Amal Clooney keeps fit by playing tennis. The 48-year-old human rights lawyer is guarded when it comes to her exercise regime but has been pictured after playing a match with her husband George Clooney at their Lake Garda home in 2017.
The Hollywood star has previously described how he struggled to compete against his wife on the tennis court.
© GettyGeorge told People magazine back in 2020: "Amal is a really good athlete. When I was younger, I won some tennis tournaments. I played a lot of sports – I still play a lot of sports, and I can actually play (well). And Amal just beats the hell out of me."
© Splash News/The Grosby GroupAmal's Other Exercises
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper that same year, George revealed that the couple have their own "family tennis court" at their home in Los Angeles – which he joked had turned into a speedway when their twins Ella and Alexander, nine, were learning to ride their bikes.
Amal is also believed to walk for an hour every day, lift weights for 20 minutes and does Pilates on non-weights days.
© Eliot Press/The Grosby GroupTennis Benefits
Tennis has been a mainstay in Amal's fitness routine and a Danish study has revealed that playing the sport can add 10 years to a person's life.
The research found that those who played tennis were expected to live 9.7 years longer than those who didn't do any exercise. Meanwhile, those who ran had a life expectancy gain of 3.2 years, with the figure at just 1.5 years for those who did gym training such as lifting weights.
© Mega/The Grosby GroupA different study compared the benefits of racket sports such as tennis with swimming, cycling and aerobics and found that the former reduced the possibility of all-cause mortality by 47 per cent – while swimmers had a 28 per cent lower risk, cyclists had a 15 per cent lower risk and those who did aerobics had a 27 per cent lower risk.
What makes tennis so good for us?
The authors of the Danish study think that tennis is so useful because of the social interaction involved. It helps to build emotional support, trust and a sense of belonging – all of which have been proven to benefit health.
© Backgrid UK/The Grosby GroupOthers argue that it is as a result of the high-intensity interval training effect, as tennis involves short bursts of effort like sprints and rapid direction changes that are hugely beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Tennis also keeps the brain sharp as players have to constantly strategise and react to shots made by the opponent.
