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What is your first memory of tennis?
2 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Everyone who visits our unique tennis establishment obviously loves the game. For every Biofile I do with a tennis player, one question that is always ask is: what is your first memory of tennis? When I asked Billie Jean King for her first memory of tennis, she paused and looked at me sort of stunned and then said something like, “That is so cool. I always ask people the very same question…”
All the first tennis memory answers are always interesting, to me anyway. Now I would like to ask everyone here, What is your first memory of tennis?
If you care to know, here is mine: In the early 1970’s my parents took me an my brother to Boston for some kind of business trip – my dad was a high school vice principal. It was about 1973. One morning we were in the hotel lobby and my mom told us that Chris Evert was sitting on the couch. She was a famous tennis player. I didn’t even know what tennis was at that time. Me and my brother Dave went over to get an autograph, which was long ago lost. But better than the signature I distinctly remember how nice Chris Evert was to us and that she had yellow blond hair just like me and my brother Dave. I became a fan of her and probably got a crush too, right then and there. A few years later I saw her on TV and started to watch tennis. I always rooted for Chris Evert, from that day on. I even got to do a Biofile with her in about 1993 on the phone and after I asked her who some of her favorite athletes to watch were, she remarked, “You ask great questions.” That comment was very inspiring for my early career as whenever things got rough, I could always think back positively that Chris Evert, one of the greatest sports champions ever, told me I asked great questions.
So that’s my first memory of tennis, what are your’s Harold, Sakhi, Dan, RIP, Andrew, Steve, adb, Michael and all the rest…
I met Chris Evert in the hotel lobby in Boston
Andrew Miller · November 10, 2011 at 5:13 am
For pro-tennis, TV, Tim Mayotte. I am not sure who he was playing. I wanted him to win though.
For actual tennis, I think my uncle and maybe my dad took us kids out to watch them play on some public courts in connecticut, not too far from a big swimming pool (which is not very big actually, but seemed huge then). They had the wooden racquets that, years later, I thought were the “real racquets” in comparison to our “Prince Pro” and “Prince Pro Jr” sticks, which didnt shine like those wooden racquets and that seemed to come from less worthy outlets, such as kmart.
jeanius · December 13, 2011 at 4:06 pm
My first memory of tennis is from summer camp in the Pocono Mountains. I was about 8 years old. The camp had 2 very poor red (orange) clay courts that were barely maintained. They always had ruts, with gullies along the sidelines. We used to have to use a push wheel device to re-do lines with white lime. We also used a brush wheel to clean the lines. And, we brushed the courts with wide sweep brooms ourselves. The camp has since been updated with a dozen concrete courts. Now for the best part. You will cringe at how we were taught to play. I was told to stand with my shoulder to the net, swing my right arm out very wide, and then bring my arm forward to make contact with the ball. Picture a swinging gate! We used white balls that became invisible after about 10 minutes. My first memories of pro tennis? Seeing Pancho Gonzales and Althea Gibson play matches on TV.