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Subject: Squash vs Tennis
Dear Readers:

Our article about squash versus tennis (published here on SquashTalk in July 2002) has generated a lively discussion, as we expected. Here are some of the most interesting emails we received with respect to that article:

From: Matt Arkett
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

I just discovered your articles on Squashtalk and think they are great. I agree wholeheartedly with your argument re: squash Vs tennis. As a fellow player, it is so frustrating to see the top squash players in the world getting paid so little. The exertion of a professional squash player far exceeds his/her tennis counterpart. I think tennis players who have ever picked up a squash racquet know this deep down.... but don't want to admit it : ) Keep up the good work!

Matt Arkett
Canadian Ice Service Environment Canada

From: Kevin
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

Hello Joe, While I agree that squash is generally much more taxing than tennis physically or endurance-wise, one must take into account that in a high level tennis game, every ball is being crushed. Professional tennis is well known to be a pure power game these days, and therefore I would imagine the energy costs of a player who is slugging every ball is higher than that of a squash player, when compared on a stroke-by-stroke basis. I know I certainly do not play squash that way, and if I did I would be winded rather quickly. Also, I fail to see how the average squash pro has less raquet skills than a tennis pro. I find the squash stroke infinitly more variable and complex than the tennis stroke - and that is reflected in how squash has a much larger array of shots than tennis. Heck, no one even plays the slice anymore in tennis, and the absence of a short game needs no mention. How does that create for a tennis athelete with more racquet skills?

Kevin

From:
Jacques van Leeuwen
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

Hi Dan/Joseph, interesting thoughts you guys wrote down about the differences between tennis and squash. I have the same discussion with colleagues that play tennis over and over again. I believe there is one big difference between tennis and squash that was less discussed in your article. The total duration of a match between tennis and squash is very different. (I am not aware of the true average duration of tennis matches, but they are most of the time longer than a squash match, although they have less nett playing time) This longer time requires a longer period of concentration. I personally believe that the hard part of tennis is to keep your mind focussed for this (much) longer period.

Best regards, Jacques van Leeuwen Victoria Squash - Rotterdam

PS: From a physical point of view, the feeling after a tennis match could be compared to a three to four hour shopping experience on a Saturday in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. You feel sluggish, your legs are burning, you probably need a Alker Seltzer for your headache, but after a hotshower and two beers you feel OK again.

From: Martin Scullion
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

Hi there. Just read part 1 of the 'Tennis vs Squash' debate, I was really staggred by the stats regarding the actual time in play and the rally lengths of the tennis players. I regularly play a guy who played junior wimbledon, he has now become a very good squash player but he has always said to me that the tennis guys have superior racket control/skills whereas the squash players are generally much fitter.

As regards movement tennis seems to require movement only in a couple of directions, well only side to side if you're a baseliner :-), whereas squash can pull you in several different directions at once, well it does when I play it !!. Another area which would be quite interesting to look at would be that of injuries, cos although they are not doing as much work the tennis pro's seem to get crocked quite often, in some cases more so than squash, although this could be because there are simply many more of them and so the likelihood of a high profile player getting injured is much more likely.

I think a fairer comparison would be that of Badminton vs Squash, I think you'd be surprised at the speed & fitness of these guys, again it's a racket sport which is largely disregarded in favour of tennis, but having seen a couple of reasonably high-level tournaments I was hugely impressed with their reflexes and speed which is easily comparable with that of top squash players. Really enjoying the articles, keep 'em coming.

Martin Scullion.

From: Ashley Goh
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

Dear Joe, First of, I want to thank you and Dan for taking the time and effort to write such great columns. It is wonderful to get insights into the world of squash from one of the top pros, and to find out what's going on in your head. If I can't be there to watch the big tourneys, at least I can read your columns. Martin Bronstein recently described you as "voluble" in one of his articles and I must say that this has paid huge dividends in your writing. There's nothing worse than a writer who has nothing to say.

I started out as a very good tennis player (US college level) and when that got old, I took up squash at the San Francisco Bay Club. As a tennis player, I considered myself extremely strong and fast but squash soon taught me a damn hard lesson. People who say tennis is tougher clearly haven't played squash before.

So what I have to say to those tennis people who say their sport is tougher is this: Get on a squash court and sprint your ass off for an hour before you talk. I doubt you'll even make it. Then get ready to limp around in pain for the next two days as your glutes ache like hell. Pete Sampras wouldn't last a game with Peter Nicol at his current level of fitness. Guys like Sampras, Krajicek, Ivanisevic and Philippousis can go through matches at Wimbledon winning points with one big serve or one big forehand, never having to run a piddle. No squash player can do that for even one point. And squash players have to explode to cut off a drive or reach a drop shot time after time, using every ounce of effort to reach a tough shot. Tennis players often drift around in smooth, languid rallies that usually do not require split second reflexes or desperate lunges since they have so much time to react to a larger, slower ball struck from much farther away than the front wall of a squash court. Thanks again Joe and Dan, best of luck on the tour.

