I’ve always been impressed by tennis—and tennis players. The game is one-on-one, like boxing. Nobody else is out there with you to help you. It’s all about you against an opponent. The strong survive.

Just like in boxing, you’ve got to be strong and you’ve got to be fit to win at tennis. Hopefully, nobody is punching you in the head on a tennis court, but you’ve still got to be tough and fit enough to hang in and go the distance. Like boxing, tennis is a battle between gladiators. You’ve got two people, in the arena, going toe-to-toe. You see somebody like Andre Agassi knocking back a return against a big server like Andy Roddick, and it’s like two heavyweights throwing punches at each other. Instead of using gloves and pounding each other’s heads, they’ve got racquets driving balls at each other. You’ve got to be mentally tough and physically fit or you can’t compete. You’re going to get pounded.

Tennis, like boxing, is intense and demanding, a test of your head and your heart. I love that.

You need a lot of the same physical skills for both sports. First of all, you need to be agile. To compete well, your body’s got to be flexible and supple. I’ve got to be able to punch and move and defend, and so does a tennis player. Of course, I’m hitting a bigger target and, unlike a tennis ball, my opponent is trying to hit me back.

Both sports require excellent hand-eye coordination. In both boxing and tennis, whenever there’s an opening, you’ve got to be able to strike the target with consistency and power. You watch Serena Williams on a big point, and you can see how she’s dialed in and ready to hit the best possible shot. For some people, that hand-eye just comes naturally. The rest of us have to work on improving this skill, which means putting in lots of practice time on the court or in the gym. I always try to be smart with my workouts by focusing on specific routines and drills.

Maybe the most important skill in both sports is footwork. Boxing takes place in such a confined area that footwork is especially important. You’ve got to keep your feet moving—all the time. You stand still, you’re an easy target. Great tennis players have also mastered this skill. It’s not enough to be fast, you’ve got to move smart. Strike and defend, strike and defend. Be aggressive and attack. That same game plan works in both sports.

Of course the physical skills are only part of the game. As individual sports, boxing and tennis are extremely demanding mentally as well. It’s lonely out there, and as the match wears on, it’s not always easy to keep going—especially when an opponent is making it hard for you. That’s why, in both sports, you’ve got to love the experience no matter what the outcome

Tennis: Star Power
These big names give tennis top billing.
Is it any wonder that when NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon isn’t zooming around the track in his #24 DuPont Chevrolet car, he picks tennis to help stay in top physical and mental shape? “Tennis is one of those sports that can help you stay focused and that challenges you mentally and physically,” Gordon says. “It helps you feel better about yourself and boosts your self-esteem.”

Gordon needs little help in boosting his self-esteem. The 32-year-old Gordon, a four-time Winston Cup champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner, has broken records at all stages of his racing career and won the admiration of millions of fans, not to mention his racing colleagues.

But on the tennis court, it isn’t all about work. “Tennis is a great way to get out and meet new people,” Gordon says. “I get a great workout and have some fun.”
Katie Couric, NBC Today co-host: “Tennis is a game that you can play your entire life. You see people of all ages out on the tennis court. Cardiovascular-wise, it is terrific.”
Jeannette Lee, billiards champion: “Tennis is a great display of intensity, heart and power. In tennis, an ace is similar to a great break in billiards. In both sports that initial move can mean the difference between winning and losing.”

Rick Fox, Los Angeles Lakers: “Since I started playing tennis, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. In tennis you’ve got to constantly move your feet—footwork is so important. I feel like this side-to-side movement in tennis equates to basketball, where you’re also always moving.”

Randy Jackson, Music Mogul, American Idol Judge: “It’s exercise, but it’s also relaxing and fun. You try to do something right and when it happens, let’s say you hit a beautiful shot for a winner, it’s like a revelation. I love working at it.”

Ted Koppel, ABC News Nightline Anchor and Managing Editor: “When I am on vacation, I play tennis every day and it’s one of the great joys of my private life. Even though I don’t play tennis today as well as I did when I was 34, if I’m playing with someone else who’s in my general age group, the level of competition is just as fierce, and the game is just as intense, and I get just as much enjoyment out of it. I truly do recommend tennis to young people because you can get pleasure out of tennis for the rest of your life.”

Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Hall-of-Famer: “Tennis to me is one of the more challenging sports around. It requires as wide a range of skills—speed, precision, hand-eye coordination—as you'll ever see. You've got to play the whole game in tennis.”
Sally Ride, astronaut: “I’m a physics professor, and there’s actually a lot you can learn about physics from tennis—angles, speed, velocity. All of these things are vital for tennis. Tennis has been a great way for me to get great exercise and learn some wonderful lessons about sportsmanship.”