“When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up – and for me it’s tennis.”
– Roger Federer
The literal translation of the French words in the above title is “game of the palm.” The game of tennis then started as a handball game, and whenever the French would serve, they would shout Tenez!, meaning “take it,” or “heads up, it’s coming at you.” Soon the hand would be covered with globes; then replaced with paddles; and now the racquets. More changes would come so much later for tennis to evolve into a fast-paced, modern game which I come to love after years of playing basketball.
It began when my playing time dwindled as a member of a basketball team vying in Fil-Act or Philcan tournaments in the late 70’s and early 80’s. But first I had to watch on TV the budding romance of Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert, the obnoxious behaviour of John McEnroe and the calm demeanour of Björn Borg. Then one day I bought a metal-framed racquet and a can of tennis ball from Canadian Tire and started hitting the wall of a school building near the apartment where I lived. It would take more than 30 years before I mastered the intricacies of the game without one bit of a tennis lesson from the pros plying their skills in various tennis clubs for a fee. Of course, my tennis skill is nowhere at the level of either an A player or a strong B player rated by the tennis clubs. My point is I have come a long way to play the game competitively; to win some and go home with a smile on my face.
Of all the professional male tennis players, the one I come to idolize the most is no other than Roger Federer. He really has transcended the game far beyond Björn Borg who was my first favourite. His graceful movements, artfully devastating serves, well-choreographed anticipations, masterful defense, and steely nerves, all these contributed to 20 grand slam singles titles. In his book String Theory (2016), David Foster Wallace devoted a whole chapter on Federer which he titled “Federer Both Flesh and Not”. In his opening sentences, Wallace wrote: “Almost anyone who loves tennis and follows the men’s tour on television has, over the last few years, had what might be termed Federer Moments. These are times, watching the young Swiss at play, when the jaw drops and eyes protrude and sounds are made that bring spouses in from other rooms to see if you’re OK. The Moments are more intense if you’ve played enough to understand the impossibility of what you just saw him do.” But at age 40 this year, his glory days will come to an end at some point. Soon I’ll be looking for another one to admire and be worth my time watching him on TV.
In women’s tennis, I watched mostly the matches of Chris Evert, even bought tickets for wife and I to see her play in person during a night game at York University Tennis Centre (took a lot of pictures of her during and after her match). The legendary Billie Jean King had retired since then, though I came to know later on about her Battle of the Sexes match against Bobby Riggs, which she won in 3 sets. Gabriela Sabatini and Mary Jo Fernandez caught my attention as young, good-looking players. But Tracy Austin at age 16 made the most headlines when she defeated Chris Evert in 1979 at the US Open, her first major title. Martina Navratilova was an impressive player, having won 18 titles of the Grand Slam Singles tournaments. But Steffi Graf was my favourite after Chris Evert retired. Graff surpassed Navratilova’s record with 22 Grand Slam titles.
Then the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) came along and started dominating the women’s tennis. Their rise to prominence was fascinating. They didn’t learn and develop their skills through the rigorous training of a tennis academy. Instead, they were just trained at an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price. So how they managed to rise above those who had quality coaching was indeed quite a remarkable story. Their records were impressive: 33 Grand Slam Singles titles (23 for Serena; 10 for Venus), 4 gold medals at the Summer Olympics and 14 Grand Slam Women’s Double titles. Yet some people still find in their hearts to mock their successes, especially towards Serena whose physical attributes don’t fit the norm of a professional woman tennis player, if there’s such a thing.
Tennis is a game of repetitions and practices until the strokes and movements have become second in nature. The foundations should be developed at an early age in order to be competitive and the chance to raise one’s level playing in the professional circuit. Whenever I see young boys and girls practicing, either with a professional coach or their parents, I always wonder how far they could go. Counting all the young boys and girls around the world, those who will make it at the professional level may be low in terms of percentage. The payout, though, compensates all the years of training, especially when winning the grand slam tournaments. Soon they’ll find themselves earning lots of money, especially in sponsorships, like the Federers and Williamses of the world.