Ashley Goh Seattle Athletic Club
"I am fitter, so I win." --Jansher Khan

From: Craig Lamb
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

I just read your article comparing tennis and squash and I wanted to make you aware of a few points. First I have been a tennis player and travelled the satelite circuit for a few years with little success. I also know and have spent time with alot of top squash players including Power and ryding. A couple things to keep in mind that contribute to the difference in prize money. 1) Squash is terrible on TV and tough to follow. The average sports fan does not have the knowledge to understand what is a let, what is a stroke and so forth. This does not make it enjoyable for the average fan to watch.

The big bucks comes from Television contracts and squash will never ever make it. 2) Only a few nations in the world have a decent squash programs even worth discussing while Tennis boasts one of the most popular sports in the world. This being said its clearly much more difficult to make it to the top of the tennis world as the competition is much greater. 3) At the top level of tennis there are a few guys with average fitness as you point out but there games allow them to be this way as they have a ton of talent with the racquet.

Up until recently I have seen the level of Jon Powers fitness and it is not that impressive but I will admit squash does require more endurance but tennis players are more then comparable athletes as far the the racquet skills needed, distance of some sprints and the variety of shots necessary. 4) You use one set of Hewitt vs Nalbandian at wimbledon as an example of time played. I can understand that you being a squash player you wouldnt understand that despite the fact they are both baseliners the average points are still super short on grass compared with other surfaces.

Try comparing the finals of the French open on clay. Regardless this is still a plus for tennis as the players need to know how to play on many different surfaces not simply the same on over and over. This requires different movement, variety in your game and so forth. Both sports are great as I play both but squash is not even close to the same level on a world scale for participation or acceptance on television. If you have a problem with tennis players making more what do you think of professional golfers? Baseball players? At the end of the day to make a living in a sport your competing against the other athletes out there and thats the standard set. Squash has a low level of world participation, in fact most people in the United States don't even know what it is.

Your skills in tennis as in squash must be superior to the other athletes and that takes tons of dedication and training. I would be happy to put the fitness levels of the top tennis pros against the top squash pros. This would include, muscle strenth, explosivness, endurance and so forth. Fitness goes well beyong being tired and exhausted. I have also seen the movement of alot of the top squash players and at times its slow with very little steps, just gliding arond the ! court. at other times its intense and amazing rallies that would exhaust even the fittest athletes. The same is true of tennis. Until you have played both sports on the top level its hard to understand the finer points. But to use matches such as invanisivec vs sampras and a final on grass is to say the least, very misleading and biased. Keep in mind there are only a couple hundred men at the most that make a living playing tennis and compared with world participation that is miserable.

Sorry to harass you with another email but you took your rips and Mark Phillipousis. Keep in mind despite the fact that before his injury he was top 10 in the world. This would make him better then thousands and thousands more players that train hard for his sport then either Nicol or Power in their respective sport. To be top 10 in the world in tennis is no small feat considering the amount of depth in the sport. The depth is squash is not even in the same ball park as tennis.

Craig Lamb

From: Todd Borden
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Squash vs Tennis

Dear Dan, Your articles are great! I look forward to every one of them. I am a squash enthusiast in Santa Barbara, California, where Robert Graham coaches. I think you guys have struck upon a wonderful balance of squash information and "regular people" incite that is very hard to come by; you normally get one but not the other. I really hope you continue to write about the tour and training. I saw Joe play for the first time in Birmingham at the British Open in 2000. I was amazed at his tenacity on court, and at his good humour off court. I find this combination to be rare, but also very admirable. I hope you guys can one day find your way to Santa Barbara! Best of Luck, Todd Borden P.S. I also was at Wimbledon in 1996 and saw Richard Krajicek win his semi-final over Stoltinberg. I could not agree with you more about the superiority of squash over tennis--especially the way Mr. Krajicek plays the game. I probably spent more time looking at his girlfriend during that match than on the tennis!

From: Patrick van Dusschoten
To: dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: In response to Joseph Kneipp's column Squash vs. Tennis Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 20:51:55 +0200

Hi Joseph, I spoke to Olav the other day at Squash World, who told me about your squash vs. tennis comparison on Squashtalk.com. With special interest I read your article and I must say that some of the things you say are true and others are just not, in my opinion. Being a former tennis professional (who by the way did not earn those big bucks) and now playing squash for over 5 hours a week for almost a year,I've been in some of these discussions and think that I can relate to both sports.

First of all, I can very well understand that world class athletes in most sports get frustrated when comparing the different prize money levels to those of for instance (the world top-150) tennis players. Anyone who tries to rationalise this, based on terms like fitness, devotion, time, costs,training effort, etc., should not. It just cannot be done. Different sports all require their specific talents, devotion and efforts and a world class athlete in one sport is not at all superior to an athlete in another.

In that respect, you could say that a tennis player should not earn more than a squash player for instance. However, tennis is obviously much more a spectator sport, which therefore results in more spectators -> attention -> media -> visibility -> sponsoring -> TV rights = available money. And yes, we are talking a lot of money. And although I agree that the amounts are sometimes absurd, it is a good thing that most of the money goes to those who really are attracting the crowds: the players. But this is the one and only reason why tennis players (and we are talking basically the world top-150 players) earn what they earn, and therefore they earn it! Other grounds therefore are not an issue.

