If you’re a tennis player or even just a fan who’s serious about tracking calories burned, this tennis calorie calculator is the right place for you. Tennis may look simple, but it burns a significant amount of calories because running, stopping, sprinting, swinging, and quick reactions use a lot of energy.
Keep reading to learn what it is, how it works, and the FAQs.
To put it simply, tennis calories refer to the total amount of energy your body uses while playing tennis. Tennis burns a surprising amount of calories per hour because of the mix of aerobic endurance and anaerobic bursts.
Measuring and tracking calories is crucial for players to understand their energy expenditure and manage nutrition for fitness goals.
What is the average calorie burn rate per hour? Calories burned during tennis can vary based on body weight, singles vs doubles, and intensity, but the average usually falls between 330 and 700+ calories per hour.
To calculate calories burned, understanding the steps is important because the calculator uses an ACSM-style MET formula. In the next sections, we explain what METs are.
We use an ACSM formula. If you don’t know, ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) is the world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization, with over fifty thousand members and certified professionals.
The following formula (ACSM-style) is used to estimate calories per minute:
kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight(kg) / 200Where:
MET means Metabolic Equivalent of Task3.5 is the baseline used to define 1 METWeight is your body mass in kg200 is a conversion factor to turn oxygen consumption (ml/min) into kilocalories Then use the following formula to calculate total calories burned:
Total calories = kcal/min × total minutesThe formula requires your body weight, duration, and the METs value to compute the total calories burned.
Confused about how MET values work and what 1 MET means? MET simply shows how many times your body is working compared to rest. 1 MET is the baseline used to compare physical activity. Look at the following:
1 MET = energy cost of sitting quietly (≈ 3.5 ml O₂ per kg per min).For example, when you are sitting quietly and watching TV your MET value is 1, and if you are walking slowly with a 3 km/h speed, your METs value is 3.
Look at the following table showing MET values for tennis activities:
| Tennis Activity | MET Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tennis, general play | 7.0 | Average recreational singles or doubles |
| Tennis, singles (competitive) | 8.0 | Higher intensity due to full-court coverage |
| Tennis, doubles (recreational) | 6.0 | Lower intensity, less movement compared to singles |
| Tennis, hitting balls (non-match) | 4.0 to 5.0 | Practice drills, casual hitting, less continuous play |
| Table tennis (ping pong) | 4.0 | Included for comparison; much lower intensity than court tennis |
Consider the following example, which shows the steps involved in calorie calculation:
First, determine your body weight e.g., 65 kg, playing duration e.g., 1.5 hours, and the playing intensity e.g., Competitive match (8 MET) based on the above table.
Next, convert the hours into minutes because the equation uses time in minutes:
Time (minutes) = 1.5 hours × 60 = 90 minutesNow, let's apply the ACSM formula to estimate the calories burned per minute:
kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight(kg) / 200kcal/min = 8 × 3.5 × 65 / 200kcal/min = 9.1 kcal/minFinally, multiply the calories per minute by the total time in minutes:
Total calories = 9.1 kcal/min × 90 minutesTotal calories = 819 kcalThis means a 65 kg person playing competitive tennis for 90 minutes burns around 819 kcal.
Generally, most adults burn between 330 to 700 calories per hour, depending on factors such as intensity, body weight, and duration.