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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
We Settle the Debate: Is the StairMaster or Treadmill Better for Weight Loss?
We Settle the Debate: Is the StairMaster or Treadmill Better for Weight Loss? originally appeared on Men's Fitness. Men's Fitness aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. After years of talking about your weight loss plan, you've finally decided to take action. You hired a personal trainer, have a solid workout routine, and found the motivation you've been searching for. But here's the issue—you want to burn fat and get fit but have limited time. Should you hop on the treadmill? Or start knocking off floors on the StairMaster? The good news: If your goal is to get your heart pumping, your legs burning, and your fitness improving, you can't really make a wrong choice whether you go with the StairMaster vs treadmill. 'Both are really good for building aerobic capacity. And they're both fairly equal from a lower body fitness standpoint,' says Shawn Arent, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., chair of the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina. But depending on your fitness goals, mobility, and what you want to—or don't want to—get out of a gym session, the StairMaster or treadmill may be a better cardio workout. Below we discuss what makes each great, drawbacks for each piece of equipment, and interval workouts you can use on each machine to help keep your cardio sessions fresh. StairMaster vs Treadmill: How Are They Different? Both Improve Cardiovascular Fitness And they do so to a similar degree. In a 12-week study of active females from 2004, treadmill and StairMaster workouts both improved VO2 Max, a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. VO2 Max is both a marker of fitness and healthy longevity. Both Burn Similar Amounts of Calories You may be wondering which is better—the StairMaster vs treadmill for fat loss. In a study comparing lots of different cardio machines, recreationally active men who went all-out on the StairMaster and treadmill burned a similar number of calories per minute. The treadmill burned slightly more (17 calories per minute) than stair climbing (15), but both machines outperformed stationary bikes and elliptical machines. They're Both Good for Beginners and Advanced Exercisers Even if you've never scanned a gym membership card before, you already know how to run, walk, and climb stairs. The stair climber might be slightly better for beginners who want to do high-intensity work, says Greg Pignataro, C.S.C.S., founder of Never Past Your Prime, because it 'forces you to move in a way that reinforces proper movement mechanics.' The Mechanics Are Different The main difference between a stair climber and a treadmill is obvious: Using a treadmill, you're walking or running on a moving belt, while on the StairMaster or other type of stair climber, you're climbing steps. Stair Climbing Is Lower Impact Running on a treadmill puts more impact on your lower body joints than walking or trotting upstairs. Increasing the speed at which you run on a treadmill increases those joint-jarring impacts, says Ryan Koziol, owner of RYKO Fitness. Bumping up the speed on a StairMaster is still a low-impact form of exercise. Treadmills Are More Versatile While you can increase the speed or resistance on a stair climber, Arent says, the treadmill's ability to adjust speed and incline can provide more flexibility for making the workout easier or harder. Each Challenge Your Leg Muscles Differently Both pieces of equipment will challenge all the muscles in your legs, but climbing stairs can provide more overall activation of the quadriceps, the muscles in the front of your thighs, Arent says. Walking or running on the treadmill at an incline closes this gap. And to increase glute activation on a stair climber that is a step mill—a type that has a series of steps that cycle through instead of foot pads—you can skip a step, he says. Treadmills May Transfer to Sports-Specific Goals If you want to run 5Ks or other races, you'll want to actually run, Arent says. And you can only really do that on a treadmill. But a study from 1993 found that college-aged women who did stair workouts for nine weeks improved their time in a 1.5 mile run, though not quite as much as other women who trained on the treadmill for the same period. Treadmill: Pros and Cons The treadmill will help you rack up steps and elevate your heart rate. But it's got other unique benefits that other cardio machines don't have. Pros of the Treadmill If you want to run fast, you've got to run, says John Peel, a trainer for iFit and Nordic Track. 'It's going to suit the trail runner, distance runner, and casual hiker more appropriately,' he says, because the incline can be increased to mimic some of the conditions faced in races. Experts agree that the best way to run on a treadmill is with some level of incline. This reduces the impact of each step, Pignataro points out, and also makes it less likely that you'll land on your heel, a jarring impact that can result in injury. Versatility Bikes, ellipticals, and step machines can only increase or decrease speed and resistance. Because you can adjust not only the speed but the incline of the treadmill, it may also be the most versatile piece of cardio equipment in the gym. You can also just walk on a treadmill and get an effective workout, Koziol says. The ability to change multiple variables also lets you do multiple kinds of workouts: It's easy to train slow, fast, at steady paces, or at different speeds or incline intervals. Challenging at an Incline While you may think of a treadmill as a piece of equipment for running, using it to walk at an incline may be even more effective, and it reduces the impact you'd feel while running. Koziol suggests trying to start walking at 5 to 7 degrees of incline, going for 10 to 20 of the Treadmill Leads to Bad Running Mechanics The treadmill's moving belt forces you to run differently than you would outside, Pignataro says. 