Is it easier to hit the heights in tennis than in football?
This debate ignited last week when former British No 1 Greg Rusedski hit out at claims from former Manchester United playmaker Paul Scholes that tennis is an ‘easier’ sport to succeed in.
“Every two minutes you go and have your nice little glass of orange juice,” said Scholes on an episode of The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.
“You can play it when you’re 50, tennis. Play it when you’re 70. Football is much more demanding than tennis.”
Rusedski didn’t hold back in his view that Scholes was misguided in his snipes at tennis and he has expanded on his views in the latest edition of his podcast.
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“You look at a tennis match, you’re running between three and five miles. Footballers probably between six and eight miles when they’re playing,” began Rusedski.
“So yes, the footballers might do more yardage, but also they’re within a team. Tennis, it’s you who’s doing all the running. And it’s multiple, it’s like a thousand sprints all the time because you’re on full blast sprinting.
“There’s no sort of jogging around in tennis. That doesn’t really exist. So the anaerobic and cardio issue it is a little bit more difficult in tennis, I would say.
“And also the skill set. The serve, which is one of the hardest things for anybody in the public to learn, is the motor skills. On top of that, you got to think week in, week out, you’re getting five matches a week if you’re going to win the tournament.
“You look at Alex Eala. She’s played eight matches in less than two weeks. I don’t know too many footballers that play eight matches in less than two weeks. That just doesn’t happen.”
Rusedski believes the challenge for tennis players is multiplied by the need to fund their own career and pay for their travelling staff.
“You’ve got to fund your whole team. You’ve got to think, okay, I’ve got to pay for my coach, I’ve got to pay for my flights, I’ve got to pay for my physio, I’ve got to organise a business from a very, very young age,” he added.
“If you’re fortunate to have a wealthy federation or a sponsor or good sponsors, then it’s a little bit easier, but still you’ve got to pick and choose who’s going to be there. It’s not like you get into football, here’s the manager, here’s Jose Mourinho or Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger, and they dictate what’s happening. You’ve got to make the choices and you’ve got to make the decisions.
“Also psychologically, I think it’s a lot more difficult because it’s a one-on-one combat. You either win or you lose. You don’t share it with the team. You can have a bad match in football and still win or be substituted and still get your bonus. We don’t get paid unless we win.
“When you sign a football contract, you are guaranteed to get paid. If we get injured, you’re not getting paid. All your contracts are tied to it. Everything is there and you have to win.
“So I have to say I think tennis is a much more difficult sport. We had a few arguments where it went both directions, but I have a few friends of mine who are footballers and they agreed with me that they thought tennis was a more difficult sport.
“I mean, look at that year that Novak won the Australian Open. He played Andy Murray for nearly six hours and then he had to one day off and then played another six-hour match to win the Australian Open.
“You have to win seven matches in two weeks. And you’re telling me, okay, a guy who’s played twelve hours for two matches, it’s harder than somebody who’s run around for ninety minutes? I don’t think so.”
It is a great debate, but it will come as no surprise that Tennis365 falls on Rusedski’s side in this debate.
