I was nine years old when I first picked up a tennis racquet. My father, who plays tennis himself, introduced me to the sport by taking me to the local courts in my neighbourhood. As soon as I hit my first forehand, tennis immediately became my addiction. Soon enough, I started taking lessons and hitting against the wall as much as I could. When I reached the competitive level a few years later, I enrolled in tournaments quite frequently. Like all players at that level, I experienced an abundance of highs and lows during that period of time.
As I now reflect back to my competitive days as a 22-year-old coach, I realize that my “lows” had actually taught me some of the most valuable lessons that are applicable to all avenues of life. While I may not have grasped this at the time, I would argue that the tough lessons I learned were more life changing than “highs” I experienced. With that said, here are three crucial life lessons that any competitive tennis player will learn throughout their journeys:
How to be your own best friend
Since tennis is such an individual sport, it requires a tremendous amount of mental discipline. This is especially true when your rhythm is off and you cannot comprehend why that is. This may also be the case if you are losing to a lower ranked player and you can’t seem to turn the match around. Controlling your thoughts and staying calm in these moments may be tough, but absolutely vital. If you do not, you will start beating yourself up for your mistakes, which leads you into a rapid downward spiral of negativity. The toughest part is, you are all alone with those deconstructive thoughts on court, and are unable to seek guidance from your coach on how to pull yourself out of it. You are the one who can tell yourself to regroup, problem solve, and fight your way back into the match.
For this reason, tennis teaches you how to be your own teammate and your own best friend in the most difficult moments on and off the court. The way we treat ourselves on a day-to-day basis, no matter what we strive for, is crucial to our overall wellbeing. Once you become more conscious about that, you transform into a stronger, more confident individual. You begin trusting your abilities more in matches, which enables you to take more risks tactically. You start going for the lines a little more because you are no longer afraid of making mistakes. Physically, you feel more relaxed because you know that whatever the outcome of the match is, you would be at peace with yourself. Possessing a positive mindset like that makes you a happier person overall, wherever life takes you.
Learning is everything
This is a big one. If you are not actively seeking to learn something new every time you step on court, you will not improve at a rapid pace. Tennis teaches you that breaking down long term goals into short term goals will allow you to achieve greater results. Say, for example, your long term goal is to play ITF tournaments. Obviously, that goal is not achievable overnight if you are just starting to play local tournaments. Instead, you learn to take it one day at a time by asking the following questions: What did you learn in practice today? What is your plan for the following practice? If your plan is constructive, you will begin to improve at a much faster pace and therefore, stay motivated. This is applicable to everyday life as well because understanding how to set goals in a constructive manner reduces stress, especially when faced with lengthy tasks. More often than not, it is overwhelming to focus on the bigger picture. Construct the point before going for the winner!
Good sportsmanship and honesty
This is especially true if you are playing a local tournament where you are responsible for calling the lines. You will learn that it is much more respectable to lose knowing you did not make any questionable calls than to cheat your way to victory. Not only are there consequences to cheating, but it is a major disruption to the match. There is nothing worse than your opponent calling an umpire to the court because of your line calls. This applies to all avenues of life; to build or maintain your credibility, you must be an honest person and stay accountable for your actions.
Conclusion
Tennis is truly a life changing sport. You learn how to stay true to yourself while building good morals and character. As someone who played competitively in my teens, I can confidently say it has helped prepare me for adulthood, particularly with handling seemingly stressful situations in a calm and composed manner. It has shaped me into the positive, hard working individual that I am today and I will forever be grateful for everything I experienced throughout my journey. To conclude this blog, here is an impactful quote that my former coach once said to me: “Like a serve, aim up high and go for it.”