SI.com: Tennis the most demanding sport

[futurcorerock]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/justin_gimelstob/08/26/tennis.sport/index.html

I'd like to see him take a bodycheck and further his reasoning

Click to read more...

 

[Scoogs]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/justin_gimelstob/08/26/tennis.sport/index.html

I'd like to see him take a bodycheck and further his reasoning

Tennis is a tough sport, but these people don't know anything.

All they know is college football. And I'm not lying. My bro is subscribed to SI and every issue it's the same old ****.

I can't read it.

 

[Guy Legend]

What an idiot, he didn't even mention hockey.

As I see it, there's no other sport where talent and physicality come together.

Running around a square with a racket hitting a ball doesn't sound as "demanding" as skating, stickhandling, hitting, etc. over an entire ice rink.

 

[Yertle The Turtle]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/justin_gimelstob/08/26/tennis.sport/index.html

I'd like to see him take a bodycheck and further his reasoning

Are you kidding me

 

[teamstag]

Tell him to strap on some pads and get between the pipes and then ask him what the most demanding sport is.

 

[The Nemesis]

I can see Tennis having validity to it's claim based on the techincal skills, but in terms of athletics, it's not surpassing other sports. Golf requires the same sort of technical knowledge and execution, but I don't see anyone saying it's the toughest sport.

It's a homer opinion to say hockey is the toughest, but it requires the agility of basketball (come on, you have to be able to slip between guys at twice the speed of someone running, and you have to do it while balancing on knife blades), the power of football (what if the Quarterback had to take a shot from a linebacker on every play?), and the concentration of baseball (people talk about trying to hit a little baseball with a stick all the time. Try shooting a little frozen piece of rubber under a crossbar and still avoiding the guy standing in the net) all rolled into one.

 

[PACaptain]

Obviously biased, but hockey is in the top three at the very least. Hockey deserved mention in the article, but maybe its not there because its hard to make tennis look more demanding. Its only one columnists point of view, so I care only slightly.

 

[gmoney_11]

one sport that i think is definetly the toughest is water polo but its obviously overlooked cuz its not rly popular

 

[Galchenkel]

one sport that i think is definetly the toughest is water polo but its obviously overlooked cuz its not rly popular

That's so true. I think about it everytime i see waterpolo. Having legs ALWAYS moving plus moving your arms to go forward or throw the ball. Altough i've never played it (yes once at school with a buoy) it appears to be the most demanding sport.

 

[Magnus Fulgur]

Yeah, tennis is wicked hard...that's why some players grunt while others don't.

I liked how he had to mention more than once that he played tournaments in three continents in three successive weeks. Somebody give this man a medal! Here's the difference - when you're a soloist you play and travel for money. You're a freelancer: you don't turn down gigs. And then this guy acts like a martyr about it.

I think it's easier, not harder to do an indivdual sport: certainly in terms of mental focus. When you play tennis, you only have to think about the variables of you and your opponent: when you play a team sport, you have to think about everybody if you really want to excell.

 

[Kardi]

tennis is not hard at all, after 4 hours i pretty much had everything down and a decent serve (yes it would go in the box) while hockey.. just learning to skate is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> harder then tennis, then learning to take a slap shot throwing a hit etc PLEASE hands down hockey wins

 

[OrrNumber4]

tennis is not hard at all, after 4 hours i pretty much had everything down and a decent serve (yes it would go in the box) while hockey.. just learning to skate is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> harder then tennis, then learning to take a slap shot throwing a hit etc PLEASE hands down hockey wins

This is so true. There were people on my varsity high school team making our tennis team with very little to no experience, and our team was extremely good. Its a much easier sport to learn. Every person on the hockey team has at least been playing competetively for four years.

 

[puckgoalnet]

I'm not going to say that tennis is the hardest sport ... but please don't confuse learning curve with the overall ease of the sport.

Having played competitively in both, It's MUCH easier to pick up tennis, very true. BUT, to be a truly competitve tennis player (which I hope is what the article was referencing) is definitely not so easy.

Getting a serve consistently in the box is not so hard. Getting it to an exact spot in that box, with the correct spin (or not depending on the opponent), with a pace of over 100mph is not so easy. Returning it is just as much fun. And that's just the first stroke.