'It's like having a rug pulled out from under you constantly,' he says. As a result, it's more difficult to keep your center of gravity landing over the center of your foot. Instead, your leg goes in front of your body, and you land on your heel. 'That's not the way we're designed to run,' he says. 'The forefoot should be the first point of contact. If you're landing on the heel first, it's my professional opinion that you're doing more harm than good.' To reduce this effect, run at an incline, he says. Your foot will be on the treadmill for longer on each step, and it's easier to strike with the center and front of your foot. Requires Lots of Ankle Mobility at High Inclines When walking on a treadmill at an extreme incline, your ankle needs to flex so that your toes come toward your shins. This movement is called ankle dorsiflexion, and not everyone has great mobility in this way, Arent says. If this is causing you discomfort, the stair climber may be better for you. High Impact Especially when running at low or zero incline, the treadmill is jarring. With each step slamming onto the belt, you're sending shocks up through your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. This can result in overuse injuries or pain in the long haul, Koziol says. Boring and Repetitive There's a reason the treadmill is sometimes called the 'dreadmill.' While it can be the only option for certain exercisers to run during colder months, running on the treadmill can still be a drag. StairMaster: Pros and Cons Climbing on a StairMaster, step mill, or other stair climbing machine is a great option for meeting the weekly recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous cardiovascular activity. Plus, it also has some bonus benefits that other cardio machines can't provide. But buyer beware, there are also a few nitpicky drawbacks to consider. Pros of the StairMaster Encourages Good Movement Mechanics Unlike the treadmill, which can lead to heel striking, climbing on a step mill or StairMaster 'forces you into better mechanics automatically,' Pignataro says. This means that you'll step and land on the front and center of your foot instead of with the heel. 'It's basically impossible to climb stairs on your heels.' This foolproof mechanical advantage makes the stair climber less likely to get you hurt, he says, and also an ideal choice for beginning exercisers. A Challenging Workout No surprise here. Climbing stairs is harder than moving at the same pace on flat ground (or a flat treadmill). You'll be able to get to higher intensities at lower speeds, Koziol says, which has an added bonus: You can work harder without increasing the impact of the exercise on your joints. Greater Quadriceps Activation Climbing stairs will work all the muscles in your legs, just like walking or running on the treadmill. But the StairMaster will work the quadriceps, the muscles in the fronts of your thighs, a little harder, Arent says. Climbing the steps at a fast pace will also work the muscles in the back of your legs, also known as your posterior chain, harder than flat or low-incline treadmill walking or running, Peel says. Cons of the StairMaster Burns Slightly Fewer Calories In a study that compared 10 different cardio machines, the step mill—the kind that has a revolving staircase you climb—burned an average of 354 calories in 30 minutes, the second-most among the different exercises studied. The only machine that beat it was the treadmill, but not by much: Exercising at a similar intensity, treadmill exercisers burned 378 calories. Only Speed or Resistance Can Be Changed On a step mill, the type of StairMaster with steps that rotate, the height of the stairs can't be adjusted. For some exercisers with knee issues, Arent says, this can cause some discomfort. If you're using an older-style stepper, where the foot pads connect to the machine by metal arms and go up and down, you can shorten your steps, he says, to find a range that doesn't cause knee discomfort. More Challenging For some exercisers, this is a pro, but for others, the challenge of bounding up stairs is a deterrent. The solution, Koziol says: Go slower. Walking at an incline on a treadmill is tough at a slow speed, and so is climbing stairs. If your heart rate is elevated, you're getting a good workout—even if it's not as fast as you'd run. It Can Get Repetitive Like the treadmill, the scenery doesn't change when you're on the stair climber. It can get boring. StairMaster and Treadmill Workouts While both the StairMaster and treadmill work for steady state cardio, there's more you can do than just hop on either of these machines and move for 30 minutes. Try these variations when incline walking, incline running, or on the StairMaster. Incline Walk: the 12/3/30 Workout When you increase the incline on a treadmill, Koziol says, the change in difficulty ramps up quickly with each uptick in slope. So even walking slowly provides a serious challenge. Case in point: His favorite treadmill workout, called '12/3/30.' 