Former British No.1, Greg Rusedski, was not having any of the arguments that football was a more physically demanding sport than tennis. The former ATP pro had some strong opinions to counter those of former Manchester United legend Paul Scholes, who put football above tennis in terms of physical energy.

“I was watching Paul Scholes saying, ‘Oh, football’s [soccer] so much harder than tennis.’ I’ve never heard a bigger load of rubbish in life,” said Rusedski on his podcast, ‘Off Court’. Come on, Scholesy, let’s go play some tennis and see how long you can last out there. Having to move directions, no substitutions. There is no question, physically, tennis is much more demanding. With the travel schedule, competing, and having to support and fund your own team. There are so many more things that make tennis a much more difficult sport.”

Now, Paul Scholes is arguably one of the greatest English midfielders, having played at top level for almost 20 years. He won 11 Premier League titles and even secured two Champions League trophies.

In his successful career, Scholes has played 718 times for his club and 66 times for his country. These are stats of a player who knows what its like to win at the top level. And it did not come without his blood, sweat and tears.

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However, his comments on ‘The Good, The Bad & The Football‘ podcast about tennis did not sit well.

“Every two minutes you go and have your nice little glass of orange juice,” said the Premier League legend. “You can play it when you’re 50, tennis. Play it when you’re 70, tennis.”

The individual nature of tennis sets it apart from football, a team sport where the physical labor is divided among 11 players. Also, a football match lasts 90 minutes, whereas there’s no fixed time for a tennis match, with Grand Slams often seeing matches go beyond the 4- and 5-hour marks.

Being on the Tour the expenses falls squarely on the individual player, who has to plan their travel and manage their finances, especially when they are just beginning their career, adding to the pressure. On the other hand, team sports like football have billion-dollar clubs and national federations that take care of the expenses of the players as long as they are on the payroll.

Although there is no evidence that suggests Scholes has played tennis, there are videos of the midfielder playing paddle. While the sport is different from tennis, it has a few similar principles.

Scholes is not the only soccer player to make similar observations when comparing football and tennis. During his appearances on the podcast ‘Stick to Football’, Scholes’ former teammate Keane pointed out that racket sports are generally non-contact, making them less physically taxing than football, which involves tackles and players physically fighting over the ball.

Given current player complaints about the tennis schedule, one could argue that it is more intense than the football schedule over the course of a single season.

Tennis Schedules Are as Rigorous as Football Season if Not More

In recent times, the top tennis players have complained about the severity of the scheduling. Higher-ranked players are required by the ATP or WTA to play between sixteen and seventeen events, skipping any of which often results in a financial penalty. The likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz play somewhere in the range of seventy-eighty matches in a season, as part of the mandatory events.

In football, players have a fair idea of how many matches they will play in a season, as leagues like the English Premier League have a fixed calendar of thirty-eight games, with one match every week for most of the season. The football teams also have large squads, where players get the opportunity to sit out for some matches, while others take up the workload, an option which is not available in tennis, where players often have to grit through injuries and keep playing for prize money and points.

The top players in tennis do have the financial freedom to skip events and manage their schedules more flexibly, but it is the lower-ranked players who do not have that flexibility, often making their year look even tougher than some football players’.