League competitions in tennis clubs for doubles can be very competitive. Still not feeling confident in my skill, I basically avoided them at first. Instead, I was playing doubles with players in my level or lower. I didn’t mind the lack of finesse, good placements and big serves since all I wanted was to have a game and an exercise. But I got bored and wanted to elevate my game. That’s when I decided to sign up for a more competitive doubles league. When I was scheduled to play, I was such a nervous-wreck. My movement was late and my return shots were erratic. My partner and I were losing the match. Then he started telling me what to do and criticizing my game. I was getting irritated. After another round of criticism from him, I finally confronted him and yelled at him to just play his game and not mind mine. It worked and he became silent afterwards but didn’t change the result – we lost badly. That bad experience held my enthusiasm for tennis for quite a while. There were years in between that I didn’t join a tennis club.
But the pull of the game was strong for me to resist. Every summer since then, I regularly signed up to be a member of a tennis club. Soon I came to know people and joined a group of older players who wanted to play doubles every Saturday morning. It was less competitive, but I was okay. It gave me the chance to improve my strokes and serves. I got bored again. Then I found a tennis buddy who was willing to practice with me on a weekly basis. In our sessions, we concentrated in improving our placement, serving, passing game, and playing the net. I improved my tennis tremendously with these sessions.
When not practicing with me, my tennis buddy was playing in the competitive house leagues. Feeling left behind, I mustered my courage and signed up as the team captain of a C league club against other clubs in the Durham region. We did well and moved to the playoff round but were eliminated right away. I stayed as the team captain for two more years with the same result in the playoff round. The pressure, stress and anxiety of managing a competitive team were getting to me. I was becoming cantankerous. I quit the captaincy and vowed to play doubles only in less competitive league. I also joined a group playing every week just for fun and exercise throughout the year (in winter, we play indoors). Since then, I never take playing tennis in a serious way. Every game is no longer a must win. And this attitude has given me peace of mind. I have become a better tennis partner.
There are formulas in being the best player. One of them is to be long on effort and short on memory. But the mental aspect of the players in any sport is what really separates the great ones. The Raptor Pascal Siakam wants to be in that category. He’s being molded to be the first offensive weapon of the team after Kawhi Leonard left. He said: “I think it’s part of my growth as a player: Understanding that some nights you might go 5-for-20 but it don’t really matter as long as you have that same energy, play on defence. I think that’s the only thing I can really be mad about, not really having the energy that I’m supposed to have. Other than that, I don’t really care about makes and misses, to be honest, because I know that I work hard and always do the right thing and I make the right plays…Sometimes it’s going to go good, sometimes it’s not going to go good, and as long as I’m doing that I’m content with myself. You miss some shots, a couple of games you lose, and all of a sudden if feels like the end of the world, man. We know this. We’ve been here. We’ve been in this position. We’ve got to continue to play. As a team, we understand that. We just have to move forward.”
In life and in sports, not many can be the best no matter how one tries. Losing is agonizing. Yet there’s persistence in all of us – to at least try regardless of the outcome. In tennis, persistence pays off. I have seen players play the game without the proper techniques, yet they enjoy the game as much as anybody else. The smile and happiness on their faces speak volume. I have seen players over 75 years of age who diligently play the game every week. Though their mobility is limited, they still make the effort to play the game the best way they can. Playing tennis is something they look forward to and a must in their to-do list to spend time on. I have seen kids berated by their parents as their coaches, yet they absorb the abuse and not allow it to dampen their enthusiasm and willingness to learn the game and be the best someday.
I can never be great in playing tennis; still I will never give it up. It’s too much a part of my routine in life that I feel lost without it. I will persist even with the aches and pains, perhaps reverting to the less physical demand of pickleball – a paddleball sport that tennis used to be, but actually combines the elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis.
22 July 2021