December 3, 2013
Tennis: The Best Biopsychosocial Sport
Coined the “Sport for a lifetime”, tennis is played by over 75 million people worldwide and is considered by scientists, physicians, and other experts as the most healthful activity in the world (Groppel & DiNubile, 2009; Pluim, Miller, Dines, Renstrom, Windler, Norris, Stroia, Donaldson & Martin, 2007). The basis for this powerful claim primarily comes from the many health benefits that abundant research has revealed about sports in general, and, specifically, about tennis. The scope of the health benefits that tennis can provide are beyond solely the physical realm, but also include psychological and social …show more content…
Tennis sisters and super stars, Venus and Serena Williams, like to remind people that tennis is as much of a sport for women as it is for men (Cleveland Clinic, 2013). Brown (1983; as cited in Groppel & DiNubile, 2009) determined in an analysis strictly on females that tennis was an opportunity where females could gain achievement and improve self-esteem. Regarding age, tennis offers competition in age-groups ranging from the under eight division to the over 90 division, which is very rare in other sports. The many studies that have revealed physical, psychological, and social health benefits of tennis have shown the same well-rounded benefits for all ages, including old and elderly players. For example, on the social front, the interaction that is encouraged through tennis helps ward off loneliness in individuals, especially as they age and may have lost loved ones (Marks, 1998, Bailey & McLaren, 2005, Kolt, Driver & Giles, 2004; as cited in Marks, 2006). Most importantly, the large majority of people who take up the sport of tennis continue to play for their entire life making this activity an attractive sport to grow old with (Pluim, et al., …show more content…
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