A day in the life of every tennis player. These words are tattooed to our brains. We eat, sleep and breathe these words. As a young boy I loved this sport. I loved it because I was never the tallest, fastest, strongest or the most athletic. Thus I hated contact sports because I told myself I didn't have a chance. With the basic concept, to be getting the ball over the net and in; my athletic (in)abilities didn't play much of a factor. This was a stepping stone for me to overcome my fear of not being able to do something because the opponents were bigger. You could hit the ball as hard as possible and get to every ball that I hit, but if I can do the same to you then we play on an even ground.
With my game and my personality I started to mature, started to grow, and started to win. I ultimately realized that I liked tennis because it was an individual sport. There was no MVP to lead me to victory and there was no one to bring me down. This sport reflects solely on what I have to offer on the court. This also reflects on how I look at life. I strive on doing things independently so that I can grow.
With no one to blame but yourself, whether you win or you lose; I get a sense of pride knowing I am the only one to win this game. The winners I make are my winners and the mistakes I make are my mistakes. For me this is the ultimate key to an athlete, being able to hold your own and admit your faults when the time comes. When playing team sports, there are other people to rely on, but in tennis, I am the team. I am the one that made the big plays, not my opponent or another player, but me.
“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way” (Courier). This speaks true because if I know that my opponent is just a better player than I am, I can’t be too defeated. However, if I lose to someone I shouldn’t have, all pride is lost and they got the best of me.
By: Chris Yuan
With my game and my personality I started to mature, started to grow, and started to win. I ultimately realized that I liked tennis because it was an individual sport. There was no MVP to lead me to victory and there was no one to bring me down. This sport reflects solely on what I have to offer on the court. This also reflects on how I look at life. I strive on doing things independently so that I can grow.
With no one to blame but yourself, whether you win or you lose; I get a sense of pride knowing I am the only one to win this game. The winners I make are my winners and the mistakes I make are my mistakes. For me this is the ultimate key to an athlete, being able to hold your own and admit your faults when the time comes. When playing team sports, there are other people to rely on, but in tennis, I am the team. I am the one that made the big plays, not my opponent or another player, but me.
“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way” (Courier). This speaks true because if I know that my opponent is just a better player than I am, I can’t be too defeated. However, if I lose to someone I shouldn’t have, all pride is lost and they got the best of me.
By: Chris Yuan