ah, tennis

In case you missed my last few missives, I sent out a survey to people who play tennis, and promised results at some point, and here they are. For you non-tennis people, this likely won't be interesting, I'll be back at opining and storytelling next Saturday. 

Certainly the demographic corresponds with my demographic as it was sent to people I know and play with who are of a similar age, but this survey wasn't supposed to be a well thought-out science experiment, more a way for me to be legit nosy, to understand what goes on in the heads of others. In case you're not aware, a study came out a few years ago reinforcing what we tennis players already know - that it's a game that leads to longer and better life expectancy. 

Here's a synopsis of the results of this quirky survey: 

We're old (yet don't have so many injuries), we've been playing tennis a long time, most of us loved it immediately and continue to derive serious joy from it. Despite being veterans, continuing to master the sport keeps us on the courts, as does socializing. Most of us struggle with focusing at some level (though there was one robot response who manages to focus 100% of the time). When we're unfocused, we mostly think about food and what we need to do next. Most of us are able to handle questionable line calls though they may grate on us and about half of us spiral at least some of the time.

All the charts and details are below if you're interested in reading. The comments are particularly lovely as they illustrate humility and struggles, the vulnerability, effort and love you contribute to the game. I hope you find this as reassuring as I did. Your comments make me so incredibly grateful for this game and for you, my tennis compadres. 

In case you don't read everything below, I wanted to highlight my favorite "good tennis story" (it has been edited slightly to remove identifiers):

• My husband and I were in the finals of a mixed tournament. We had lost the first set and were down 2-5 in the second set. My husband wasn’t playing up to his regular game, so I took him aside and told him that if he could turn the match around right here, I would give him “special time.” He then turned that match around on a dime and we won 7-5, and 6-something in the third set. It was hilarious.

Comments about reasons people play:

• Connection to my dad, feels disrespectful not to play (love this one)
• Its fun and makes me feel good
• An activity with my kids
• Is fun to be outside and relatively low overhead (mmm, not a Longwood player)
• Mental acuity

What do you think about when you're not focused on the game?

• Food
• What I need to do next
• Schedule, work, kids, who is on the court next to me, etc.
• Çoñditioning
• Gratitude
• Energy level, work stuff, how hot and thirsty I am, how my body is feeling, the porch/cocktails post match:)
• Am I fun to play with?
• Food
• Work
• Dinner, lunch, dog, work
• What I'm going to eat or drink when we're done
• What I'm going to do after. Lunch
• Why I can't keep my eye on the ball
• What I need to do later, politics, replay conversations I’ve had.
• Who knows
• What I need to do after tennis.
• You name it, I’ve thought about it.
• Errands
• Things I need to do the rest of the day/week
• Family and other responsibilities
• Strategy (this must be the robot who was 100% focused)
• What am I doing later in the day or tomorrow or .... why is that person behaving like an idiot
• Lunch or cocktails
• People walking by, the other games around me, literally anything else I've been thinking of that day. things i see that remind me of other things
• My to do list

 
How do you focus before a point?

• Mantra just this point
• Think about watching the ball
• Remind myself how badly I want to win
• Watch ball
• Ha! I don't! I just play.
• Breathing exercises and I try to slow myself down
• Mantra: “keep it simple”
• Bounce the ball
• Clear mind, look at player with ball
• Getting lower
• Look at the nature I'm surrounded by, remind myself that outcome doesn't matter, presence does. If I'm serving, I visualize the. perfect serve.
• I keep telling myself to watch the ball off the hitter's racquet
• A little foot fire and mental pump up.
• Ball back in play no matter what
• Tell myself to focus and really try to do it.
• I think about where I’m going to hit the serve or return. It helps if I move my feet around to get ready.
• Try to set up next point
• I try to just focus on watching the ball with a tentative plan as to where I want to hit the first shot
• Could be better at that! Try to look at the server and figure out what's coming my way
• Watch the person who is about to serve, watch the ball. Use a mantra.
• Connect with my partner on strategy and excitement
• Watch the ball, feel athletic
• Tell myself to focus and try to split step
• A little ball bouncing pre-serve. otherwise, I don't really
• Use my breath to focus

Who do you compete against? Yourself, your opponent or both? Responses were appx 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, slightly more competing against themselves. 

• I just like to prove to myself that I'm still competitive/in the mix, despite having so little time that I play much less than all the women I play with.
• Both as I'm hard on myself and have high expectations for how I want to play and in a competitive match am competing against my opponents
• Neither, I'm not really sure how to compete, just try to get ball back
• I try to do it against myself, but that's not always easy

What is your reaction when there's a line call you, ahem, don't agree with?

