SI.com: Tennis the most demanding sport

[Saint Teemu]

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.

I don't think you can discount the learning curve, though.

You can be mildly athletic and avoid making a fool of yourself in most stick-and-ball sports. Sports like hockey and water polo (a good example I wouldn't have thought of, btw) require an entirely new skillset. If you can't skate or swim, you're hooped. I think it's even more pronounced in hockey, in that even if you can skate, you still have to learn how to stickhandle and shoot - otherwise, you look like a fool.

I think that one might underestimate the mental aspect of hockey. Maybe there's not the same moment-to-moment pressure, but while you're on the ice, as a matter of course, you make a contant series of split-second decisions on where you're going and what you're doing. There's also an infinite variety of situations to which you have to apply your game knowledge. It's not rocket science, but it shouldn't be discounted.

With all of that said, if you consider mixed martial arts a sport, how does it rank?

 

[Proby24]

I love playing tennis... but seriously ,its not in the same league skill-wise (both mental and physical) that hockey is in.

And then I started boxing three years ago and within the first 30 seconds of sparring I realised that boxing is the hardest, toughest sport in the world (physically and most definitely mentally).

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

The three most physically demanding sports on your heart are:

1. Boxing
2. Marathon running
3. Squash

I guess tennis is tougher than I think of it, but squash is another level still. In hockey you do get to rest more, but in the overall skillset you need, it must be top of the lot.

 

[Beatnik]

Hockey is my favorite sports but there is a limit to be homer.

Hockey is a pretty easy sports physicaly. You can go sit whenever you want and most of the time you have to change before you get tired. The toughness is also overated specially among amateurs. It's also much easier to learn than Tennis if you can skate.

 

[Epsilon]

The three most physically demanding sports on your heart are:

1. Boxing
2. Marathon running
3. Squash

I guess tennis is tougher than I think of it, but squash is another level still. In hockey you do get to rest more, but in the overall skillset you need, it must be top of the lot.

Cycling and high-altitude climbing are both right up there. In fact I'd contend that top level high-altitude mixed climbing is the most difficult sport in the world physically and mentally.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I think if we're talking about professional sports, tennis is about as grueling as they come. Their schedule is ridiculously busy. They take a pounding on the knees and ankles. They have to adjust and re-adjust to different surfaces. They start in January and finish in December. Oh, and for good measure they go best 3 of 5 in four slams, as well as various other big events (men's tennis).

And if you're not "on" one day, you're out. You don't have teammates to pick you up. And the practice time is also insanely high.

I have tremendous respect for tennis players, whose career basically spans from age 16-32 (if they're lucky).

That's why Andre Agassi's current run at age 35 is equivalent to Gordie Howe's NHL season at age 52.

 

[Epsilon]

One other point in favour of tennis: Roger Federer is a superior athlete to any hockey player. In fact, I'd offer that he's the best athlete in the world today.

 

[Qui Gon Dave]

Straying slightly off the topic of conversation for a moment, im not sure if it is a professional sport, i expect not, but does anyone know the name of those insane extreme triathalons that get held every now and again. The name, iron man triathalon rings a bell for some reason but it might not be it.

In short, these events tend to take over a day to complete and competitors usually have to decide if they will stop to sleep at any point or if they will try to go the whole course in one go. I remember one story from the tv show i saw about it, it said that hallucinations were know to occur. an athlete was on the running leg of an event (which consisted of something like a 100km jog) and was going up a hill or mountainside and on the way up, they said they saw a cow coming down the slope on a skateboard.

I know this may sound like BS to some of you, but this stuff actually happens. Athletes push themselves to bizarre levels just to say they are the best. Even though the discipline gets little recognition. Can anyone help me out with the name of it?

And before anyone asks, the Canadian Olympic hide and seek team have absolutely NOTHING to do with this

 

[Epsilon]

Straying slightly off the topic of conversation for a moment, im not sure if it is a professional sport, i expect not, but does anyone know the name of those insane extreme triathalons that get held every now and again. The name, iron man triathalon rings a bell for some reason but it might not be it.

