When we think about both badminton and tennis, we think of the similar aspects of both games. They are both racket sports that can be played in singles and doubles. They both are somewhat synonymous with higher classes. They can be played on many surfaces.
But when it comes to the intensity of the game, for many reasons badminton is thought of as more leisurely than tennis. This makes sense, whether it’s the history of the game, the fact that many people just casually set up badminton courts in their backyards, or just the simple fact that badminton courts are smaller than tennis.
But do all of these factors ring true when it comes to the intensity of the game? One might wonder if you get a better workout and burn calories at a higher pace in tennis or badminton.
Luckily there is some good research that calculates calories burned per hour for each sport, so let’s explore.
Calories burned during tennis
Tennis is an intense sport. So for anyone looking to burn more calories for weight loss purposes, or just who is just looking for activities that burn calories, tennis is a good choice.
To determine the number of calories you could expect to burn during Tennis, you first need to distinguish whether you will play singles or doubles tennis. Both differ in intensity, with singles tennis being more intense, and doubles being less so. The CDC actually characterizes Singles Tennis as a “vigorous-intensity” and doubles Tennis as “moderate intensity. This makes sense, as you have to cover more ground and do more work in Singles tennis.
But that by no means qualifies doubles Tennis as an easy workout. Per the Cleveland Clinic, it would take the average person weighing 150 lbs playing an 71 minutes of doubles Tennis to burn 500 calories. If we do the math and translate that to calories per hour, a person weighing 150 lbs would burn just over 422 calories per hour playing doubles tennis.
Calories burned during badminton
A while back, Harvard did a study measuring calorie burn across many different activities, including Badminton. They measured calories burned by someone weighing 125 lbs, 155 lbs, and 185 lbs.
For a person weighing 155 lb, this study concluded that they would burn 145 calories per 30 minutes playing badminton. This tells us that someone weighing 155 lbs will burn about 290 calories per hour playing badminton.
Calories burn: Badminton vs. Tennis
Comparing the numbers above, it seems that someone of the same weight would burn more calories playing Tennis than Badminton. Interestingly enough, the same Harvard study referenced above concluded that someone weighing 155 lbs would burn 504 calories per hour playing tennis compared 282 calories per hour playing badminton. These figures align pretty well with the Cleveland Clinic figures.
So we can conclude that the range for calorie burn per each racket sport is as follows:
| Sport | Calories Per Hour (~150-155 lbs person) |
| Badminton | 250-290 kcal per hour |
| Tennis | 450-500 kcal per hour |
It makes sense that a tennis player burns calories at a faster rate than a badminton player. An athlete that needs to cover more ground, hold a heavier racket, and put more power into a bigger ball with a bigger racket (tennis) burns calories at a faster rate than an athlete who has to do all of those things at a smaller scale (Badminton)
Raquet Sports are Good for You
Whether it’s tennis, badminton, or any other racket sport, it’s important to remember that these activities burn calories. They get you sweating and are a good source of exercise.
This is especially true for those of us looking to burn calories and lose weight. On average, a person maintaining their weight and diet should burn 250 calories more per day to start to see considerable weight loss. This being so, you really can’t go wrong with racket sports.
Both of these sports are also an incredible source of cardio. Even 20 minutes of either sport will get you to break a sweat and your heart rate up.