Tennis has always been one of the sports that I enjoy to a certain degree, but it was not always like this. For a large part of my learning experience with tennis, I had primarily a love hate relationship at best. At worst I would view tennis as another chore, another box to be checked off in this to do list we call life. Ironically it was the worst experience that let me view tennis in a more favorable light.
I have to thank my grandparents for introducing me to tennis, at first I viewed it as a passing curiosity. Idly sitting by the tennis court as they rallied over and over. It occurred to them one day that they should get me involved, and thus began my love-hate relationship with tennis. The games I had with my grandparents were in stark
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Instead of sitting in an air conditioned room I was standing in the middle of a tennis court, without even a shred of shade to take shelter under. My breath rattled in my ears, coming in sharp gasps a result of my body’s desperate attempt to keep oxygenated in this atrocious heat. Today’s practice was not only expected to be longer than usual but the sun made it downright unbearable. I stood at attention or ‘ready position’ as my coach likes to call it in the middle of the court. It was two hours in the practice and I was a mess. Sweat beaded on my neck and dripped down my back, carving paths on my shirt before falling onto the ground. My shirt was already soaked through and saturated with sweat. My coach noticed how my stance was degrading and called a break, I flopped onto the ground like a robot whose batteries have ran out and fumbled for a bottle of water. Even my breaks were carefully regulated, it was exactly 30 seconds, no more, no less. I stumbled to my feet and staggered over to the base line, but instead of grabbing his basket of balls like I expected, my coach took two balls and walked over to the base line on the other side of the court. He threw the ball up and prepared to serve. All form forgotten, I stood there, arms at my sides, marveling the fluidity of his movements. Then came the serve, the ball flying down the court with inhuman precision. With only seconds to react, I dove for the ball, …show more content…
Any further thought was cut short as my coach sent another serve rocketing in my direction. This time, I was prepared, as I moved my arm back in preparation to return the serve. The impact was something I have never experienced, my racquet took the brunt of the force, with its strings groaning as they bent around the ball. With a dull thump, the ball sped back over the net towards my coach, a short laugh escaped my lips as I prepared to move forward and assume the attacking position. The clouds that have obscured my perception of tennis were finally gone, the truth dawned on me. Tennis was not simply a chore where I spend two hours a week on but actually a sport. Those two words were all it took, to affirm that it was possible
Years of playing the game and not improving, Gawande incidentally finds himself play tennis with a young man who is a tennis couch. The young man gives Gawande a tip about keeping his feet under his body when hitting the ball. At first he is uncertain, stating, “My serve had always been the best part of my game….. With a few minutes of tinkering, he’d added at least ten miles an hour to my serve. I was serving harder than I ever had in my life” (Gawande, 2011, p.3).
The innovations in the material of the tennis racquet — the strings and the frame — have changed tennis throughout the years; thus, fundamentally changing the game by allowing players to hit with more power, spin, and racquet speed. Many star professional tennis players in the past and present use new technology to help take their game to new levels. The change from a wooden racquet to a carbon-fiber tennis racquet and the change from cow gut strings to non-gut synthetic strings have changed the way tennis is played.
It was a grueling school day that had ended with an arduous 120-minute Chemistry practical. The school bell that rang was like sweet music to my ears and the only thought that whisked through my mind was that of going home and sleeping in my big, comfortable bed. Just then, I remembered that the Table Tennis contest between Team C and Team D which also incidentally the finals, was at 4:00 p.m. I sluggishly changed into the clothes that I had in my locker and headed for the Games Room. I was very tired and hoped that I would have an easy opponent. However, this was not to be my lucky day. The captain of our team, Jason, was sick so I had to play the opposing captain, namely, Jonathan. Panic and doom were those thoughts that dominated my mind when I was told this.
Saying that you love something is easy, like how you love the new dress your best friend is wearing or how your friend is in love with a show on Netflix. When you actually love to do something, it’s not about stating how much you love it, but showing that you love it through the effort you put forth. When you love something you battle through your failures and mistakes. Love is when you play like it's the last time you will ever step foot on the court. Throughout my life playing volleyball has been the highlight of my extracurricular activities, so in spending my time to get better at this sport I have recognized the difference between loving and liking something.
Quite a lot of people have witnessed a tennis game, whether in person or on TV. Although often depicted by foreigners of the game as being “an easy sport”, Tennis on the contrary, requires quite a bit of technique and skill to even begin the game. Every point in this game begins with a serve, so if anyone was to hold their own on the court, they would at least be required to begin by learning to serve. In this document, I will be explaining the different techniques and postures necessary to successfully complete a serve and hopefully ace your opponent.
