Playing tennis high: what it does to your game, and what the tour rules say

Playing tennis high runs into a coordination problem: track a ball moving fast, get your feet there, time the contact. The CDC says recent cannabis use can affect attention, movement and coordination, and a 2018 Johns Hopkins trial found that some of that impairment lasted for hours. No study we found measured tennis itself, but those are the skills a match runs on.

For anyone who plays tournaments, there is a second answer. Cannabis is banned in competition under the rules that cover the ATP, WTA, ITF and the Grand Slams. Here is what the research measured, how tennis actually treats THC, and what applies when you are just hitting with a friend at the park.

Last reviewed: November 2026.

Playing tennis high: what the research measured

The best controlled look at how quickly cannabis impairs coordination comes from Tory Spindle and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, published in JAMA Network Open in 2018. Between June 2016 and January 2017, 17 healthy adults who had not used cannabis in at least a month came in for six sessions, a week apart. In each, they smoked or vaporized cannabis containing 0, 10 or 25 mg of THC, without knowing which.

At 10 mg, people felt the drug and showed modest impairment of cognitive functioning. At 25 mg, the researchers recorded pronounced impairment of cognitive and psychomotor ability, along with more adverse effects. Vaporizing hit harder than smoking the same dose.

The timing is the part worth remembering. Blood THC peaked within 30 minutes and was back to baseline within three to four hours, yet several of the observed impairments persisted for up to six hours on average. Feeling settled is a poor guide to whether your timing is back. The trial measured lab tasks rather than serves, but tennis asks for exactly the skills it found slowed.

Can tennis players smoke weed? How the pro rules work

Professional tennis runs one drug program for the whole sport. The 2026 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, in effect since January 1, 2026, is managed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency on behalf of the ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slams, and it follows the World Anti-Doping Code. Players are tested for the substances on the prohibited list.

Cannabis sits on that list for competition. USADA’s marijuana FAQ explains the details: natural and synthetic cannabinoids are banned in competition only, CBD has been exempt since 2018 (USADA’s 2018 list summary), and THC has a urine threshold of 150 ng/mL, measured as carboxy-THC, its main breakdown product. Any other cannabinoid counts in any amount. California law makes no difference; the rule follows the athlete. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why is it banned when nobody has shown it helps? WADA reviewed the listing in 2022. According to USADA, its committee found no rigorous evidence that cannabis enhances performance, but kept it on the list because it judged cannabis a health risk to athletes and contrary to the spirit of sport.

THC is also one of four “Substances of Abuse”, along with cocaine, heroin and MDMA. Under Article 10.2.4.1 of the tennis programme, a player who tests positive but can show the use happened out of competition and had nothing to do with performance gets a three-month ban, which can drop to one month after an approved treatment program. A CBD product is no safe harbor either, since USADA warns that CBD products can contain other cannabinoids that are still banned.

The list narrows on January 1, 2027. According to UK Anti-Doping summary of the 2027 list, natural minor cannabinoids such as CBN and CBG come off it, while THC and its psychoactive mimics, including delta-8 THC and HHC, stay banned in competition.

A casual hit at the park

Most of us will never meet a doping control officer, so the everyday rules matter more. California lets adults 21 and over buy and use cannabis, but the DCC says you cannot consume it in public places, and a city court is a public place. Clubs and private facilities set their own policies.

The Spindle timing also cuts against the idea of a quick session before a match. If impairment can outlast the feeling by hours, the simplest plan is to keep cannabis for after you are off the court and done for the day.

Never drive after using cannabis; the DCC responsible-use page explains why. Effects vary from person to person, and the label on anything you buy is the final word.

Sharpening your game the slow way

If coordination is the goal, the answer is still reps. The USTA’s tips and instruction library breaks the game into the pieces a coach would work on: footwork, contact point, the toss. Pick one, practice it fresh, and track it over a few weeks.

Tennis is not the only sport where this question comes up. We have looked at the same rules for boxing, for golf in California, and at what Tony Hawk has said about weed and skating.

For products to enjoy once the rackets are packed away, the budtenders at your local Vibe store can walk you through the menu.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• CDC: cannabis and brain health
• Spindle et al., acute effects of smoked and vaporized cannabis, JAMA Network Open 2018
• ITIA: 2026 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme
• ITIA: prohibited list resources
• USADA: marijuana FAQ
• USADA: substances of abuse
• UK Anti-Doping: 2027 Prohibited List summary of changes
• USTA: tips and instruction
• DCC: what is legal
• DCC: responsible use
• USADA: 2018 Prohibited List, summary of major changes

For adults 21+ (18+ with a physician’s recommendation in California). Keep out of reach of children and pets. Do not drive or operate machinery after use.