By Amanda H. LeMay
I’v played tennis off and on since high school. Followed the big events as well. But it wasn’t until the 2000 U.S. Open that I truly fell in love with tennis. Oh, who am I kidding, I actually fell in love with Marat Safin, but nevertheless I began an obsession with professional tennis that has only grown through the years. In those days we didn’t have the plethora of internet information that we have today. I mainly read scores in the paper and occasionally got to see a match on TV. Still though, I followed the happenings and by the time Mr. Safin won his second major in Melbourne I was fully addicted to message boards, tennis forums and live streaming. Imagine how wonderful it was to see a favorite player in a first round match half way around the world, never mind that it was the middle of the night here, it was just great to see him playing! Also remarkable was the growing number of places to discuss said match with other tennis enthusiasts. It was great to know that there were others out there who followed more than just the four majors and had a favorite player from a country other than their own.
Maybe it’s unusual to see such devotion to a game other than football or basketball here in the US. But tennis is a different kind of sport. It draws you in not with the usual fanfare of a team sport. It’s more personal. It’s easy to get invested in the players because they are so vulnerable to us. No helmets to hide their emotions, no teammates to commiserate with and no substitutes if one is having a bad day. Just two guys fighting each other on the court with no one to rely on but themselves. It can be a beautiful display of power and finesse or not. Frustrating and maddening at times, it never fails to deliver some sort of excitement or heartbreak. Week in and week out there is always something to watch and to discuss. The seasons change and so do the courts. Just when one tires of the dirty red clay of Europe the green grass of England beckons. Then the U.S. hard courts call for what is, in my opinion, the most exciting time of the year.
Yes, the season is long. I know the players lament this fact but for fans it means that there is always something happening. Even now I have a tennis scoreboard up on my computer. Sure, it’s a 250 event in which none of my favorites are playing but still it’s tennis and I need to know what’s happening!
Perhaps the best part of tennis for me is that it is a sport of personalities as well as forehands and backhands. Sure, we all have particular game styles that are appealing. I personally like aggressive, hard hitters. I mean what could be sexier than your guy going for broke on a shot and painting the line like it was 10 feet wide! But the added bonus in tennis is that we get to see what’s going on in the mind as well. Give me a good racquet smash or a debatable line call any day over a missed field goal or free throw. Plus, what’s not shown in emotions on the court can often be found behind the scenes in press conferences or the rare off court interview. And then there are the numerous fan sites dedicated to your favorite players –everything you need to know to develop a full blown obsession! So when your guy retires, like Marat did in 2009, there is likely a replacement (Hello Ernests Gulbis) just around the corner ready to take you on his roller coaster for the next 10 years or so. Can’t wait!
Amanda H. LeMay resides in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a bank analyst who plays tennis occasionally at the club. This is her first composition about tennis for www.Tennis-prose.com.
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