Racquet sports build up your fitness while also requiring complex movements (front to back, and side to side) and quick strategic thinking. That combination of high-intensity training, strength building, flexibility, and mental toughness is rare among other sports.

Additionally, racquet sports can be played at any age, and they bring you together with other people for social connection, which we know is beneficial for health.

It should therefore come as no surprise that racquet sports were once again shown to reduce the risk of death more than any other type of sport.

A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), just published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), showed that many types of physical activity lower the risk of death for older adults — but racquet sports top the list with a 27% lower risk of death from heart disease.

Playing racquet sports regularly was shown to reduce the risk of death from any cause by 16%, slightly better than Running which came in 2nd with a 15% risk reduction. Other sports analysed included Cycling, Swimming, Walking, Golf, and Aerobic Exercise.

These results are consistent with a previous large study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which looked at the link between 6 different types of exercise (Racquet Sports, Swimming, Aerobics, Cycling, Running, Football) and the risk of early death.

Over 80,000 people were included, ranging in age from 30 to 98. The study — which spanned 9 years — showed that people who regularly played racquet sports were 47% less likely to die (nearly 20 percentage points better than swimming, which came in 2nd with a 28% lower risk of dying).

Another study of more than 8000 people over a period of 25 years determined that tennis can extend your life by nearly 10 years. This was far greater than the longevity gains of other healthy sports such as football (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years), swimming (3.4 years), jogging (3.2 years), and going to the gym (1.5 years)

Numerous types of activities can produce health and longevity benefits, but racquet sports consistently rank as the best sports for a longer life.

Start playing racquet sports today and you could wind up living a decade longer.