Tennis Vs. Baseball: What’s The Difference?

When comparing two sports like tennis and baseball, you can instantly think of some differences, but are there any similarities? What about which one is harder or more popular? All of that and much more will be revealed in this article, so stick with me a while longer.

What are the main differences between tennis and baseball?

Tennis and baseball differ in many ways, such as ball weight and material, racket and bat differences, athlete earnings, match atmosphere, and popularity. The biggest difference is the court size. Tennis court is noticeably smaller with the same size on all singles courts, whereas baseball court sizes vary.

That being said, this will be an interesting article, so without a further due, I’ll start comparing these two sports. Let’s start with the court!

Court Differences

The biggest and most clear difference is the courts. Baseball fields are huge, shaped weirdly, and vary in size, whereas tennis courts are shaped like a rectangle, the single and double courts are always the same sizes, and they are considerably smaller than baseball fields.

Tennis Court

There are three kinds of tennis courts: Hard, clay, and grass courts. Hard courts are the most popular ones following by clay courts. Grass courts are the original lawn tennis courts, but they aren’t as popular nowadays because of the high maintenance needs.

Tennis courts are 77.11ft (23.77m) long and 27ft (8.23)m wide, so they aren’t small, but it may seem like it when comparing to a baseball field.

Baseball Field

Baseball fields are huge, and what is so special about them is that all of the 30 MLB (Major League Baseball) courts vary in size. However, baseball rules have minimum distances to left and right field 325ft (99m) and center field 400ft (122m).

When it comes to materials, baseball field dirt consists of sand, clay, and silt. There are different combinations and percentages of these materials, so no field is the same on the material side. Usually, the percentages go as follow:

• Sand: 60% of the field
• Clay: 30% of the field
• Silt: 10% of the field

So most of the ”dirt” on a baseball field is sand that consists of more than half of it. Then approximately half of the sand’s amount is clay, and the rest of it is silt.

Tennis Ball & Baseball

There are noticeable differences when it comes to tennis and baseball. Material and weight differ a lot, but their size is really close to each other, and the circumference varies only by 2-2.5cm.

Tennis ball

Tennis balls are much lighter in weight than baseballs. In fact, they weigh about the third that a baseball weighs.

Tennis balls are made out of a rubber shell covered with wool felt most of the time, but there are also synthetic wool options. The most important thing to understand about tennis balls is that there are two kinds of them: Pressurized and pressureless tennis balls:

• Pressurized tennis balls: Only balls that are ever used in competitive matches. They are sold in pressurized cans that match the pressure of what is inside of the ball. These balls rely their bounce on the pressure inside, which makes them better in quality, but they won’t last as long as pressureless balls. Also, they are more expensive.
• Pressureless tennis balls: Pressureless balls are a great choice as inexpensive training balls. These balls rely their bounce on the rubber shell which makes them last probably more than a year, whereas pressurized ones last a couple of hours in competitive tennis.

Tennis balls weigh between 1.975oz (56g) and 2.095oz (59.4G) and have a circumference of 8.09” to 8.48” (20.6-21.5cm).

Baseball

Baseballs are heavier than tennis balls as they need to be because the amount of distance they need to travel is much longer than in tennis. Thus, the mass will make it happen.

When it comes to the material, baseballs are also consisted of rubber, like tennis balls.

However, that’s not all of the material, and the ball isn’t hollow as tennis balls are, but they have a cork ball inside that is covered in rubber. The cork ball is wrapped tightly in layers of yarn, and the product is again coated with rubber which is then finished with white cowhide making a baseball we all know.

Baseballs weigh between 5oz (141g) and 5.25oz (148g) and have a circumference of 9” to 9.25” (23 to 23.5cm).

Tennis Racket & Baseball Bat

You can’t mistake a tennis racket for a baseball bat and vise versa because the differences are so clear. One is round with strings on the middle, and the other is a straight object meant for hitting hard. Let’s review each of them individually.

Tennis racket

Tennis rackets consist of three main parts: Handle, frame, and strings. Check out my full tennis racket material guide if you want to learn more.

The tennis frame is made of lightweight and durable materials that are great for swinging fast without lacking power. The cheaper frames are often made from aluminum, whereas more advanced frames are graphite, carbon fiber, and fiberglass.

