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Apart from skill (which is a very important ability), the relative importance of the physiological parameters such as speed, agility and endurance differ in their contributions to making a champion tennis player. Body size and composition is often rated very low in importance for tennis players, however it's role is not insignificant.

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Tall players with a good arm length can reach more areas of the court with ease. We have listed the height of all Wimbledon champions over time, and have shown that their average height has increased. It is useful to measure Height and Arm Span in tennis players.

Body fat can be measured using the skinfold method. If this is not available, monitoring body weight changes would give an indication of body fat changes, assuming no change in muscle mass. Excess body fat would affect the tennis player's ability to move freely around the court, and the extra weight will increase fatigue.

Anthropometry and Olympic Athletes

London 2012 Olympic Games

Here is some information from the analysis of the anthropometric data (height, weight and age) from the tennis participants at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The tennis players were taller than the average Olympian, though of similar weight (therefore the BMI is lower than average).

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Here is average data from the analysis of the anthropometric data of the tennis players at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The values were very similar to the measurements of the tennis players at the 2012 Olympics.

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Related Pages

• Height of all Wimbledon Winners
• Discussion of the Fitness Components for Tennis
• Fitness testing for tennis
• Olympic Games Anthropometry for other sports in 2012
• All about fitness testing, including anthropometry testing
• Nutrition for Tennis
• See also the Tennis Fitness Ratings
• Poll about the fitness components for tennis