Have you ever fallen apart on the tennis court [ I don't mean in tears but in pure frustration] because the game you know you have just won't come together? Me neither [HA!] Well I think we've all been there; we struggle with our serves, or our forehand and backhand, things that normally work for us just breakdown and our minds breakdown with them. It's almost like God is out to get us, but God isn't our enemy here, we are.
Well in search of the truth about Tennis and its "Mind Games" I found a great article - [I wish I knew who the author was but unfortunately that wasn't provided]. Hope this commentary encourages you as much as it did me!
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Absolutely. There are life lessons that come from tennis in so many ways.
One of the many things I love about tennis and find so fascinating is it challenges you on so many levels - physical, mental and emotional - how many players do you see who are so physically gifted, but either can't keep it together mentally or lack the emotional discpline to endure the inevitable ebbs and flows of matches?
I like the fact that when you play tennis, you're really playing against yourself first in that before you can even begin to confront what the challenges the opponent presents you have to understand and accept your strengths and limitations on the court. You have to know yourself and what you are capable and sometimes be willing to push those parameters, but always be willing to play within yourself.
It's like life in that tennis teaches you to cope with failure and comeback from disappointment. Think about it: every time you play you lose points, even the best players in the world enter a tournament and know only one player from the entire field will win the title. It teaches you to develop and draw upon inner strength, resolve and wisdom to learn from the losses in order to win (See Ivan Lendl, Jana Novotna etc.)
It teaches you self-reliance in singles and teammwork in doubles.
It provides lessons in problem solving, perseverance and perspective. Every match, sometimes each point, can be a test of your problem solving skills and whether you pass or fail that particular test you have to keep that in perspective and know there is another point, another game, another match to play and learn from the experience.
It is zen in that the best players are playing in the moment: they are not thinking about the point they just lost, the double fault they just hit, the service break they need to get back in the match, that racquet someone threw in rage that just went flying by their head, the beautiful woman hitting on the court next to them (ok, maybe they are thinking about her they are thinking about the present point. Vic Braden always refers to the Jimmy Connors quote when Connors was down a match point, saved it and came back and won he was asked "What were you thinking of when you were down match point?" Connors: "nothing." That's an example of being in the moment.
I remember Steffi Graf saying when she was playing at her absolute peak, she was so tuned into the moment and playing so purely in the moment she had no clue what the score was - the score in the game or in the match - because the only thing on her mind was playing that present point and being in the moment.
Tennis is like life in that in can demand discipline, determination and guts - sometimes within the course of a single point. You can spend your life preparing for a moment in time and that discipline can help you in so many ways, but you've got to be able to improvise and adjust as well- adjust to the sunny side of the court, to wind suddenly gusting when you're about to hit an overhead, to a bad call, to your string breaking in the middle of the point, etc.
It's a lesson in the importance of valuing the simple things and paying attention to the basics. Remember when Agassi was asked how he adjusts when he's not playing well: "Go back to basics. I keep moving my feet and keep my eye on the ball."
It's like life in that way: no matter how badly you screw up and how desperate the circumstances you find yourself in, you've got to keep trying, keep moving and keep your eye on what's important. Give yourself a chance and keep swinging away.
It teaches you respect for others in that you can play the best you can possibly play and still be beaten by someone who just plays better. And there's a tendency for some to say "I beat myself: if I just cut down on my errors, I would have won..." but sometimes you have to recognize it's not necessarily what you do wrong, but what the opponent does right that makes all the difference.
It really is a sport for a lifetime and continuously reinforces lessons over your lifetime and it's a constant search for self-improvement. Think about every tennis player you've ever seen - every single one of them has a weakness they are trying to improve. It's like life in that no matter how hard you've worked, no matter how good you believe you are, you still have to get up every day and go out and do it again and prove it again and grow from it. And even if you don't win, you can still gain something from the experience because there is an integrity in giving the best effort you can give.
Mary Carillo wrote a great piece called Living Life On Clay that says a lot about the life lessons of clay-court tennis.
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