1. It will affect your stress level
Does adulting have you stressed out? Tennis is a great outlet for stress, agitation, or any pent up energy. Running around, being active, laughing and hitting the crap out of some balls is sure to be a cure. You’re sold already, aren’t you? Never underestimate the power of physical activity for decreasing stress, increasing your mood and causing you to be HAPPY!
2. It will force you to meet new people and make new friends
If you don’t want friends and connections, then stay away from tennis. Through tennis, you will be introduced to so many new people, who you may have otherwise not met, leading to new friendships and relationships. And, I’m pretty sure that us humans, as social beings, gain satisfaction and fulfillment from our relationships, which in turn leads to happiness. Seeing a trend here, yet??
3. It will have an impact on your health
With heart disease being one of the leading causes of death in today’s world, it’s important that we do what we can to prevent it. How do we do that? I’m so glad you asked! TENNIS! Tennis improves your cardiovascular health, burns fat, builds muscles, improves coordination, builds bone strength and increases agility. I see you getting ready to head to the court, but wait! I’m not done yet!
4. You might have to leave your city
Be forced to travel? Gasp! I can’t imagine something worse… Alot of times with tennis, if you are playing on a league and your team wins a season, you will have the opportunity to go play in the state tournament or even sectionals or nationals. This means you’ll have the opportunity to travel somewhere else to play. A trip with friends to a cool location to play tennis!? Sounds dreadful, right?
5. It will mess with your mind
Tennis is just as much a mental game as it is a physical game. Shocking, I know. No one ever thinks that until they actually play. (Secret tip #1: tennis requires alot of strategy. It’s like a puzzle many times- trying to figure out the team you’re playing and trying to piece together yours to come out on top. It’s not just hitting a ball back and forth across a net.) Once you start playing, you’ll notice increased mental sharpness and you’ll start thinking about strategy constantly- and then BAM, you’re hooked. As if you needed another reason…
6. You may never stop
Sounds daunting. Am I right?! Tennis is a sport that you can play from cradle to grave. There is no age limit on tennis and your game will change with you as you age. So get ready for the long haul. (Secret tip #2: You actually won’t want to stop once you start.)
7. You’ll be included in something
Tennis will force you to be apart of something bigger than yourself. You’ll get the chance to be apart of a team- both on and off the court. (Secret tip #3: Feeling included and apart of something increases your confidence and self esteem, which in turn makes you happy. The trend is real here.) Furthermore, tennis is all- inclusive, meaning that you are never too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, or too anything to start playing! And in a world with so much negativity, that’s a pretty cool thing.
8. You’ll never get a break
Luckily, you’ll never truly get a break from tennis because you can play it year round! Best news you’ve heard all day, isn’t it!? And trust me from experience, once you start playing, you won’t want to stop (see point #5). With being able to play indoors and outdoors and having a zillion options of leagues to play on, your year will be booked.
9. You will have something to control
That’s right- I said it. Control. So you’re either loving this or cringing at it right now, depending on your personality. HOWEVER, this is nothing but good. You will have complete control over your tennis game. There are about a billion options when it comes to tennis- you can be as involved as you want. If you want to play like you’re on the pro tour, you can (but there won’t be sponsors sending you free stuff, womp womp..) or if you want to play socially one night per week, you do you. There are also singles leagues, doubles leagues, mixed leagues, day leagues, night leagues, fast feeds, tri-level leagues, combo leagues, fun leagues, serious leagues, and on and on and on.
With these kind of benefits, tennis offers something for literally everyone. And the good news is that everyone includes YOU! So get out there and start playing. I can promise you- you won’t regret it.
Written by Kaitlyn Diane:
Creator of The Restless Passport. Travel addict. Skin care enthusiast. Dreamer. Tennis player. Wanderlust junkie. Cat lover. Adventure seeker. Nurse Practitioner. Clean freak. Lover.
You can follow Kaitlyn Diane on Instagram @Kaitlyndiane_
Join us for Tennis 101 on April 13th at Seneca Park. Details here.
About the Series
The YPAL Get Healthy Blog Series, sponsored by Norton Healthcare, will focus on the health and well-being of our Louisville Young Professionals. This blog series will feature various young professional bloggers in our community sharing their stories on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and healthy lifestyles. Want to write a Get Healthy Blog Post? Email Admin@YPAL.org for details!
Member Meet-Up: Louisville Bats Opening Thursday
House Divided: UK x UofL Baseball Game
