Cardio Tennis Rocks, But Doesn’t Play Much Tennis

Can Beyonce save tennis? How about Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez? The United States Tennis Association and the Tennis Industry Association seem to think so. The two organizations, concerned about their sport’s failure to thrive in recent years, have created a new and way more extreme tennis workout, and it often includes blasting music from at least one of the two young ladies. What else does in include? There’s a 10-minute warm-up,  45 minutes of cardiovascular conditioning — including team games and forehand, backhand and volley drills — and a five-minute cool-down. As this piece in the LA Times reports, it’s called cardio tennis, and it seems to be less about tennis than it is about cardio. The main selling point is that it is a high-energy workout that burns more calories than singles or doubles by
elevating the heart rate into the aerobic training zone. And if you think no one will buy that selling point, think again. Cardio tennis workouts are offered at 760 public and private courts across the country. Read more.