Womens_HealthAustralia-February_2017

34 womenshealth.com.au FEBRUARY 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY:

TO

COME.

With the Australian Open upon us, it’s time to make a racket

TENNIS

By Alice Ellis

Be on the ball

Never even stepped toe on a court

and can’t follow what’s happening

on the telly? Nicole Pratt, Tennis

Australia’s head of Women’s Tennis

is here to hit you up...

Tennis is played on a court with

a net that divides it in half. Two

players (singles) or two teams of

two players (doubles) compete by

hitting a ball back and forth over

the net. The aim is to hit the ball

onto the opposite side of the court

until the other team misses it. Each

match is made up of two to three

sets. To win a set, you must win at

least six games. You lose a game by

failing to hit the ball on the full or

after just one bounce in your court,

or by hitting the ball outside of

the court. The games are scored

starting at ‘love’ (zero) and go up

to 40. To complete a set, someone

must win six games; the first person

to win six games wins the set. The

match is determined by the best

two out of three sets. So if you

win two sets, you win. If you each

go on to win a set, you play a third

set to determine the winner.

Why

you

should

play

tennis

IT’S ACE FOR...

Your heart

“It improves

cardiovascular

health,” says

Pratt. “As a result,

tennis is associated

with a reduced

risk of high blood

pressure, stroke,

[type-2] diabetes

and some cancers.”

IT’S ACE FOR...

Kilojoule burn

“Tennis is classified

as a high-intensity,

full-body workout,”

says Pratt.