Now when you try to compare the sport tennis to the sport squash in respect of fitness, training efforts, etc., that is a whole different ball game. And basically cannot be done. Different sports all require different specific needs; physically as well as and mentally. For instance, I do not agree with you that squash players are more fit than tennis players. Yes, squash is a very intense and fast game that can wear one out really quick. Not only top players, but also people who just started to play. It is a sport that requires a lot of one's cardio vascular system. It gets your heartbeat going really good and really fast. With the rallies usually being longer than in tennis and the time in between points being shorter, it just wears you out faster.

Tennis players I think nowadays have a 20 second time limit in between points and use it when necessary. To grab a towel, put in string-savers, do whatever. Usually just to compose again and to bring the heartbeat down to around 120 if possible. Why wouldn't squash players take a little more time in between points? I'm sure it would make a lot of difference, especially in a long match. Tennis is not as much a cardio vascular sport like squash is, but much more an 'all-body' sport I would say. The power that is being used to hit the ball is not comparable to that in squash. The weight of the racket and the ball as well as the speed of the ball and the impact of it, make it impossible to hit the ball like you could in squash.

Every shot needs good footwork and a perfect preparation of the whole body in order the get the necessary control and speed. No single shot therefore is hit with the arm only, but is an effort of the whole body. When you watch a tennis player's movement closely, you will see what I mean: nearly every shot is being hit with the player coming 'through' the ball; stepping or falling forward, and after that moving several steps back, in order to do the same at the next shot. When hitting a 'lazy' shot, you probably will be blasted away by your opponent.

These two aspects of the game and the one of running quite some meters at a higher speed than in squash and therefore with a much higher impact when turning and moving, make tennis a physical tough game. Especially on the top level. Tougher than squash? Different tough I think. An example: I didn't play tennis for several months when I played a match some weeks ago. It was a match that lasted for over 3 hours and the next day I could hardly walk straight because of sore muscles and stiff joints. And that although I play squash for at least 5 hours a week and thought I was fitter than ever. Yes, I was able to run and to keep on running until the end, but the power in the muscles was the problem. I just could not keep hitting the shots like I should because of a total physical wear out. Now this was a match, with the resting moments during the match as you stated. From experience I know that a good practice session would have been several times tougher.

Some time ago I joined a training for 2 hours and I had to quit earlier, leaving the court with a headache... As I said, the two sports really cannot be compared. They are both tough, both in their own specific ways. If a world class tennis player had the technical skills to compete, he would not be a match for a world class squash player on the squash court in terms of fitness or otherwise I'm sure, but that goes visa versa on the tennis court. But doesn't this go for any tough physical sport?

Now your point regarding your belief that the amount of training and pain a squash pro inflicts upon himself from day to day is without any doubt at a level superior to that of the average tennis pro. I cannot believe that. As a tennis pro I was practising on and off court daily for at least 4 hours a day (when not in a tournament). Practising hard with often heartbeats over 200 a minute. But besides that, I know from experience that more training doesn't necessarily lead to a more improved game. The fact that (older) squash players get serious problems with backs and hips etc., in my opinion has nothing to do with amount of practise, but more with the specifics of the game: the surface and the way of movement the sport requires. And besides, most players on the tennis tour eventually have to stop playing because of injuries. Shoulder, knee, back and hip problems urge them to quit (I'm sure you've heard of your fellow country man Rod Laver?). And that even though the average tennis pro takes very good care of himself and is being taken good care of on the tour as well.

Concluding, in my opinion there are no certain athletes superior to others, and no sport is superior to another. In fact, it's impossible to compare different sports or the top athletes in it. The fact that athletes in certain sports get rewarded much better than athletes in other sports, is not fair in terms of efforts, but is just a fact of history, organisation and popularity of the sport. It depends on the money that goes around in it because of attractiveness for spectators and media. So in this case, for you as a squash player, I guess it's just bad luck you're not a tennis player... Hope to hear from you soon or maybe we'll meet at Squash World. Best

regards, Patrick van Dusschoten

From: Hans Ling
To: "dan@teamkneipp.com
Subject: Tennis vs squash
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 10:51:39 +0200

Hi, I read your article on squashtalk.com from Swedish Open in Linkoping. In the "Stefan Edberg and Joe Kneipp on Court" -article, you finish with saying that you will publish an article based on an interview with Stefan Edberg where he talks about the difference between playing squash and tennis. Is that article still planned to be published? If not, I would be very greatful if you just could, in short words answer this mail with his comment around this issue. Swedish Open is now also set for 2004. Hope to see Joe there again. I love the way he plays squash. Especially his movement on court. He never seems to be in a hurry. I dont know how he does it, but it looks fantastic. I guess one big factor is that he reads the game so well. (Wish it was me)

Best Regards, Hans Ling

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