Tennis or Basketball - Which sport is tougher and more physically demanding to your body?

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

I was having a discussion with my brother about this. He said it's basketball, I say tennis.

What say you?

 

[fijuviju]

You are comparing team sport with individual. Tennis is really tough, it is really taxing physically and mentally. Temping your form is really important but also it is hard to do it in tennis. Ranking is also different and it makes things harder, you have to defend your points from previous season. Traveling around the world doesn't make it easier too. At the end you have to play few hours on the court.

 

[Beau Wring]

he'd just done 10 minutes straight. rest deserved.

 

[MM808]

I love and play both, it has to be basketball. Look at it this way, play both during the same time span, let’s say an hour of pickup basketball vs. an hour of a pickup tennis match. It’s clear basketball is more physically taxing short term.

However, Longevity-wise I would say tennis is more physically demanding. As others have brought up, bball is a team sport while the other isn’t, one plays on various tough surfaces (hard courts, grass, clay) that all come with physical challenges, tennis is year-round without many long breaks if the player wants to keep receiving points, etc. The schedule is grueling playing all over the world which adds to the physical toll also added by travel time. If you are gassed in a basketball game, you can get subbed out to rest, in tennis this is not the case. Doing this long term adds to the physical toll.

Both are physically taxing in different time spans so it’s not a simple answer.

 

[MM808]

Circumstances also matter. Are we talking about a ball dominant player like Luka, Lebron, or a player playing 35+ minutes a game? A catch and shoot role bench player? A top tennis player playing every major and main small tourneys? A doubles tennis player? Lot of comparisons you can make.

 

[fica]

tennis much more tougher on body especially if game is long or set is long,no breaks no time outs you on your own have to get it together if other guy is returning every shoot and you got to dig deep

 

[Sweater of AV]

As mentioned, there’s way too much to consider to answer this in any sort of generality. The question would have to be more specific.

I would only add that, comparing the lowest levels of each sport, basketball is obviously harder physically since neither tennis player can hit the ball and keep a rally going. You’re spending most of your time walking to pick up balls. There’s a much higher learning curve in tennis for getting to the point where you’re actually starting to push your body. Once you reach that point though it can be very physically demanding.

 

[Prefect]

Basketball. The talent pool is much much much deeper for A+ level athletes. The Williams sister basically made career just being just much better athletes than their competition.

 

[fica]

Basketball. The talent pool is much much much deeper for A+ level athletes. The Williams sister basically made career just being just much better athletes than their competition.

she was on roids

 

[fijuviju]

Shaq > Serena. Shaq is one of the best example of sheer physical dominance in entire sport. He had poor basketball skill, he only knew how to abuse his power and atlethicism. He was the best at it and you couldn't do anything about it. Teams had players who had only one job, just foul and bother Shaq phisically. But this doesn't mean that the basketball is all about athleticism and power.

In tennis you have four majors, bunch of masters and dozens of peanut tournaments. You have to play almost every week on different surfaces, in different part of the world, under different circumstances.

 

[MM808]

Shaq > Serena. Shaq is one of the best example of sheer physical dominance in entire sport. He had poor basketball skill, he only knew how to abuse his power and atlethicism. He was the best at it and you couldn't do anything about it. Teams had players who had only one job, just foul and bother Shaq phisically. But this doesn't mean that the basketball is all about athleticism and power.

In tennis you have four majors, bunch of masters and dozens of peanut tournaments. You have to play almost every week on different surfaces, in different part of the world, under different circumstances.

Not sure why the comparison between Shaq and Serena lol. You can make the case Serena is more dominant in her sport than Shaq was in his… what does shaq > Serena even mean? Both would destroy the other in their own respective sport lol

 

[fijuviju]

Shaq > Serena in terms of sheer physical dominance and abuse of athleticism in the sport. Just read what people write in this topic.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Basketball. The talent pool is much much much deeper for A+ level athletes. The Williams sister basically made career just being just much better athletes than their competition.

The athleticism required is, for the most part, a separate topic from the physical demands. Ultramarathon runners don’t care about how high they can jump.

Also, stick to men’s tennis since no one knows or cares about women’s basketball or the WNBA.

 

[MM808]

Shaq > Serena in terms of sheer physical dominance and abuse of athleticism in the sport. Just read what people write in this topic.

I don’t agree. Shaq was a dominant force no doubt and a rare talent, but Serena was literally one of a kind. There was not one other player in the sport’s history that was as physical or used their power and athleticism like she did. It’s why she is considered the GOAT or in the conversation.

 

[fijuviju]

Shaq did it in team sport, entire teams had problem to stop him.

 

[MM808]

Shaq did it in team sport, entire teams had problem to stop him.

He wasn’t even the first lol. I’ll say it again, Serena is the only one ever in her entire sport. A true unicorn.

 

[fijuviju]

She is not unicorn. She was stronger than average female tennis player and that's all. Teams were drafting/paying guys just to bother Shaq physically. And Shaq is not unicorn too.

 

[MM808]

She is not unicorn. She was stronger than average female tennis player and that's all. Teams were drafting/paying guys just to bother Shaq physically. And Shaq is not unicorn too.

You must not be a tennis follower. Name one other player that beat others by pure athleticism and overpowering everyone in the women’s game that is a GOAT candidate.

 

[fijuviju]

You should start follow tennis, if you think that Serena was just about hitting the ball hard. It helped her a lot. Yes, she was strongest, but that doesn't make her unicorn.

And once again, it is much harder to be phisically dominant in team sport. Next time when you play tennis try to make more than three rallies. That will open you new horizons about tennis.

 

[MM808]

You should start follow tennis, if you think that Serena was just about hitting the ball hard. It helped her a lot. Yes, she was strongest, but that doesn't make her unicorn.

And once again, it is much harder to be phisically dominant in team sport. Next time when you play tennis try to make more than three rallies. That will open you new horizons about tennis.

Nice try smartass but I see no name listed. L response with deflections and lame attempts at an insult