if you are playing intense points with very little time between points, you can easily burn more than 600 calories per hour.

Your weight plays a big role in how many calories you burn. A person who weighs 250 lbs will burn more calories than someone who weighs only 150 lbs.

Use an online calculator to estimate the number of calories you can burn based on your weight. Remember that these are only ballpark estimates because the calories burned are determined by many other factors such as age, body mass, gender, and the intensity level of your tennis.

To get more accurate calorie counts, consider wearing a Fitbit, Apple Watch, or other smart devices when you hit the tennis court.

Is tennis good for burning calories?

Tennis burns more calories per hour than basketball, soccer, or golf. Tennis is one of the best total-body workouts you can get.

In addition to burning calories, tennis provides a number of other benefits. Playing tennis two to three times a week improves stamina, agility, and balance. Studies show that tennis improves cardiovascular health and aids weight loss. Tennis is a sport you can play for a long time – until your 70s or even 80s.

How many calories do professional tennis players burn?

Professional tennis players hit the balls hard and move around the court much faster than the average tennis player. So naturally, they burn more calories.

A professional tennis player can burn more than 650 calories per hour. In a 3 hour match, they will be burning 1950 calories. That’s why you see professional tennis players drink a lot of fluids and eat bananas at changeovers.

Matteo Berrettini has been one of the most consistent players on the tour in recent years. Though he is yet to win a grand slam, he has made deep runs at many tournaments.

But every time I watch Berrettini play, I can’t overlook the fact that he has a very weak backhand. His slice is decent but his two-handed backhand is probably the worst among the Top 20.

He makes up for his weak backhand by using excellent footwork to hit a slice or by running around to hit a forehand. But top players will exploit his weak backhand easily.

So, how did Matteo Berrettini get to the top echelons of tennis (Top 10 in the world) with such a weak backhand?

History shows that tennis has had several players who succeeded despite huge flaws in their game. Elena Dementieva had a very poor serve but had fantastic groundstrokes that helped her reach two grand slam finals.

Feliciano Lopez, who mostly slices on the backhand side was a staple in the Top 50 for many years. Juan Martin del Potro won the US Open with a so-so backhand. When he returned from multiple surgeries on his left wrist, his backhand got weaker but he still found some success on the tour.

Can Berrettini improve his backhand? It’s possible but a major change to the backhand will be too much for a top player. His coaches certainly realized when Berrettini was young that his backhand could be a liability but couldn’t improve it much despite thousands of hours of practice.