Tennis in Schools is Combating against Obesity

While tennis has been a popular sport, the fitness side of tennis is currently being highly valued as an excellent method of getting our kids in shape and instilling in them the fun aspect of competition and athleticism. To play tennis well requires a huge amount of athleticism and schools are realizing that in instructing tennis in gym classes, students are becoming more excited about the sport and, in turn, excited about getting in shape.

Obesity is a major issue in the United States and some sports, such as football and baseball, have athletes that don't showcase a fit, in shape lifestyle. Watching overweight players allows youths to feel like they could be successful in sports as well as being out of shape. This promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and bad expectations in students.

Unlike players in other major sports, tennis players have to be in the best shape to maintain their competitive edge. Players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Andy Murray exhibit an incredibly fit physique and comment on the incredible amount of work they do to raise their athleticism to the point to compete at a professional level.

Due to the ease of maintaining a tennis court, more and more high schools are installing tennis courts onto their school grounds and holding tennis competitions. Also the small price of setting up a hard tennis court and maintaining it has many low income schools looking at the sport as an effective method of getting students into the athletic competition and eliminating obesity.

As tennis is building in popularity due to high competitive rivalries, such as the Nadal vs. Federer rivalry, local tennis courts are being built to accommodate demands, local schools are looking at the sport as a way to combat childhood obesity. If schools continue to put focus on tennis, tennis matches may prove to be as popular as football games and an excellent method of instilling fitness into students' lifestyles.

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