Left-handed athletes hold an edge in one-on-one sports such as tennis, badminton, and boxing. In his book The Puzzle of Left-Handedness, linguist Rik Smits argues that both left- and right-handed athletes typically train against right-handed opponents. As a result, right-handed players often struggle when facing a left-handed competitor, as they are not accustomed to it. Conversely, left-handed athletes are more prepared to take on right-handed opponents, having trained against them more frequently.

They make good fighters.

A 2019 study discovered that 17% of male boxers and 12.5% of female boxers are left-handed, which is notably higher than the 10% of the general population who are left-handed. The study also revealed that these left-handed fighters had a greater than 50% chance of winning their matches against right-handed opponents. This suggests that left-handed fighters have an advantage in combat sports.

Bonus: All lefties can relate to this.

How many left-handed individuals do you personally know? Do you agree with the points mentioned above? If you’re a lefty, feel free to leave a comment below and share this article with your friends!

Please note: This article was revised in March 2022 to fix source errors and factual inaccuracies.