• We all make close calls..try not to think it's intentional
• Depends on the day and the match
• Immediately, I'm bothered, but I tell myself to move on and usually do within a few points
• Cheater
• Too bad
• Don't react and let it go unless it's a pattern and then say something
• That ball was definitely in. So unfair. Don’t say anything. Let it go. Get even. Move on.
• I know what I saw
• Try to ignore. I know my eyes are going and try to give everyone benefit of the doubt
• It depends how egregious the call is
• I try for compassion
• Depends on the stakes. Did it happen during a key point in the match?
• Seriously?!?!?
• I don’t really care
• I try to ignore it.
• I get irritated. I sometimes ask if the opponent is sure about the line call. I used to get upset but I’ve learned that it is counter productive for me.
• Move on
• I get annoyed but just try to remind myself that everyone makes bad line calls at times and in the end that call won’t make or break the match
• It upset me, but I’ve learned to let it go and figure it comes out in the wash...it doesn't happen too often and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes it's really hard to tell...I am more annoyed if people question my calls
• May or may not ask “how close was it?” but only in a match, unlikely to even ask in a social game. Then just move on fast and forget about it. Mostly say to myself everyone is calling lines the best they can.
• Oh well, but others are usually super cranky, which turns me off about tennis women.
• Try to dismiss as unimportant
• Let it go
• Haha. I tend to move on.
• Poopoo on them. if it happens more than once i might unintentionally disengage with the game a bit. Otherwise, I try to move on.
• Part of the game.....move on. most people are trying to be fair
• When I don’t agree with line calls I try to move on. I’m not there to get in an argument - just there to have fun!

Do you have a way of climbing out of a spiral?

• Try to move more and focus on the ball
• Try to focus on one point at a time
• Shift focus to feet
• Back to basics
• Maybe encouragement from partner that it’s ok and that I can relax, so I don’t get more uptight about letting her down with my errors. Breathe.
• Refocus
• Not really, I check out
• Getting mad at myself
• Move my feet
• Try to focus on one element of my game
• Rationalize where things are in the match - score/how I’m playing.
• Remember tennis is just a sport
• Focus
• I think about other times I’ve played well. I try to focus and hit high percentage shots.
• Focus on the ball not the other player
• I try to find one shot that’s working and keep doing just that till I can get a rhythm back again
• Taking deep breaths, try to relax arm (which isn't as easy as it sounds), look at seams of the ball
• Every point is a new chance! I try to remember my footwork and just basic strokes, don’t try anything fancy until I’m back on track.
• Think strategy, connect w partner
• Tell myself watch the ball, move my feet, keep it simple
• Stay positive
• Usually just spiral out of control and happy when it’s over.
• Trying to play like i'm doing a drill (very measured, focused on footsteps and followthrough).
• Mindset

How much do injuries adversely affect your game (1= not at all, 5 = a lot)
Injuries

• Hip
• Back and shoulder
• Tennis elbow, tight calves that have resulted in achilles tendonitis in past seasons
• Rotator cuff tear, hairline fracture in shoulder, arthritic knees
• Cranky lcl (back, inide of knee)
• Foot, sometimes knee, sometimes back.
• Arthritic knees
• Many
• I am sore because I don't stretch. My right big toe hurts.
• Neck/upper back pain.
• Just had a patrolmen replacement and feeling great!
• Slightly sore back and knees
• It is a sport that involves injury and recovery, that’s for sure. But, usually worth it to play.
• Knee

Stories

• Strangest tennis story is when my son who was 10 was playing a match and the opponents Father wouldn't stop coaching and fighting with the referee. He ended up in the back of a police car.
• My husband and I were in the finals of a mixed tournament. We had lost the first set and were down 2-5 in the second set. My husband wasn’t playing up to his regular game and I took him aside and told him that if he could turn the match around right here, I would give him a “special time.” He then turned that match around on a dime and we won 7-5, and 6-something in the third set. It was hilarious.
• "Life is like playing tennis"
• When I was young, there was a kid who was really good, but a brat. Once, he got mad, threw his racquet, which hit the court sprinkler system, breaking a pipe and flooding the court. Another time when I was a teenager, there was a guy who I could tell was trying to impress. He tossed the ball, but somehow first whiffed it, then it bounced on his head..
• I now look back and realize how lucky I was to watch Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova play in the Virginia Slims tournament in Boston in the 70s. I do not remember the year but am amazed to have attended one of their first of so many matches.
• Less talking, better I play. However, I enjoy chatting with friends on the court.
• I have two favorite stories. The first one is about the time I had to play in a USTA match after a “terrible day at the office “. I was living in NYC and I got to the match which was on the upper east side indoors. My teammates told me that I was set to play “the human backboard”. We had 1.5 hours to play the match and after a little over an hour, the hb was beating me 5-0. We were playing moon ball and I was only half concentrating. Finally I said to myself that it was ridiculous to play moon ball because tennis was as supposed to be fun and that I should play smarter. I also said to myself that in the grand scheme of things, winning a tennis match was not that important. After I had this conversation in my head, I started going to the net on every point and ended up winning 6-5. I think I’ll save the next story.
• I have lost the first set 0-6 and then won the match. 
• We were down 8-1 in the tiebreaker, playing against a women who we knew well and she was very good and particularly unpleasant to play against. We didn’t give up and kept fighting and saw her just make mistake after mistake. We played fine but she fell apart and we won 10-8. It helps me remember that anything can happen and never give up.
• Lots of great tennis memories - watching a tournament (at LCC) in the '60s with my grandfather, being on the court with my dad, many fun games with friends, the opportunity to meet so many interesting people that I would never cross paths with otherwise...feel very fortunate that my parents encouraged me to play...
• I got to watch the American dream team play in the Davis Cup. Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe & the Jensen Brothers.
• None that I want to share

See you on the courts.