Tennis Calories-Burnt Calculator
The average person burns between 400 and 600 calories per hour during a casual game of tennis. In a competitive match, the calorie burn increases to 575-775 calories per hour.
The exact number of calories burned varies based on weight and playing intensity. For example, a person weighing 200 pounds (90.8 kg) will burn 763 calories in an hour of competitive singles tennis, while a person weighing 150 pounds (68 kg) will burn 357 calories per hour in a casual doubles game.
How Many Calories Are Burned While Playing Tennis?
Formula Calories burned per minute = (MET x body weight in kg x 3.5) ÷ 200
“MET” stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task, a measure of the energy cost of physical activity over time. You can find the MET value for various tennis activities in the chart above.
A task with a MET of 1 equates to the energy expended while sitting still at room temperature without actively digesting food. A task with a MET of 2 uses twice the energy of a task with a MET of 1. Similarly, a task with a MET of 10 uses ten times the energy of a task with a MET of 1.
It’s important to note that MET values do not account for individual differences such as body mass, age, sex, efficiency of movement, and environmental conditions. Thus, individual differences in energy expenditure for the same activity can be large.
Example A person weighs 81.65 kg (180 pounds) and plays competitive singles tennis (a task with a MET value of 8) for 1 hour (60 minutes total).
Calories burned from tennis (per minute) = (8 x 81.65 x 3.5) ÷ 200 = 11.43 Calories burned from tennis (for 60 minutes) = 11.43 x 60 = 686
How Can I Burn More Calories Playing Tennis? To burn more calories while playing tennis, increase both the intensity of your play and the total time spent on the court. More activity leads to higher calories burned. Playing singles instead of doubles and engaging in competitive matches rather than casual games will also increase calorie burn. Tennis offers many other benefits besides calorie burning, including improved cardiovascular health and muscle strength.
