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Tennis calories calculator
Put your weight, minutes, and MET value in: 180 lb playing tennis for 60 minutes at MET 7.3 burns 596.02 kcal — 596.02 kcal an hour, 9.93 a minute.
★ SPORTS · TENNIS · CALORIES
Tennis Calories Calculator: 596.02 kcal in 60 Minutes
On the defaults — 180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 7.3 — tennis calories are 596.02 kcal, or 9.93 kcal a minute. This is the tennis calories tool: turn pounds into kilograms, multiply by the MET value for calories an hour, then scale by the minutes — a match guessed from the minutes alone tells you nothing until the weight and intensity behind it are known.
What does 596.02 kcal, 9.93 kcal a minute mean?
It means a one-hundred-and-eighty-pound person, playing tennis for sixty minutes at a MET value of seven point three, burns five hundred and ninety-six point zero two calories, which is five hundred and ninety-six point zero two calories an hour and nine point nine three calories every minute. The weight sets the body moved, the MET sets the intensity of every minute, and the minutes set how long that intensity lasts: a heavier body burns more on the same minutes, harder play burns more on every minute, and a longer match burns more without changing either. The only judgement is the MET — 7.3 must be the intensity actually played, not the hardest rally remembered, and the MET that settles the burn is the average across the whole match, gentle rallies and changeovers included, not the quickest number alone.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weight in kg | lb × 0.45359237 | 81.65 kg — 180 × 0.45359237. |
| Calories an hour | MET × kg | 596.02 kcal — 7.3 × 81.65 kg. |
| Total calories | per hour × minutes ÷ 60 | 596.02 kcal — 596.02 × 60 ÷ 60. |
| Calories a minute | total ÷ minutes | 9.93 kcal — 596.02 ÷ 60. |
Three things to check before you trust the number
First, check the weight honestly: 180 lb must be the weight actually playing, because a weight understated by twenty pounds understates the burn by about sixty-six calories on these defaults. Second, check the minutes against the court, not the outing: 60 minutes must be minutes actually playing, not minutes at the club — a match with ten minutes of changeovers and ball-chasing burns for fifty playing minutes, not sixty, and minutes borrowed from the changeover overstate the burn by a fifth. Third, check the MET against the play, not the ambition: 7.3 suits general tennis with regular rallies, while competitive singles sits nearer 8 and a gentle doubles game nearer 4.5, and a MET borrowed from the hardest rally lifts the whole match by nearly a tenth.
Worked example
180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 7.3. Kilograms: 180 × 0.45359237 = 81.65 kg. Per hour: 7.3 × 81.65 = 596.02 kcal. Total: 596.02 × 60 ÷ 60 = 596.02 kcal. Per minute: 596.02 ÷ 60 = 9.93 kcal. In practice that means an hour of general tennis burns about six hundred calories — the number to set against a daily target, and the near-ten-calorie minute to use when a longer match is weighed against harder rallies.
Every branch, checked
At 90 minutes instead of 60, the burn rises to 894.03 kcal — still 9.93 kcal a minute. At 150 lb instead of 180, the burn falls to 496.68 kcal — 8.28 kcal a minute. At MET 9 instead of 7.3, the burn rises to 734.82 kcal — 12.25 kcal a minute. At 30 minutes instead of 60, the burn falls to 298.01 kcal — still 9.93 kcal a minute.
The reverses, worked backwards
The minutes behind 596.02 kcal are 60: at 30 minutes the burn is 298.01 kcal; at 90 minutes it is 894.03 kcal. The weight behind 596.02 kcal is 180 lb: at 150 lb the burn is 496.68 kcal; at 200 lb it is 662.24 kcal — the weight never touches the minutes, only the calories each minute burns.
What the defaults assume
The defaults assume general tennis at MET 7.3 for the full 60 minutes, with no long spells sitting out, at a steady rally pace. They do not assume all-out sprints all match, long sits on the bench, or a gentle doubles game of slow rallies only — a match with long changeovers burns less than 596.02, so treat 596.02 as the continuous-play burn, not the stop-start outing burn.
Who uses this
- A player tracking a match: the 596.02 kcal settles what sixty minutes really burns.
- A dieter comparing exercises: the 9.93 kcal a minute is the line to set against running or cycling.
- A coach setting a session: the MET lever shows what harder rallies really add.
- A beginner sizing a first game: the minute figure turns a short hit into a calorie target.
Accuracy & limitations
The arithmetic is exact for the inputs entered; the judgement is the true weight, the minutes actually played, and the average MET. Real tennis burns vary with speed, singles or doubles, court surface, and changeover time — so treat 596.02 as the planning burn for a 180 lb player at a true MET 7.3 for 60 continuous minutes, and compare it with a fitness tracker over a few matches before quoting it to anyone else.
Cite this calculator
Bright Side Kit, “Tennis Calories Calculator: 596.02 kcal in 60 Minutes”, https://brightoolbox.com/tennis-calories-calculator/, accessed 3 November 2026. Students and researchers: cite the calculator name, the page URL and the date you used it, and quote the defaults (180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 7.3) so the result can be checked.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does tennis burn in an hour?
596.02 kcal on the defaults: 180 lb is 81.65 kg, MET 7.3 gives 596.02 kcal an hour, and 596.02 × 60 ÷ 60 = 596.02 kcal.
What MET value should I use for tennis?
Use 7.3 for general tennis with regular rallies, nearer 8 for competitive singles, and nearer 4.5 for a gentle doubles game. The MET is the average across the whole match, changeovers and slow rallies included, not the hardest rally.
Why convert pounds to kilograms first?
Because the MET formula is defined per kilogram: calories an hour equal MET × weight in kilograms. Skipping the conversion and multiplying by pounds overstates the burn by more than double.
Does doubles burn fewer calories than singles?
Only through the MET: less running means a lower MET, and the formula follows. Enter the MET the game actually played, not the singles number wished for.
How many calories does 30 minutes burn?
298.01 kcal on the defaults — exactly half of the 60-minute burn, because every figure here scales with the minutes at the same weight and MET.
How is this different from the basketball calories calculator?
That page burns calories by weight and minutes at a basketball MET; this page burns them at a tennis MET. Use that page for the court game with a hoop, this page for the court game with a net.