It's no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. Even the structure of tennis, the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls, mimics the structure of our days. Points become games become sets become tournaments, and it's all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point. It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours, and any hour can be our finest. Or darkest. It's our choice.
Andre AgassiTennis is the loneliest sport
Andre AgassiTags: loneliness psychology sport tennis
The public never appears to tire of endless courses of strawberries and cream, and the theory that you run the risk of boring people with endless photo montages of the Chelsea Pensioners in their dress reds, or close-ups of a Pimm's Cup sprouting all kinda of flora, has yet to be proven. People like Wimbledon in the same way they like blue jeans or even their own spouses: for the pleasure yielded by their reliable sameness.
Peter BodoTags: pleasure consistency tennis pleasure-of-recognition wimbledon
The day you give priority to bogus ethics over human reactions, you become a loser. Human reactions are priceless. Rules should never, ever stifle emotions. Tennis is a very human game facing a great danger that it will be strangulated in a cat's cradle of unnecessary or inhumane rules.
Ted TinlingTags: humanity emotions rules tennis
Nel tennis il vero avversario, la frontiera che include, è il giocatore stesso. C'è sempre e solo l'io là fuori, sul campo, da incontrare, combattere, costringere a venire a patti. Il ragazzo dall'altro lato della rete: lui non è il nemico; è più il partner nella danza. Lui è il pretesto o l'occasione per incontrare l'io. E tu sei la sua occasione. Le infinite radici della bellezza del tennis sono autocompetitive. Si compete con i propri limiti per trascendere l'io in immaginazione ed esecuzione. Scompari dentro al gioco: fai breccia nei tuoi limiti; trascendi; migliora; vinci. [...] Si cerca di sconfiggere e trascendere quell'io limitato i cui limiti stessi rendono il gioco possibile. È tragico e triste e caotico e delizioso. E tutta la vita è così, come cittadini dello Stato umano: i limiti che ci animano sono dentro di noi, devono essere uccisi e compianti, all'infinito. (Infinite Jest, p. 116)
David Foster WallaceTags: tennis vita superare-i-propri-limiti
Except in a very few matches, usually with world-class performers, there is a point in every match (and in some cases it's right at the beginning) when the loser decides he's going to lose. And after that, everything he does will be aimed at providing an explanation of why he will have lost. He may throw himself at the ball (so he will be able to say he's done his best against a superior opponent). He may dispute calls (so he will be able to say he's been robbed). He may swear at himself and throw his racket (so he can say it was apparent all along he wasn't in top form). His energies go not into winning but into producing an explanation, an excuse, a justification for losing.
C. Terry WarnerTags: excuses justification losing tennis mindset self-betrayal
She felt about a love set as a painter does about his masterpiece; each ace serve was a form of brushwork to her, and her fantastically accurate shot-placing was certainly a study in composition.
Janet FlannerTags: metaphor painting tennis suzanne-lenglen
Freed from the thoughts of winning, I instantly play better. I stop thinking, start feeling. My shots become a half-second quicker, my decisions become the product of instinct rather than logic.
Andre AgassiTags: autobiography tennis instincts
Were you serious when you said I might win someday at Wimbledon?"
Claire answered, "There's so much that's pure luck, good or bad. The weather can be terrible. We always say we should re-schedule Wimbledon and hold it in the summer!"
I frowned. "Wimbledon is in the summer."
Claire sighed. "It's a joke, Fiona."
"Oh.
Fifteen love,' Chris said in a strong, clear voice as he set up for his next serve, and Elizabeth sensed that in addition to announcing the score, he was sending her a special message. A message about love...
Francine PascalTags: love tennis sweet-valley misreading
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