From a young tennis player…
As a recreational tennis player who is enthusiastic in sports in general, I have come to a rather interesting observation. Maybe, it is biased due to my asymmetric love towards the game of three surfaces, graphite racquets and bright yellow spheres of fun but I find this game to be as mentally challenging, if not more, as it is physically. The physical factor is an observable, tangible property; the requirement of which is clearly visible from the godlike features, feather-light movements, and atmosphere-vibrating grunts of the professionals. However, the necessary mental audacity to reach the top of the professional circuit is often ignored by innocent bystanders.
The game is as lonely as it can get in the battlefield of sports in an almost gladiator-like arena, where thousands are watching two heroes ploughing through the balls to inject them with bullet speed and whipping vertically to provide immense spin. A beautiful winner can go past the opponent at a speed of 150km/h while creating topspins in the range of 40revs/s. We are plain lucky that the tennis ball is not lethal. The loneliness of the player can be described through a fight between a snake and a scorpion in a scorching dessert. The coaches force themselves to sit in the gallery looking at his player with the utmost intensity and pure helplessness. No one can rescue the snake when it is stung in the eye by the scorpion. It can give in or bring out its long tail to whip the ball and curve it into a winner touching the line.
The difference among the top players in the standard of tennis is miniscule. The game is cruel in the sense that you can win more points during the whole match yet lose the battle. It is the important points that matter. The moment of contact between the ball and the racket is some milliseconds. I guess the reason behind the sphere being the most abundant colour on Earth is the unwavering attention it requires from the players to make a perfect shot. A slither of doubt can jeopardize the shot from being a winner to being framed into the crowd. Precision is the name of the game that requires focusing like a hawk while moving like a cheetah and dancing the feet like a pro. All these elements make this challenging game a display of the finest of arts.