'It's a 12 percent incline at 3 mph for 30 minutes,' he says. Even at this slower pace, the ramp will be a challenge. If it's too hard, he says, start at a slightly lower incline and work your way up. Incline Walking or Running Intervals High-intensity interval training (HIIT), where bouts of high-intensity work are alternated with lower-intensity work or rest, is a time-efficient way to burn calories on either machine. These workouts go by quickly, Peel says, and work up a great sweat with less repetitive ruminating than a steady-state bout. Set the speed and incline at a level where you'll be challenged for 30 seconds, Peel says. After 30 seconds of work, step to the sides of the belt to recover for 30 seconds. Repeat for 10 to 20 rounds. StairMaster Intervals: Use Resistance/Levels Koziol loves the StairMaster for interval training. For easier efforts, he says, set the StairMaster at a level where you're walking very slowly up the stairs—almost like you're trudging. This could be a level 3 on the StairMaster for many exercisers. 'There is no 'too slow' here,' he says. For the harder efforts, set it at a level, probably between 6 to 10, where it's like you're rushing up the stairs (imagine you're late for a meeting, and the elevator's on the fritz). Perform seven rounds of 1 minute of the hard effort, followed by the easy effort for the same amount of time. Try this workout on its own for a cardio day, or at the end of your strength workout. StairMaster vs Treadmill: Frequently Asked Questions Which is better for fat loss? Either one will work well. There is no 'best' cardio method for burning fat. Studies have found that for maximum fat burning during exercise, people with more than 35 percent body fat will burn the most working between 61 to 66 percent of their maximum heart rate. People with body fat percentages below 35 will burn the most between 57 to 64 percent of their max heart rate. While you'll burn more fat during cardio workout at these lower intensities, studies have shown that when the amount of work done is evened out, there's very little difference in calories and fat burned over a 24-hour period with high vs low-intensity cardio. Should I hold on to the handles? Only if you need to balance. Holding on significantly reduces how difficult both the treadmill and StairMaster are since they reduce the amount of body weight you need to move, Arent says. To maximize your results and simultaneously train your core to hold you upright, keep your hands off the handles if you can. Is running on a treadmill the same as running outside? For running form, no. Running on the treadmill can cause you to strike with your heels, Pignataro says, resulting in jarring impacts. And at higher speeds, he says, running on the treadmill isn't so much running as it is skipping or bouncing on a moving belt. From the perspective of the number of calories you'll burn, running outside and on a treadmill are pretty close, though. In a 2019 meta-analysis, scientists found that when running on the treadmill—even without an incline—study participants used as much oxygen as they did for outdoor running at speeds up to six minutes per Settle the Debate: Is the StairMaster or Treadmill Better for Weight Loss? first appeared on Men's Fitness on Jul 18, 2025 This story was originally reported by Men's Fitness on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Expert shares ultimate fat-burning workout that could transform your health-and it only takes a minute
Swapping gruelling stints at the gym for minute-long sprints could be the key to living longer, protecting against heart disease and boosting brain health. Professor Katie Hirsch, an exercise science expert at the University of South Carolina, believes that sprinting is one of the best things you can do to protect your heart. Because it is high impact, sprinting usually involves short but intense efforts lasting anywhere between 15 seconds to a minute, followed by periods of active recovery. Whilst this isn't a miracle shortcut for weight loss, it is thought that sprinting can lead to greater fat burning at rest compared to sustained exercise endurance. 'You are really maxing out your systems when sprinting and that creates a big driver for adaptation,' Prof Hirsch told National Geographic. This style of high intensity interval training (HIIT) has previously been shown to boost V02 max—a measure of how much oxygen the body can process during exercise. A high V02 max is associated with better physical fitness and lower risk of cardiovascular disease, indicating that the body is efficiently extracting and using oxygen from the blood. But, experts say the benefits don't stop there. 'As we age, we tend to lose muscle fibres in both size and volume, which is a problem', Professor Heather Vincent, director of the Health Sports Performance Center at the University of Florida, explained. Over time this can cause serious problems such as lower back pain, increased risk of broken bones and sciatica. But, according to Prof Vincent, spriting can help preserve these fibres—responsible for speed and power—that are often under-utilised in day-to-day activities leading to better agility and range of movement in later life . Sprinting is also one of the few cardiovascular exercises that supports bone density, particularly in areas like the spine and hips, she added. This is a phenomenon known as Wolfe's Law. When someone sprints they are applying high rates of force on the ground through contracting and relaxing their muscles, which pull on the bones. It is this stress that has a direct effect on bone density increase. However, Prof Vincent warned: 'It is not necessarily a replacement for strength training but what it can do is promote maintenance of muscle size and muscle power.' Prof Hirsch agreed saying: 'Weights are still your best stimulator of muscle, but sprinting does stimulate muscle better than any kind of steady state cardio, like a long run or walk.' But both experts agreed that jogging is the best starting point, before adding sprint intervals into your exercise routine. 