Why Do I Love Tennis?
Why do I love tennis? Or sport in general? This is the best description I can give.
Chess pieces and human stories
I believe this: “Anybody can move a chess piece, but only a select handful can move their pieces in the symphony of offensive, defensive, and neutralizing positions that would lead to becoming a grandmaster."
How can something so complex come from a finite space, with each piece limited in scope?
Because of the complexity of each human being. Each move is not only calculated - it is a representation of the person making it. Decisions washed with fear, blinded by overconfidence, inspired by genius, made in haste, mired in indecision.
We would be bored watching two computers play each other. Deep down we want the story.
What we need to see
- The fear we also feel - and fear overcome
- That we can bounce back from mistakes
- That even the greatest are fallible
- The greats fall - reminding us every problem has a solution we can find
- Complete abandon and freedom
- That moment of purity in an athlete’s eyes when we understand what this instrument of a body is capable of when unleashed
Tennis is a perfect stage for that story: one court, clear rules, nowhere to hide, phase after phase of problem-solving under time pressure. See The Art of Competition.
We need to see the fear that we too feel; we need to see it overcome.
-Online Tennis SchoolKey takeaway: We love tennis not only for geometry and athleticism, but for the human story written in real time - courage, error, recovery, and moments of pure freedom.
Related: Meet Matthew Biondi and Tennis: Life at the Extremes.