IMHO, It's VERY easy to become a tennis player with a rating of 3.5 and below (this is where roughly 80% of your tennis population is). Also most pros aren't so strick in what category you are at this level, they just want you to play.

4.0, which I still think is wickedly simple, is very tough for most people (think consistent serve of 80mph or above, consistent stroke, strong at the net). This is where your tennis pro starts weeding out players. Getting above 5.0 is where it's the most fun.

Those of you who think you can play at that level, please go schedule a match with your local pro to get evaluated.

Physically, while I don't get pounded in tennis like I do hockey (miss that aspect), it's just as demanding on the legs (singles, not doubles). Tennis, a lot like hockey, is about positioning and burst speed. Upper body strength is hockey by far (you need strength for tennis, but it's more about form motion than all out strength).

Mentally, tennis by far. The only position even close in hockey is goalie ... and even they're not involved in every play (like you are in tennis).

 

[Qui Gon Dave]

This is so true. There were people on my varsity high school team making our tennis team with very little to no experience, and our team was extremely good. Its a much easier sport to learn. Every person on the hockey team has at least been playing competetively for four years.

I think some of you guys are ripping tennis a bit too hard here. While it isn't a more physically demanding sport to play than hockey, the mental aspect of that game is evil. And im not talking about playing a friend on a summer afternoon and being able to hit the ball over the net into the right part of the court.

Competitive tennis requires a high endurance level and concentration to match. Playing at the professional level is more difficult than i can imagine. Not only do you have to have the ability to out-think and out-power your opponant but what if you are playing a bad game? In hockey, you are part of a team, you always have people who will watch your back and cover for you. No such luck in tennis. If you play competitively and are struggling during a game, you have to make yourself play better, somehow. You can't go and talk to your coach (against the rules) and you can't take your frustrations out on an opponant by pulling their shirt over their head and giving them a thrashing.

You are out there on your own and you have to have incredible focus if you are going to outplay someone who is better than you for 2 1/2 hours.

But i suppose some of the views expressed so far are from people who never have an interest in picking up a raquet and playing competitively. And thats fair enough. but don't slight another sport just because you haven't ever been bothered to think about or try to do what it takes to be good at it.

As for the person talking about how tennis is like freelancing, yeah, at higher levels if you earn enough you can pick and choose events, but for the people rated around 250 in the world and below, tennis IS their job. it is their source of income and there aren't a lot of big money tournaments open to people lower down the rankings. And as for travelling, i know a lot of the british youngsters who do the tour can't always afford to travel overseas and when they can, they can't afford to take their coaches with them. Would you go to an away game in hockey, half way around the world without any of your coaches and think it was gonna be easy? So instead of travelling overseas they play the UK circuit and there is a bit of money available there. But even the people in charge of UK tennis don't help the younger players out much. they don't provide the neccessary support, financial or otherwise to all the players out there. If you are one of the top 4 or 5 in the country you are ok, but below that, you are pretty much on your own.

Anyways, rant over. If hockey was not included on that list then i think that is a major oversight. As stated before, you have to take so much into account when playing hockey, moreso than most other sports i'd imagine.

 

[Esko6]

Of all the sports I have tried the hardest and most exhausting sport is... cross-country skiing. If you keep a slow pace, you can ski forever, but if you try climbing high climbs or skiing fast, you will get very exhausted. The technique also take some time to master and after that you have to learn how to wax your skis properly.

One sport that almost made me puke was stand-up wrestling that we did in my school. You had to use all your strenght to push your opponent out.

I heard a couple of experts say that MMA-fighting (like UFC and Pride Fighting Championships) is the most exhausting sport especially if fighting on ground is allowed.

 

[Staalweiser]

This Gimelstob is a ******. How ****ing biased. He didn't even bother to think outside the square and think of other sports. I've never heard of him, either, so boy he must suck - though you wouldn't know it, as he reminds the reader that he's been a pro like seventeen times in the article.

Idiot.

 

[glimradnor]

Hockey is indeed a glaring omission.

Also, if his big knock on football is athat everyone is so specialized, what about rugby? Having played and love both hockey and rugby, i'd say rugby is even more demanding than hockey. It's not nearly as co-ordination based, but you don't get a shift off, the play hardly stops while you are running your arse off and there are tons of big hits...without padding.