The handle is still part of the frame; however, it is covered with a grip. There are two kinds of tennis grips: Original or replacement grips and overgrips.

An original grip that comes with a racket or a replacement one that you change in that place is in direct contact with the frame’s metal part. However, overgrips are applied over the grip to protect the grip beneath and increase cushioning, sweat absorption, and overall feel to the game.

Also, there are two materials of grips that you can choose from: leather and synthetic. The difference between leather and synthetic grips is that they aren’t available as overgrips because they go under them, giving the handle a more firm grip with a closer feel to the game.

The strings, on the other hand, can be a confusing subject if you don’t know about them. This is because there are 4 different kinds of strings:

1. Natural gut strings
2. Synthetic gut strings
3. Nylon (multifilament) strings
4. Polyester (monofilament) strings

Different strings are great for different purposes such as tension maintenance, durability, power, spin, and control. The price also varies between them, and natural gut strings are the most expensive ones.

In addition, there are different gauges of strings that means how thick the strings are. The bigger the gauge, the thinner the string, enhancing certain features that you would like them to have.

Learn more about strings: Full Tennis String Guide

Baseball bat

Baseball bats consist of the handle and barrel. There are also a knob and grip on the handle, and it may have an end cap at the end of the barrel.

The grip on the baseball handle is often made out of Durasoft polymer, at least the most known brand Lizard Skin are. The grip is based on the baseball handle to provide a better grip that won’t easily slip.

When it comes to the body of the baseball bat, they were originally exclusively made out of wood. However, modern baseball bats are made out of metal, typically aluminum. Aluminum is the best material for a baseball bat because they are really lightweight yet extremely powerful.

Aluminum bats are hollow from the inside and have a weighted end, making the swing motion hit the ball with huge force.

Top Athlete Earnings

Top athletes from both tennis and baseball earn incredible amounts of money annually and careerwise. Below you can find the top 5 earners from both sports.

Top Tennis Earners of 2020	Top Baseball Earners of 2021
1. Roger Federer $106,000,000	1. Mike Trout $37,166,667
2. Novak Djokovic $44,600,000	2. Jacob deGrom $36,000,000
3. Rafael Nadal $40,000,000	3. Gerrit Cole $36,000,000
4. Naomi Osaka $37,400,000	4. Nolan Arenado $35,025,000
5. Serena Williams $36,000,000	5. Zack Greinke $35,000,000

The money amounts these players earn annually can’t be really comprehended if you don’t have these amounts. One athlete is by far above the rest in terms of earnings, and that is Roger Federer. The funny thing about that is that he ”only” earned $6.3 million on the court, and the rest $100 million came from advertisement contracts.

Tennis is a single sport most of the time, so there are far fewer spots open at the top than in a Baseball world where there are 30 MBL teams and multiple spots open in a single team. This is why top baseball players earn more on average than tennis players.

Nonetheless, tennis and baseball athletes on the top earn very, very well.

Differences in Popularity

When it comes to popularity, the top countries are very different when comparing tennis and baseball. Take a look at them below.

Top Tennis Countries By Popularity	Top Baseball Countries By Popularity
1. Australia	1. United States
2. France	2. Dominican Republic
3. New Zealand	3. Canada
4. Switzerland	4. Puerto Rico
5. United Kingdom	5. Cuba

The popularity of tennis is greatest in Australia; however, it is quite popular around the world, which can’t be said as much from Baseball.

Baseball is incredibly popular in the United States, but the popularity isn’t nearly as popular in other countries as tennis is. Both sports are popular, but Tennis is more popular globally, whereas baseball is clearly more popular in the States.

Match Athmosphere

The match atmosphere between tennis and baseball are from different worlds. In tennis, people are quietly watching and you can almost cut the electricity on the air.

Baseball however, has energized feel to it where hot dogs and beer are served so naturally the feelings on the stadium are more filled with adrenaline.

Both sports are really exciting to watch, but personally i like to watch baseball more, even tho i like to play tennis more.

If you want to look at the match atmosphere on the matches, take a look at the videos below and you can see the vibes in addition to the sport itself.

Tennis & Baseball Match Videos

To get a visual understanding of both sports, be sure to check the videos out below!

Tennis

Baseball