'For the first few weeks, your sprint might be around 70 to 80 percent of maximum, so you let the body condition,' Prof Vincent suggested. 'Each time you exercise, your body adapts a little bit and becomes more durable and tolerant.' Whilst exercise has been proven to boost mental health, experts are now saying that sprinting could actually help slow down cognitive decline, associated with dementia. Prof Vincent said: 'There's now some data to show that sprinting or high-intensity exercise can actually help control some age-related decline, like in Alzheimer's disease. She added: 'It's that high blood flow that comes from the sprinting that appears to be really beneficial.' Earlier this year, Spanish researchers discovered that adults who increased their activity levels to around two and a half hours a week, between the ages of 45 and 65, were less prone to one toxic protein, amyloid, spreading in the brain. Significant clumps of this protein, as well as another—tau—can form plaques and tangles. This is thought to be behind the symptoms of Alzheimer's, the leading cause of dementia. It comes as a landmark study last year also suggested almost half of all Alzheimer's cases could be prevented by tackling 14 lifestyle factors. To reduce dementia risk throughout life, the commission also made 13 recommendations for both people and governments. These include making hearing aids available for all those who need it, reducing harmful noise exposure, and increased detection and treatment access for high cholesterol among the over-40s.
Scotsman
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hannah Darling joins Ewen Ferguson and Connor Syme in Modest! Golf stable
Scot secures three sponors ahead of her pro debut in ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Hannah Darling will be making her professional debut in this week's ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open as a new Modest! Golf Management stablemate of Ewen Ferguson and Connor Syme. Darling, who has been handed a sponsor's invitation for the event at Dundonald Links, has been signed by Niall Horan's company after being widely regarded as having real potential as a professional. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hannah Darling's last amateur outing was for Scotland in the recent European Women's Team Championship in France | Scottish Golf The Broomieknowe player won the Scottish Girls' Championship back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, when she also landed the inaugural staging of The R&A Girls' Under-16s Championship. Darling shone as well during a four-year spell at the University of South Carolina, where, highlighted by a win in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, she signed off as one of the most decorated players in the programme's history. She represented Great Britain & Ireland three times in the Curtis Cup, including a memorable win with Catriona Matthew as her captain in last year's contest at Sunningdale. Darling, who is making the switch sitting 16th - the second-highest British or Irish player after top-rated Lottie Woad - in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, has secured sponsorship from Vision Scotland, Novellus and Arnold Clark through Modest! Golf. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's awesome to be with those guys,' said the 21-year-old. 'They've done a lot of great work for me already by putting all the sponsors in place and everything has been seamless so far.' 'A lot of nice opportunities coming up' Darling will be joining Scottish No 1 Gemma Darling, as well as Kelsey MacDonald, Kylie Henry and Lorna McClymont in flying the Saltire in this week's $2 million event, which has world No 1 Nelly Korda as the star attraction as the American makes her debut in it. 'There's a lot of nice opportunities coming up and it starts this week at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, which is pretty cool,' said Darling, 'It's nice to see the best of the best are playing and it is exciting to be making my debut against the best players in the game. I feel like this moment has been coming for a long time and now that it has been announced just adds to the excitement. 'My time in America has been brilliant and it has taught me all of the things I needed to learn before embarking on this next stage. I've had great team-mates and great coaches there with me on my journey so far and it has all prepared me for this moment. It has put me in the right place going forward.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hannah Darling helped Great Britain & Ireland win the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale last year | The R&A Woad is also making her professional debut on the Ayrshire coast after signing off her amateur career on a high by winning the KPMG Women's Irish Open by six shots at Carton House earlier this month then coming close to landing a major in The Evian Championship in France the following week. 'Obviously Lottie is incredible,' observed Darling of her 2024 Curtis Cup team-mate and also her room-mate at the recent Vagliano Trophy in the Netherlands, 'but the really cool thing for me is that I feel she is not far away from where I'm at. She does a lot of things really well but, at the same time, she doesn't do other things any better than I do and that's nice to see. It makes me feel confident about the next step.'