I saw that the girl, who was taking the ball, turned her stick in the direction she heard the voice, but she did not look up to make sure that nobody was covering her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she pulled her stick back and hit the ball. Afterward I sped back over to where the ball was soaring and reached out my stick, I then tried to hit the ball. I felt like a bull charging at a red flag as I whacked the ball to the ground. My coaches and my team went wild, in joy that I had just blocked the most powerful ball I had ever seen. I felt like a bull who finally reached its goal to finally reach that red flag. I finally felt like I had accomplished my goal. I had waited years for this to
As we all know, America is a nation of sports enthusiasts. Most Americans participate is some kind of sporting event, either as a spectator or as a competitor. In the pantheon of great American sports, there is one that stands out. It has been called the great American pastime. Yes, that great sport known as tennis. Tennis requires a mastery of many skills to be able to play competitively, but the primary skill needed to win in tennis is the serve. The serve is the primary offensive weapon used I tennis, because it is the only time when a player gets to put a ball into play. The player controls the speed, the placement, and the spin of the ball. With proper procedure, the serve can win many points and games for the server. The technique I will demonstrate is used by most professional ten...
Being experienced to being a member of the tennis team has prepared me and made me realize the importance of never giving up when times are rough and caring for others during difficult times. I know these techniques will indeed come in handy with life and furthermore lead me to my goal.
When surfing the Internet, eventually winding up at tennis4you.com, I found something called the “Lesson Lounge” which has instructional articles on the game of tennis. My particular article discusses a very crucial part of the game, and also a difficult one, the first serve. The reason this drew my attention is because this is a major weakness in my already pathetic tennis repertoire. By reading the article, I hoped to find strategy to learn from, and eventually, with practice, to improve from. In the article, they explain how the first serve can become “…someone’s biggest weapon making someone else’s worst nightmare!” That, not only can one use a power serve or a placement serve to attack their opponents, but that working out is not even necessary to do so. The tennis serve can have significantly more power by using “…legs, shoulder rotation, and stomach muscles…” during one’s motion. They stress that since you have two serves, it is crucial to take a chance and make sure your first serve is NOT “…easily attackable”. From here, they lead into more complicated serving techniques that involve the type of hit- such as the flat, slice, kick, and topspin serves. Although I am not good enough to test them out, through time, they could certainly help someone with an interest in tennis who is willing to practice. After establishing the four types, the writer goes more in depth to differences between power and non-power serves. With power serves, they emphasize the importance of rhythm, significance of keeping your opponent guessing and lastly, the need to hit it in bounds. They continue to say that, obviously, no matter how hard your serve is, it is useless if it cannot land in bounds. As far as non-power serves, they speak of smaller players and how technique and mechanisms such as spin. Another main point here is that one must serve deep into the service box.
I earned a spot on varsity. Being on varsity gave me my first taste of truly competitive tennis. Usually during practices, we would be separated from the other girls not on varsity, and our coach would run special drills with us. Tennis is an energy demanding sport. Matches usually started around 8, although sometimes I had to wake up at 4 because of a long drive, and depending on how many teams were at the tournament, could end late in the evening, one day we didn’t finish until around 9pm. By this time in my tennis career, I knew all the rules of tennis inside and out. I would frequently help the players on the team newer to the sport with scoring, knowing where to stand to serve, and what grips to hold their rackets in. It was fun to teach them because they never would have guessed that there could be so many different ways to grip the racket, or angles to hit the
Tennis is a sport that many people love to play. It is not the hardest sport in the world to learn. When playing against someone, it is called a match. Tennis can be played one on one or a doubles match. The main object of the game is to hit the ball over the net, inside of the lines so that the opponent can't get to it. There are two lines about two feet parallel to each other that outline the court. In a singles match, the inner line is the out of bound line, while the outer line is out of bounds in a doubles match. If you want to play, take a look at my two favorite tennis players because they are masters at serving and scoring, a few key aspects of the game.
Once people start to learn how to play the game, they can become much more aware of their surroundings. Tennis not only requires one to watch the ball constantly, but also watch for other balls that may come onto the court. Playing tennis also requires the individual to practice. Similar with starting any new sport or club, many people are given the chance to meet new people who share something that they are both passionate about and can relate to. People are also given a chance to become more physically fit. Tennis requires many short sprints from one end of the court to the other, as well as constant conditioning to build up one’s strength, physically and mentally. Tennis can give many people the chance to become more physically active and expand their social life once they decide to incorporate it into their daily
Peer relationships, obeying authority, and looking up to a role model, are all character traits that are learned through the practice of athletics. During a normal match of tennis, many mistakes will be made. However, these mistakes will be able to tell you the flaws in your swing and the ability to fix them and continue competing without getting frustrated. Tennis teaches the ability to handle mistakes and to use them to your advantages. Tennis teaches many positive characteristics that benefit the athlete in many areas of
My love for tennis blossomed at the young age of eleven. During middle school my peers knew me as the boy who was remarkably talented at tennis and I savored that title. Butterflies floated throughout my youthful body whenever someone complimented me. As the years passed, my dad nurtured me into a top player. Before I knew it high school arrived and it was time to compete at a higher level. My excitement was out of this world, but I knew my dad could no longer push me forward and my future was up to me. However, the ego I developed over the years blocked what lie in front of me. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture; the hard work demanded of me, teamwork, and the motivation to reach an ultimate goal. Throughout my four years of participating
...e ball bouncing off my racquet, the thrill of a great hit, it made me love tennis. My mind stopped wandering as Jon hit the ball back. Accidently, instead of hitting the ball with my racquet, my free hand catches it. Jon laughs.