Tennis has been, is, and always will be my deepest passion. Every time I unzip my tennis bag and see my racket, I am reminded of the many years I spent playing the sport I have come to love. When I hold the racket on the court, waiting for my opponent to serve, feelings of nostalgia surface immediately, of the early start to my tennis journey. I recall the player I used to be, determined, and willing, to practice until I got better.
To me, tennis is not just a sport, but a lifestyle. It requires commitment and self-motivation, but most of all, passion. The feeling I experience when I am playing on the court, focusing intently on my strokes, is like no other. The world stops around me, and I am alone, in that moment, playing my heart out.
My racket reminds me of the sacrifices I have made--of all the strokes that led me to where I am today. The satisfaction I feel, is extremely rewarding.
Throughout my journey, I have cherished many moments and made many memories that I will forever hold in my heart. Tennis has led me to a new perspective of life, that I am capable of reaching any dream, and achieving any goal that I set my mind to. It has given me a confidence that I am able to use both on, and off the court.
Without tennis in my life, I would feel empty, in that I would not have something to work for, or something to look forward to every day. Tennis is my escape from the plethora of stresses in life, and for that, I am grateful.
After years of playing, I am finally able to realize that tennis truly is, my everything.
I recently found a blog that I took much interest to, called "Heavy Topspin: A Tennis Blog." Run by Jeff Sackmann, this blog provided insight into topics about tennis that I had never explored.
I found myself intrigued by the deep analysis that each post contained, especially the posts about individual players. Instead of sticking to the usual shallow descriptions of the tennis world, Sackmann was able to "dig deeper" into the details of the game itself.
Personally, my favorite post of his, was titled, "A Quarterfinal on Federer's Racquet." In this particular post, Sackmann provides data pertaining to the match ups between Andy Murray (Great Britain), and Roger Federer (Switzerland). He included examples of their DR, or Dominance Ratios, in particular matches, as well as an in-depth analysis of their strategies when playing both each other, and other players. While reading this post, I learned that Federer was even more skilled of a player than I had previously thought, in that his game is strong for both his forehand and his backhand, no matter what challenges his opponent presents him.
Another of my favorite entries, was a post called, "Novak Djokovic and a First-Serve Key to the Match." The first piece of information that truly intrigued me, was the statistical data about first-serve percentages that presented the conclusion that a player that has a higher first-serve percentage rate, is more likely to win their match. On the contrary, I read that Djokovic had a higher winning rate when he missed his first serve. Sackmann did not stop there, but continued to analyze the reasons why this pattern occurred in Djokovic's game, saying that, " But it does seem that different players face different risks. The typical pro could stand to make more first serves. But a few guys find that their results improve when they make fewer–presumably because they’re take more risks in an attempt to hit better ones" (Sackmann).
Overall, this blog was an intriguing read; I would highly recommend checking it out, and/or subscribing! (Link Below)
http://heavytopspin.com