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
The challenge of the Challenger Tour
With the match no longer going his way, a seething Paul Jubb whacked a tennis ball out of the fenced-in tennis court and into the backyard of a house on Parkview Pointe Drive. That quickly earned himself a warning from the umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct. After Switzerland's Leandro Riedi took the second set 7-5 to force a third, Jubb — who dominated the first 6-2 — spiked his racquet in frustration. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., said the Challenger Tour is a grind as tennis is a truly individual sport, where players at this level pay their way around the tour and may not be able to afford a coach. 'I was seeing red for a good amount of time there,' admitted Jubb, who was competing in Round of 32 action at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger on Wednesday at the Tennis Manitoba Hub at West St. Paul. Welcome to the Challenger Tour — which mainly consists of players ranked between 100 and 300 in the world and is a tier below the top level in the sport: the ATP Tour. It's a level that can be far from glamorous, as most players are a one-man rock band who travel across the globe trying to scrounge up enough points to climb the rankings. The cost of having a coach hit the road with you can cost a player over a grand per week, and that's not including their accommodation and flight. So, for many, they're flying solo. When times get tough, it's up to them, and only them, to figure it out. On this day, Jubb, a 25-year-old from the United Kingdom, managed to do so as he rallied to win the third set 6-4 to advance to the next round. It's a big win, as Riedi played in the first round at Wimbledon last month. 'It's an individual sport, and pretty much every week you're most likely losing. You have to deal with being in your own head, and it's all on you if you lost. You got to deal with those thoughts week by week and it's a very, very lonely job at times,' said Jubb, who won an NCAA national championship in men's singles back in 2019 during his time at the University of South Carolina. 'It would be easy to kind of check out and maybe try and earn some money coaching, but that's not what I want to do. Deep down, I want to compete, and I want to get to the top.' Liam Draxl recently made it into the top 150 which has him as Canada's fourth best player after Felix Auger-Aliassime (28th), Denis Shapovalov (30th) and Gabriel Diallo (40th). Just two years ago Diallo, with Riedi, won the Winnipeg Challenger's doubles title. Draxl, who is hoping for a similar career trajectory, outlasted Challenger Tour veteran Hiroki Moriya of Japan (6-3, 6-1) Wednesday to move on to Thursday's Round of 16. 'It's an individual sport, and pretty much every week you're most likely losing.'–Paul Jubb The total prize money for this week — which has been the only professional tennis tournament in Manitoba dating back to 2013 — is $100,000 with the champion bringing home $14,200 of that for their efforts. 'Most people are ranked between 100-300… like, they'd be in the NHL or MLB and be making a living, a lot more than the guys on the Challenger Tour,' said Draxl, a 23-year-old from Newmarket, Ont. 'This level is not easy. You see a lot of the players who you see on TV, other than the exceptions like star players like (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Jannik) Sinner, they don't break through this level overnight. It's a grind to get through this level, it's really tough, and it feels like you're fighting for scraps. There's like nobody watching, it feels like your ranking is barely going up, and you're just trying to break even out here.' There's around 200 Challenger events in a year and they take place in roughly 50 different countries. Many players hit the courts in well over 20 of them, and they must always buy a one-way ticket as you just never know how far your game will take you that week. Thankfully the tour covers the cost of accommodations. 'I try and use a travel agent sometimes… I'd rather pay a bit more to worry less because, for me, I find that stuff very stressful. When you lose, sometimes you can't even decompress,' said Jubb, who battled Australian Nick Kyrgios in the first round at Wimbledon in 2022 but has since fallen to No. 422 in the world. 