In short, these events tend to take over a day to complete and competitors usually have to decide if they will stop to sleep at any point or if they will try to go the whole course in one go. I remember one story from the tv show i saw about it, it said that hallucinations were know to occur. an athlete was on the running leg of an event (which consisted of something like a 100km jog) and was going up a hill or mountainside and on the way up, they said they saw a cow coming down the slope on a skateboard.

I know this may sound like BS to some of you, but this stuff actually happens. Athletes push themselves to bizarre levels just to say they are the best. Even though the discipline gets little recognition. Can anyone help me out with the name of it?

And before anyone asks, the Canadian Olympic hide and seek team have absolutely NOTHING to do with this

Yeah, it's the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii. It's an extreme sporting event to be sure. Although it's still tiddlywinks compared to the best extreme stories from climbing in the Himalaya. For a good recent example, search up info on Steve House's solo climb of K7 from last year.

 

[futurcorerock]

For the argument:

Hockey also takes a tremendous toll on your knees, between the rigors of skating and taking hits. Ask Bobby Orr

NHL teams play on all sorts of surfaces. Ask any NHLer how they like the ice at MSG after the Circus has been in town compared to The Bell. Or go from playing a game in Edmonton in February to Pheonix at the same time... climate has a huge impact. You can suffer a serious groin injury if you're not on adequately refridgerated ice, and even that isn't mandated to perfection at the highest level

For the record... Mountainclimbing and Boxing have to be toughest physically.

However, some of the knocks about amateurism and the levels of commitment there are suspect in of itself. For Tennis vs. Hockey, you can play both recreationally, and IMO Tennis as a recreational sport vs. Hockey as a recreational would have Hockey edging Tennis. I tend to see quite a few more senior citizens enjoying a nice game of tennis than lacing up at the local rink to play no-contact league games

 

[Vladiator]

Tennis definitely deserves to be there for being physically and mentally hard (when playing competatively).

What's baseball doing there? In that case, cricket is much more demanding than BBall. A test match lasts for five days. When you are batting -- it is just you against bowlers with no one to help you. On the top of it you have to hit a ball travelling around 100mph which also bounces off the ground and swings and spins in all directions. And you might need to do so for 1, 2, 8 hours, or even a couple of days in a row untill you make that one mistake.

Also rugby is more demanding than football. No pads or helmets, almost non-stop game for 80 mins with being hit all over the field.

And of course hockey should have been there.

 

[futurcorerock]

Tennis definitely deserves to be there for being physically and mentally hard (when playing competatively).

What's baseball doing there? In that case, cricket is much more demanding than BBall. A test match lasts for five days. When you are batting -- it is just you against bowlers with no one to help you. On the top of it you have to hit a ball travelling around 100mph which also bounces off the ground and swings and spins in all directions. And you might need to do so for 1, 2, 8 hours, or even a couple of days in a row untill you make that one mistake.

Also rugby is more demanding than football. No pads or helmets, almost non-stop game for 80 mins with being hit all over the field.

And of course hockey should have been there.

Rugby > Football

Cricket > Baseball

Soccer > Basketball

 

[Ogopogo*]

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 might be demanding but it is oh so boring.

People also forget, in debates like this, that all sports except for hockey are played on solid ground. We can all walk. Hockey is played on ice - you have to learn to skate before you can even learn the game. Skating alone makes hockey the most demanding sport.

 

[Vladiator]

Tennis might be demanding but it is oh so boring.

People also forget, in debates like this, that all sports except for hockey are played on solid ground. We can all walk. Hockey is played on ice - you have to learn to skate before you can even learn the game. Skating alone makes hockey the most demanding sport.

Tennis could be boring to watch, but it's still fun to play. Though that's my opinion.

I disagree about the skating part though. It could make it very challenging for us to skate and play, but do you think that guys who skate since they were 5y.o. even think about it? They skate around automatically, it's as natural for them as walking.

