Why Players Love Tennis
There are five primary reasons people choose to play the game of tennis. Let’s explore each.
1) One of the most common reasons that prompt the choice of tennis is exposure. If you happen to be a part of the upper middle classes you will have been exposed to tennis at your country club. And as they say in business, it’s all about ‘location, location, location’. If you grow up on a beach, you will become a swimmer or surfer. If you grow up in the middle of Brooklyn, you will take up basketball. And if you live in one of the golden zip codes in Nassau County, your kids will spend summers at your country club, and will get to see tennis courts filled with players dressed in their tennis whites.
2) Another reason you might choose tennis is aesthetics. The game has a wonderful symmetry, elegance and beauty to it which is one reason some of our greatest writers have focused on tennis. E.B. White, Vladimir Nabokov, Ring Lardner, Paul Theroux and W. Somerset Maugham have all waxed poetic about the elegant beauty of tennis. “This small precise green pool” and this “pug, pug, pug, pug” sound of ball to racket is E.B. White’s way of showing his love of tennis. And if you love beauty, tennis will draw you into its heart and soul.
3) If a parent happens to love the game of tennis, it is likely that the child will also play. This is called role modeling and we are genetically predisposed to act like our parents. In addition, children have a desire to relate to their parents and spend time with them, so they often pick up the game their parents play. I know that is how I got into golf. Because my father played. He was a fun guy to be with and I was smart enough to follow along.
4) Our personality affects our choice of sport and how we will perform in it. Each sport is different and draws in certain personalities. Boxing attracts angry aggressive types. Golf seems to attract analytic types characterized as obsessive compulsive. Research suggests that tennis attracts players higher in intelligence, and who are more sociable, spontaneous, creative, aggressive, competitive and focused. When you interview tennis players from Europe you’re immediately impressed with their intelligence as they fluently switch between three or four languages. I have always felt tennis players are willing to go into the arena and risk shame in order to obtain glory. By its nature tennis demands competitiveness and a ‘take-no-prisoners’ attitude.
5) Over time and especially if the player is very talented, the issue of fame and fortune become motivators. Scholarships can be obtained and even a professional career if the player is good enough, able to avoid injuries and can cope with ever increasing levels of competition without losing confidence. Money and a pro career are enticing things indeed. But with fame and money the joy of the game can be lost and that is a big problem.
So there you have it. Tennis players are drawn to the court for a variety of reasons. They see tennis being played, they have seen one or both of their parents play, they love the beauty of the game, they love the competition and, who knows, maybe get a scholarship. Tennis provides the opportunity to exercise your creativity, your aesthetic feelings and your aggression all in the same place.
Who could ask for anything more?
