Left-handed people have an advantage in interactive sports such as fencing and tennis.

Is it true that left-handed people have an advantage in interactive sports such as fencing and tennis?

Partly. Evidence partially supports a left-hander advantage in some interactive sports: a 2025 study finds overrepresentation of left-handers in fencing and table tennis, and other sources report more left-handers among tennis players and a general sports advantage. However, a longitudinal study of elite tennis finds the left-hander advantage moderate, declining over time, and almost absent in female professionals, so the claim is only partly supported and contested.

Verdict: CONTESTED PARTIAL · 5 sources for, 1 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Why are some people left-handed? An evolutionary perspective. (n.d.). cir.nii.ac.jp. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0235

F, L., N, H., & B, S. (2012). Left-handedness in professional and amateur tennis.. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049325

Prevalence of left-handers and their role in antagonistic sports: beyond mere counts towards a more in-depth distributional analysis of ranking data - PMC Lock. (n.d.). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250303

Bias against left-handed people. (n.d.). en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_people

Research Proposal - Left handedness, ACTN3, R577X, fighting hypothesis, evolutionary genetics. (2026). doi.org. https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/dc9ab

Milenković, S., Belojević, G., & Kocijancić, R. (2010). [Social aspects of left-handedness].. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.2298/sarh1010664m