 

[Ch 4 Action News]

Ugh...

This makes me want to take a newspaper, roll it up, and smack this guy in the face with it...

NO! BAD! BAD!

 

[sonnytheman]

IMO, the by far toughest sport (physically) is......rugby




Also, the mental aspect of tennis is harder than any other sport I've seen, for sure. That's why the fans have to be quiet during a point.

 

[futurcorerock]

Tennis might be demanding but it is oh so boring.

People also forget, in debates like this, that all sports except for hockey are played on solid ground. We can all walk. Hockey is played on ice - you have to learn to skate before you can even learn the game. Skating alone makes hockey the most demanding sport.

That's my point to the argument --

Heck, even Figure Skating could out-perform Baseball in terms of athleticism

 

[Cawz]

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.

You mean sort of like

Tennis might be demanding but it is oh so boring.

Isnt that what many people say about hockey, and we all make fun of them for not understanding it?

 

[Ozolinsh_27]

In fact I'd contend that top level high-altitude mixed climbing is the most difficult sport in the world physically and mentally.

Not only that, ifyou get stuck somewhere, you have to cut off your arm just to get home

 

[seenmassive]

watch a rugby game, then tell me what sport is the most demanding

running for 80 minutes, minimal subs, constantly tackling and being tackled

 

[CCF]

Cross Country Running...

Hardest sport ever when you get to a competative level on some tough courses. Last fall I ran gruelling 10KM, up and down ice covered hills, with snow, mud, water....hard sport, demands a lot of your body.

 

[alecfromtherock]

First of all the title of this thread was most demanding, not toughness

Hockey: Excepting the goalie all players go on shifts
Tennis: Continual play in matches that are hours long with hot weather to contend

Hockey was not mentioned for good reason: no one cares about hockey in most of the world, especially south of the boarder.

For pure athletics Dwane Wade(NBA) Ichiro Suzuki(MLB) and yes Roger Federer(Tennis) rank far higher then any current hockey player in the NHL.

Most people can easily name the three above, the same can not be said about the top NHL players.

Skating, passing, and shooting... all require trained ability but are usually impeded in today’s Clutch and Grab NHL.

Whereas tennis has remained open over its long history.

Even if physical contact were the determining factor for the term athleticism hockey players are heavily-armoured knights compared to rugby players.

Goalies might play the whole game but are aided with pads, gloves and large sticks.

Tennis courts are 27' X 78' whereas hockey nets are only 6' X 4'

Tennis only has 90 times the ‘scoring’ space as hockey does(45 times for each side of the court)

Hockey players defend and shoot in a much smaller area then tennis players do.

IMO, the by far toughest sport (physically) is......rugby




Also, the mental aspect of tennis is harder than any other sport I've seen, for sure. That's why the fans have to be quiet during a point.

From the interviews of hockey players it is safe to assume that there is no mental aspect involved when either on or off the ice

 

[Epsilon]

Cross Country Running...

Hardest sport ever when you get to a competative level on some tough courses. Last fall I ran gruelling 10KM, up and down ice covered hills, with snow, mud, water....hard sport, demands a lot of your body.

Cross country running is definitely a really tough sport. My buddy and I are probably going to try the Mt. Hood base loop run/trek next summer, which is 40 miles with 10000 feet of elevation gained and lost over the course. We'd like to do it in less than a day and that will require several months of training first.

 

[Evilo]

To those that say tennis is not in the same league as hockey, you are dead wrong.
Tennis is very hard on the body and on the mental side.

Anyway, my vote would still be for water-polo. THAT's a tough sport.
You play a game of water polo, and then you tell me about it.

 

[12# Peter Bondra]

To those that say tennis is not in the same league as hockey, you are dead wrong.
Tennis is very hard on the body and on the mental side.

Anyway, my vote would still be for water-polo. THAT's a tough sport.
You play a game of water polo, and then you tell me about it.

Water polo is cruel (meaning its tough).