 

[Hasbro]

This subject came up in another thread. ESPN ranked hockey as the second most difficult sport Tennis was at 7.

Of course I'm sure this study doesn't include controling parents and bread knife weilding atttackers.

 

[Hedberg]

Tell him to strap on some pads and get between the pipes and then ask him what the most demanding sport is.

I know. He talks in the article about having to return one of Roddicks serves. If he thinks that's, try stopping a 100 mph slapshot.

 

[Qui Gon Dave]

I know. He talks in the article about having to return one of Roddicks serves. If he thinks that's, try stopping a 100 mph slapshot.

Thing is there is a limited space for the shooter to aim at, and any position the shooter aims for, isn't going to be that far away for the keeper to reach, assuming the keeper in positioned well. Its a matter of quickness. reflex.

An Andy Roddick serve can approach you at 150mph and already has some angle to the shot which magnifies the further the player is from the point it bounces. And that doesn't take into consideration any spin on it. A player still has to travel several metres after deciding which side he will move to and swing the raquet in perfect timing to hit the ball back not just over the net, but into the bit of court the player intends to play the ball. And then he has about 1 second to think about where to position himself in anticipation of the next shot that will come over the net.

Seriously, some of you guys are underestimating what it takes to play tennis at a high level, and not just against your 12 year old brother or whoever you have previously enjoyed trouncing for fun in the back yard.

Hockey is a damn tough sport to play, it takes a high level of ability in regards to a number of things to be any good at it, let alone great. But just because tennis players aren't allowed to check each other or hit each other with their raquets, don't be ignorant and underestimate ability at a given sport just because you feel it would offer you no challenge. Serious reccomendation here, go down to your local tennis club and try you hand against the regulars there. Unless you have played quite a bit, they will likely thrash you. Embarrasingly. And one final thing, Ice Hockey is, suprisingly enough, played on ice. Tennis is played on grass, tarmac, artificial surfaces and each affects the way the ball bounces and the way you have to adjust your game. The most hockey players have to worry about is the ice melting a bit, but you get used to that with time.

 

[Roughneck]

Seriously, some of you guys are underestimating what it takes to play tennis at a high level, and not just against your 12 year old brother or whoever you have previously enjoyed trouncing for fun in the back yard.

I think what they're getting at is the complete bias in the article and how the author seems to be overlooking the work and time it takes to play at the highest level of these sports as well. He pretty much gives lip service to these other sports skills and glorifies tennis like every skill is somehow tougher than these other sports.

 

[arrbez]

I know. He talks in the article about having to return one of Roddicks serves. If he thinks that's, try stopping a 100 mph slapshot.

I'm not a tennis fan by any stretch, but seriously, I'm a goalie and have played at a reasonably high level, and stopping a slapshot is easy. You just get in the way. I would assume it's much harder in tennis because you not only have to stop the ball, you have to return it. It's not enough just to get any part of your body in front of it.

 

[Epsilon]

I always laugh when hockey fans pull out the "we are persecuted" attitude and then display total ignorance with regards to the other sports being discussed.

 

[hossua34]

"Outspoken tennis pro Justin Gimelstob will be writing every few days from the U.S. Open, where he'll be competing. Click here to read all of Justin's entries."

 

[futurcorerock]

I always laugh when hockey fans pull out the "we are persecuted" attitude and then display total ignorance with regards to the other sports being discussed.

The voice of reason: Epsilon

I think a lot of us will give Tennis credit -- it's a tough sport to play, expecially at a sustained level for over two hours. Atleast in hockey we can sit the bench temporarily (sans goaltender).

Point is, the article is bleeding bias. When I say bleeding, it's a sieve.

I've played everything from Soccer to BBall to Hockey growing up, and I'll vote hands down, as will a lot of other people who played hockey that it is one of the most demanding of the sports.

Consider: You're not on foot, you're balance beetween a 1/4in steel blade trying to make maneuvers on a sheet of material that people wouldn't even walk on. No cleats to adhere to turf, just a blade and ice. The physical rigors of skating alone are demanding as-is at say a public skate, let alone in a game.

We're not homers, so quit acting like a higher truth