Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player.
People know me. I’m not going to produce any cartwheels out there. I’m not going to belong on Comedy Central. I’ll always be a tennis player, not a celebrity.
Acting with Denzel is like playing tennis with someone that’s better than you. You either play better tennis or get blown off the court.
I carried through well with my tennis. I got the respect by usage of the tennis racket.
I had an American boyfriend, went to football games, tennis tournaments, and to my prom. I was so serious about my American boyfriend that I brought him back to Germany with me to visit my parents. They were horrified.
When you are very little tennis should be fun, it should be a game.
I hope wholeheartedly that badminton will be as popular and respected as tennis one day.
It’s always good to play tennis with a better player to bring out the best in you.
I don’t play golf or tennis, I don’t ski, I don’t snowboard. If you love what you do, you never get enough of it.
I love to play tennis. I play a lot in the summer. I’m not a big golfer; I need something a bit more intense.
I’m the Bjorn Boerg of table tennis.
The thing about tennis is if you stay off for two weeks, or just for three days, you can lose your rhythm quickly. So it’s just a question of constant diligence and vigilance.
During high school, I would purposely lose tennis and squash matches to escape the agony of anxiety that competitive situations would provoke in me.
What I want out of tennis is not necessarily just winning.
When you enter the gates of the All England Club, you can feel the history of tennis.
I did interviews with tennis greats, like James Blake and John Isner. I also interviewed tennis pros who aren’t well – known but who made all the same sacrifices but had just a little spark of a professional career and are now still orbiting the sport, either as a teaching pro or a coach.
Played tennis for years. But you can’t improve at tennis after you’re 50. You get to be in your 40s, and suddenly you’re a doubles player.
The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match.
It’s tough when you’re No. 1. You don’t have any private life, you can’t even walk anywhere. I think that was one reason why I lost my motivation to play tennis.
I don’t play tennis to prove a point to anyone. I play for my country and myself. It’s not changing what people say or think. It’s about what I can do. If I feel I have the ability to achieve something and haven’t used my potential to that end, I’ll keep trying till I succeed.
I am definitely very excited to continue, and even though I will be turning 32 next year, I feel I am playing my best tennis, and I definitely feel my best results are still ahead of me.
I actually wanted to be a tennis player.
Before I got addicted to comedy, I was seriously thinking about playing tennis full time. I joined the tennis team and played with a lot of professionals.
My dad’s method in his madness was to try every sport and then observe what I liked. I played football, tennis, golf, cricket but I loved my snooker.
Team sports aren’t my thing. I find it easier to pick something up if I can do it at my own speed. And you don’t need a partner to go running, you don’t need a particular place, like in tennis, just a pair of trainers.
Masculinity comes from your look, all the way down to your attitude. It’s a big part of being a tennis player. Even though tennis is a fairly friendly sport, intimidation is still a big part of it.
I feel like I’m more a fan of tennis rather than it being men’s or women’s. I enjoy watching doubles as well when it’s on. I think that there are certain players that I enjoy watching on the men’s and women’s side. There’s some players that I don’t enjoy watching on both sides.
As tennis players, we work and we sacrifice many things. To lose, that’s not a happy thing – I mean sure, I was disappointed. You have to come back strong. But to win the last point in a grand slam tournament, that’s the most beautiful and most satisfying feeling you can get as a tennis player. It’s worth it.
I’m only seeing tennis balls these days. And maybe the occasional fashion sketch.
Family’s first, and that’s what matters most. We realize that our love goes deeper than the tennis game.
I was very lucky in as much as I played a lot of tennis.
I certainly don’t lose any sleep if I lose a tennis match.
We share the USTA’s vision to promote and expand the game of tennis. I have been playing the game since I was 6 years old with my dad and five brothers, so I know firsthand how it teaches life lessons: integrity, dedication, and competitiveness.
There is this brutal side to tennis. It was invented as a game for kings and cardinals and people with a lot of power who didn’t have to share the field with other players.
Tennis is more commercial these days.
But it’s always good to see youngsters taking over and playing great tennis. We have to get ready and prepare because they’re going to play better against us.
I took high school very casually. There was Teen Town, chess, tennis, boxing, running. Lots of things going on.
I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much.
So, yeah, Dad was right. Tennis was the way to go.
There is a special sensation in getting good wood on the ball and driving a double down the left-field line as the crowd in the ballpark rises to its feet and cheers. But, I also remember how much fun I had as a skinny barefoot kid hitting a tennis ball with a broomstick on a quiet, dusty street in Panama.
If you offer athletes stipends, then you’re into pay-for-play, and that’s the ballgame. People should realize that, and they should realize that amateurism never has been a sustainable model for a sports-entertainment industry. It wasn’t in tennis. It wasn’t in the Olympics. And it’s not in big-time college sports.
I do doubles on Monday and Thursday, take Wednesday off or do easy cardio, do doubles on Thursday and Friday, and the weekend I just get outside and get active – jog or bike ride, or play tennis with my mom.
I like playing tennis. I’ve always enjoyed the process of being a tennis player; I’m just not sure that I enjoyed the travel at the end, and my body didn’t recover from the day-to-day grind.
I ride a bicycle. I make artwork and do other kinds of stuff – but in terms of unwind, I like to play tennis and ride.
In golf, you definitely have your ranking. But it’s a bit different than tennis. Whenever there’s a golf tournament, you feel like almost anyone can win.
I guess tennis is my main art, but fashion is definitely very close.
I did a really good job of sticking to the tennis court.
I feel like I’m doing some great things for American tennis.
Tennis is a psychological sport, you have to keep a clear head. That is why I stopped playing.
My mother wanted very much to play tennis; she wanted, most of all, to be a singer and play the piano.
Sports have always been a really important part of how I energize myself, as well as how I relax. I spend a lot of my spare time with my family playing tennis, biking and rollerblading.
I had other coaches when I was younger but my father was there, following all my training. He has seen as much tennis as many coaches on tour.
Gender is irrelevant. Certainly the tennis ball doesn’t know what the gender was of the tennis coach.
Tennis: the most perfect combination of athleticism, artistry, power, style, and wit. A beautiful game, but one so remorselessly travestied by the passage of time.
When I’m playing my best, like I was at the U.S. Open, I feel on top of the match and able to do exactly what I want. There are other times when you’re not in control, but that is tennis and you have momentum changes in every single match.
Seeing the intensity and power she brings to the game, it’s hard to imagine her being anything but single-minded in pursuing tennis. But Serena Williams has other passions, too. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day, week or month for one of the world’s most gifted athletes to chase her many interests.
It’s a great moment for Argentinean tennis, more on the men’s side. I would like to see more on the women’s side. I think we have to work a little bit more on that.
To act with a tennis ball and imagine it’s a tentacle, or if you’re in some kind of wilderness film and you go, ‘Okay, we can’t have a grizzly bear here, but imagine when you step over the rock there there’s a grizzly bear.’ I don’t know. They’re tough moments.
As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don’t find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore.
The only other thing that’s like video games for me is watching tennis on TV. I can have it on, and there’s a rhythmic quality to it – I can be watching Wimbledon or the U.S. Open and still be working.
Hopefully I can do well and I hope tennis can get bigger in Japan and Asia. That’s my goal.
Receiving the Newcombe Medal for a third year in a row is an amazing honour. The Newcombe Medal is a great occasion for the Australian tennis community to come together and celebrate our sport, recognise people’s achievements and contributions to Australian tennis.
