AMAL CLOONEY, 48, STAYS FIT WITH THIS LOW-IMPACT WORKOUT – RESEARCH SAYS IT CAN ADD 10 YEARS TO YOUR LIFE

Amal Clooney keeps her cards close to her chest when it comes to her exercise routine, but there’s one workout we know she’s stuck with for decades: tennis.

The 48-year-old mum-of-two was pictured after playing a match with husband George at their home in Lake Garda in 2017, while George has also spoken about their matches together over the years.

In his cover interview for People magazine in 2020, he said: ‘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.’

In a separate interview with the Guardian in the same year, George revealed that they also have their own ‘family tennis court’ at their home in Los Angeles, which he quipped had turned into a speedway as their then-three-year-old twins learned to ride their bikes.

It’s rumoured that Amal also walks for an hour every day, lifts weights for 20 minutes and does Pilates on non-weights days.

But tennis has been the most consistent fixture in her fitness routine – and it’s hardly surprising. In one Danish study looking at the benefits of exercise for longevity, it was found that those who did tennis were expected to live 9.7 years longer than if they didn’t do any exercise. Those who ran had a life expectancy gain of 3.2 years, and those who did gym training, like weights, only had a 1.5-year longer life expectancy.

A separate study compared the benefits of racket sports with swimming, cycling and aerobics, and found that racket sports reduced the chance of all cause-mortality by 47%, while swimmers had a 28% lower risk, cyclists had a 15% lower risk, and those who did aerobics had a 27% lower risk.

What makes it so good for us? For the authors of the Danish study, they believe it’s largely down to the element of social interaction. It helps build emotional support, trust and a sense of belonging – all of which have been proven to boost health. But others say it’s down to the high-intensity interval training effect: tennis involves short bursts of intense effort like sprints or rapid direction changes. This is hugely beneficial for your cardiovascular health and insulin sensitivity.

It also stays with you as you age. It’s low impact on your joints, boosts your cardiovascular health and keeps your brain sharp by forcing you to constantly strategise and react. BRB, booking a court.

2026-07-21T11:21:41Z