Obviously besides tennis, squash, and racquet ball pros. Somebody below asked about the tennis skills of NFL players and it got me to thinking about the overall question of which sports people are also good or great at tennis.
My vote would be ice hockey players. I know Rob Brindamour is a terrific tennis player. Also baseball infielders. I've heard that Mike Schmidt is a great tennis player, although he prefers golf now.
Of course NFL players are great athletes, but I wonder if their size slows them down on a tennis court?
2006-08-07 05:51:04 · 16 answers · asked by Richard M 1 in Sports ➔ Tennis
I would say soccer players. A lot of the athletic attributes required are the same. They are extremely fit and not overly muscled, and usually tend to be a similar size to tennis players.
Size can help in tennis, but not when taken to extremes. NFL stars would be too heavily built to be flexible. Sure they can run quickly, but the sudden directional changes in tennis would be tough for them. Not to mention that you need loose muscles to hit a tennis ball hard, not bulging biceps. Basketball players are tall enough to potentially hit good serves, but the height would really be a huge hindrance to movement. There are very few exceptionally tall tennis stars who have had much success, and most have been prone to injuries as well. Although tennis is not a contact sport, it is very hard on joints. Too much height or bulk is usually not a good thing.
2006-08-07 12:35:43 · answer #1 · answered by rammsteinfan-1 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Any sport where hand to eye coordination (or foot to eye coordination) is required would be a good practice for a tennis player. Most of the European tennis pros are excellent soccer players, as was John McEnroe. People who play baseball, hockey, football (former NFL player Dick Lynch is a pretty good tennis player), basketball (Phil Jackson is also pretty good) all tend to have skills that would transfer well to tennis. The one answer I'd disagree with is swimmers. Though obviously some swimmers are great overall athletes, I've know some people who were terrific swimmers & not very good at tennis at all (kind of like a fish out of water).
2006-08-07 16:01:05 · answer #2 · answered by Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd say baseball and football players. The throwing motion in football is similar to the serving motion in tennis. Baseball players have excellent eye-hand coordination. If they can hit the ball with a bat (a much smaller area), they can definitelt hit with a tennis racquet.
2006-08-09 10:52:59 · answer #3 · answered by just me 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd say soccer or basketball players because they have endurance and the footwork is similiar to tennis. At my high school, most of the tennis players are also on the soccer team
2006-08-07 12:50:48 · answer #4 · answered by im_cool 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definately baseball players, they are not overly muscular so their movement will not be restricted, and here is a good example Paul O-Neil. I don't know what he is doing now but they had an article on him in Tennis magazine a while back. Being completly honest the most important thing is just their athletic ability.
2006-08-07 12:31:45 · answer #5 · answered by tennis guy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nice question. I think you're right about ice hockey. It would have to be a sport that requires a lot of agility, balance, speed, and control. Hockey requires the same kind of precision that tennis does so I can see how the top athletes can transition from one to the other. That being said, I fail to see how golf can be considered.
Some other sports to consider might be lacrosse, soccer and maybe even volleyball or basketball. I think in American football it would depend on the position. Like you said, some guys would just be too big, but I could see a quarterback, for example, having all the necessary tools.
2006-08-07 06:53:20 · answer #6 · answered by bromothymol 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no NFL players are tall and that means that they could cover the court faster. but this person can't be a sore loser. tennis is a mental sport.
2006-08-09 09:14:48 · answer #7 · answered by tennis star 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Soccer and Hoops are the two major sports that are used for cross training. It all boiles down to the footwork. Both those sports you do a lot of anaerobic running, starting and stopping short sprints etc. I do not know if you remember Clyde Drexler the Hall of fame hoopster. That guy had a big tennis game. Try and pass him up at the net especially when he knew what he was doing up their.
2006-08-07 07:47:00 · answer #8 · answered by messtograves 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Swimming. That produces the best tennis players. Cause it will build up your upper and lower body without ruining any of your strokes.
2006-08-08 07:17:02 · answer #9 · answered by thetomsterrr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Squash players, should be ok at Tennis.
2006-08-07 05:59:39 · answer #10 · answered by brogdenuk 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