'It's like, 'Well, we gotta find a flight to get out of here,' otherwise you're paying more money to stay here when you don't want to be here. You've got to take care of yourself, rather than a team sport where everything's taken care of by the team.' In this calendar year alone, Draxl has competed all over the United States and overseas in Portugal, Switzerland, France and Scotland. But to even make it to the Challenger Tour, players need to pick up enough points on the level below which is called Futures. Draxl said that is quite the experience in itself as some of those events are, well, interesting, such as the M15 Cancun that he won back in 2021 in what was his first singles championship as a pro. 'You're not in the hotel zone in Cancun, that's for sure. It was in the middle of the jungle, literally,' said Draxl, who receives funding from Tennis Canada to help cover travel costs. 'You can't even practice, can't even get balls, it's tough to even warm up for your match. People eating there, getting food poisoning constantly. I mean, it just goes on and on and on.' 'There were scorpions in the dorm there. I was in the pool a lot after my match to cool down because it's insanely hot there and there's a tarantula in the pool. I saw snakes in trees, it's crazy, man.' 'It's really tough, and it feels like you're fighting for scraps. There's like nobody watching, it feels like your ranking is barely going up, and you're just trying to break even out here.'–Liam Draxl Thankfully for Draxl and his competitors, the Winnipeg event is a well-oiled machine — especially since it moved to the new West St. Paul facility in 2023. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. As close as some of these guys are to the big stage — and, more importantly, the big money — it can still feel so far away. And yet, they keep pushing ahead. 'I look back to a final in Mexico where I was completely dying in the heat and it felt like a boxing match. It was so tough physically, and it completely sucked in the moment, but I look back now and I'm like, 'Oh, that was so fun,'' said Draxl. 'So, I think there's a part of me that just enjoys the grind and I'm super grateful to chase my dream. You know, I'm only gonna have this 10-15 year window once in my life so I'm just trying to maximize it.' The Winnipeg Challenger kicked off July 6 and runs all week with the finals scheduled for noon on Sunday. Taylor AllenReporter Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor. Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
South Wales Argus
09-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Piani leaving Wimbledon with head held high
Piani and good friend Brooke Black, daughter of two-time Grand Slam men's and mixed doubles champion Wayne, were defeated in the girls' draw 6-3 6-1 to Jana and Alena Kovackova on Tuesday. It brings an end to Piani's time in SW19 for this year after her exit at the same stage in the singles' main draw earlier this week but the 18-year-old insists she leaves with no regrets. 'I feel like I managed to put everything on the court and enjoy it,' said Piani. 'It was nice to share the court with Brooke again and it won't be the last time. 'Even though I lost in the first round in singles and doubles, this isn't something I want to forget. I want to use it in the right way and it's just going to help me do whatever I need to do next year or however many years down the line. 'It's the best tournament you can play as a Brit and especially as a junior for a learning experience.' 'I didn't have the outcome I wanted to but I gave everything I could and that's as much as you could do,' added Black. 'I'm in awe of her, to feel that love for the game is really precious' 🥹❤️ When Joanie met, played with and inspired her hero @EmmaRaducanu — LTA (@the_LTA) June 13, 2025 'I don't want this to be a negative tournament. This won't be my last Wimbledon and hopefully there'll be better things to come. After completing her A-Levels in Geography and Biology this year, Piani is set to move to the United States for her higher education. The 18-year-old was awarded a tennis scholarship at the University of South Carolina, following in the footsteps of professionals Alicia Barnett and Yuriko Lily Miyazaki by competing on the NCAA tennis circuit. 'I'm really excited for it, said Piani. 'I'm going to be able to do my tennis alongside my Biology major and being on a team will help me enjoy it more.' Black added: 'I'm in the year below so I'm still enrolled in school but I'll see how well I'm doing. I want to go pro but university is definitely an option.' For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.
