How I started tennis and what does it take to be an athlete?
Huge disappointment that neither
Serena Williams nor Victoria Azarenka will be at the Australian Open (AO). Hope
they return to the tour soon! Looking forward to the AO next week.
Serena pulling out of the AO got
me thinking about what it takes to be an athlete. What it takes to be
competition ready.
I started tennis at the age of
three. I still remember walking onto the vibrant red clay court in my favourite
park in Wimbledon. I stood at the net on one side, my mother on the other and
she threw the ball directly at the racquet head as I stood there with my
racquet ready for a volley. All I had to do was tap the ball with my racquet
over the net, which wasn’t difficult because my mother is a very accurate
thrower so I just had to stand still. The thrill of getting it over the net was
amazing! This was usually achieved by holding the racquet high enough above the
net and standing very close to the net. Volleying remains my favourite shot! I still love playing on clay, the
colour of it and how it feels under my feet, always makes me happy and full of
enthusiasm. It brings back warm memories.
Here’s a link to a photo of my
first tennis racquet which I still have to this day as part of my tennis
collection of all the racquets I’ve used over the years:
It’s a ‘Dunlop Power Play Mini’ (short
handle, large racquet head) which was on the heavier side for a children’s racquet but I loved it
and still prefer heavier, larger head racquets to this day. Since I started so young I
played double-handed on both sides which gave me a fair amount of power early
on which was satisfying. However, once you play professional tournaments
opponents exploit this so, unless you are Monica Seles or Marion Bartoli, you’ll
find yourself reaching for the ball on the run while being ‘run ragged’! So, I
practised a one-handed forehand to at least cut out one side of the court from being
under constant pressure. I have always practised playing one-handed and
double-handed shots as well as both left-handed and right-handed shots (partly
because I’m naturally left-handed but tennis classes taught me to play
right-handed so I ended up playing right-handed although playing left-handed
comes quite naturally to me). However, that doesn’t automatically translate
into wanting to play them in a match. One of the general exercises I did and
continued to do was playing with a racquet in each hand so that both hands were
equally strong which helped the double-handed ground strokes as well as being
able to switch to the one-handed shot when on the run. But this by itself doesn’t
make the shots match-ready so we added extra exercises and adapted the way I practised
my one-handed forehand to make it a strong enough weapon to win points. One addition,
which mentally helped me, was to use my one-handed shot in my practice matches
and spend off-court time visualising using it in future matches. Otherwise, I’d
fall back on my two-handed forehand whether it was the right choice or not,
simply because it’s more powerful and it’s part of my mind-set for hitting
winners from an early age. (However, I still dream of the day I can pull off a
Mauresmo or Henin single-handed backhand!)
So I understand somewhat what
Serena means when she feels she’s ‘super close’ but not quite ready yet.
Players are always developing their game, working on aspects of their style of
tennis and working towards a vision of where they personally want to be, not
just as an athlete and tennis player but also as a competitor. Serena doesn’t just
want to play tournaments, she wants to win the big ones, the Slams and that is
beyond tough, not only physically but also psychologically and emotionally. I think this can be underestimated. Being an
athlete at any level, but even more so a top athlete, is emotionally draining. It
can be quite a roller-coaster ride!
It’s important to see a qualified physical trainer first before embarking on an exercise regime or being too ambitious on a tennis court whatever the age and standard of play. Injuries happen all too easily. So take care and seek professional advice first about training and equipment/racquet choices.
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