Do you play tennis or are you a non-playing fan?

As a tennis fan I:

  • Total voters
    220
Just hit around in the past with a few guys who played in High School . Never really learned the game. Its one of the sports where I would rather watch it then play it. It was also a mostly a sport than the more "well to do" kids and adults played because of the money you had to fork out for equipment/lessons etc.

It was easier (and cheaper) to play basketball growing up. Plus tennis wasn't exactly a popular sport. And most people that played it, came from money. So mehhh..
 
I've been playing on and off since around 10 years old. Currently "on " for the last 14 years. I rate myself around a 5.5 or 6.0. Most others rate me between a 3.5 or 4.0.
 
ak24alive said:
Same story here. Last year in University though. Hopefully I can find a tennis court in the city they will call me to for the job. It is perhaps going to be Pune or Bangalore. Given a choice I will choose Pune for sure. I will find a court and then play my ass off for the rest of my life lol.

Is it the other way around too? Like if I play TT will it affect my tennis?
I play TT a lot and funnily enough I play it a lot like tennis. I would go full on Murray and start retrieving the ball from a meter and a half behind the table. Or I would hit Federer like flat inside out FHs and end up hitting the ball out more often than not.
It took me some time to realise that this can't be played like tennis and it needs a certain discipline. After that I learned fairly quickly. But I am willing to leave the "sport" if it affects my tennis in the future.
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Lol Same story here.
Pre Final Year though.
I would like to stay in the North ...since I can't tolerate much heat. I would try to not go in Dehli or nearby areas, so that only leaves me Chandigarh or Dehradun as Job options where I can also get Good tennis facilities and play tennis for rest of my life lol.

U mentioned TT, my experience with it was the same too lol, went full Federer stance in TT:-D:laughing:. It was nice playing it but next day during Tennis practice, I felt that I was always late at my shots and at the back foot way too much and felt there was no power in my shots smh. This continued everytime I played TT the night before my Tennis sessions. I didn't want to compromise with my tennis so unfortunately I decided to not play it again. I did the same with Cricket ( Fast bowling is too stressful in the back and shoulders) and Badminton. Now only only sport I can play besides tennis is Football.
 
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GabeT said:
No tennis groups nearby? I found a few in my area for both casual and more serious play
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I'm not sure what you mean by groups, where i live is a smallish town so it's not that easy to find people who play and last year i did try and go to a local leisure centre's tennis club like i say in my other post but even that felt too serious for what i wanted. I may look into it again when the summer hits but it's just one of those things as you get older that becomes more difficult to find people with the same casual mindset. Maybe i should try craigslist lol
 
Zeref said:
I would like to stay in the North ...since I can't tolerate much heat. I would try to not go in Dehli or nearby areas, so that only leaves me Chandigarh or Dehradun as Job options where I can also get Good tennis facilities and play tennis for rest of my life lol.
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I know how you feel.
But then again you can't always get what you want. Hopefully you will get your desired locations.
 
Rogfan said:
I couldn’t have said it better, especially your first two paragraphs. I could lose a set 6-0 but as long as I made a good shot, I’d be totally content. I’m quite oblivious to what others think of my tennis skills. Granted, I’m very lucky to have a group of lovely tennis friends who are of all skill levels and who are happy to play with each other every week.
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Yep, I have lost games 6-0 6-1 but played really well and was just beaten cos the guy was too good - and been a LOT happier then wins I might have gotten 6-4 6-3 when the two of us are pushing and playing God awful moonball stuff...

I know people tho that just wanna win, they don't care if they play like ****... never understood that.
 
jackdaw said:
Yep, I have lost games 6-0 6-1 but played really well and was just beaten cos the guy was too good - and been a LOT happier then wins I might have gotten 6-4 6-3 when the two of us are pushing and playing God awful moonball stuff...

I know people tho that just wanna win, they don't care if they play like ****... never understood that.
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Hear, hear, metoo
 
It was also a mostly a sport than the more "well to do" kids and adults played because of the money you had to fork out for equipment/lessons etc.
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When I was growing up you were either born into a middle class tennis playing family who dragged you along to their club, and the well maintained grass courts they played on, or you simply didn't bother taking it even slightly seriously as the other options were the municipal concrete/gravel hell courts or grass courts where half of the green stuff under your feet was dandelion leaves.

In theory I've been watching and playing tennis for decades. In practice I've only been playing seriously for the last 3-4 years as that's when the availability of indoor facilities dovetailed with enough free time to think about finally learning the sport properly with the expectation of regular play instead of, if I was lucky, playing once or twice a year when the weather was good and I could drag a friend down for knockabout.
 
If this poll thread was posted in the Odds & Ends section, the results would differ significantly.
There are many people there whose major interest is some kind of urban philosophy.
 
I've got a strange playing pattern.
The more I train, the worse I play.
That's why I try not to play more than a 90-minute doubles match on Saturdays. Prior to celebrate the feat with wine/beer and barbeque.
 
Sudacafan said:
If this poll thread was posted in the Odds & Ends section, the results would differ significantly.
There are many people there whose major interest is some kind of urban philosophy.
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Exactly why I didn't put it there. I know the majority of people in GP at least have an interest in tennis overall. Results so far are similar to what I though. I guessed ti would be 70% are active, 20% played but don't anymore, and 5-10% would never have played (with a 5% fudge for trolls).

Thanks again to everyone for contributing too.


Forgot to add my bit of tennis story.

Watched tennis all the time as a kid. Wasn't too into it, but really more active In the mid 80's in high school with a few friends that played on the team, while I ran cross country. Jump to my 20's...I worked at the Arizona Biltmore years ago as a personal trainer and was a decent athlete playing college volleyball and open racquet tournaments. So I could at least keep a ball in play and I was used as a hitting partner for low ranked club members. Did that for about a year for side money. Didn't know anything about the game or how to really play it. Fast forward to me turning 40 and only having work and family as a focus. Needed something to get back out and racquetball wasn't gonna happen, so picked up tennis and haven't looked back. Been in an injury cycle since the end of 2105, but just the end of last year got back in to league play. Playing 4.0 currently and hope to solidify that and make progress the next few year.s
 
ChaelAZ said:
Exactly why I didn't put it there. I know the majority of people in GP at least have an interest in tennis overall. Results so far are similar to what I though. I guessed ti would be 70% are active, 20% played but don't anymore, and 5-10% would never have played (with a 5% fudge for trolls).

Thanks again to everyone for contributing too.


Forgot to add my bit of tennis story.

Watched tennis all the time as a kid. Wasn't too into it, but really more active In the mid 80's in high school with a few friends that played on the team, while I ran cross country. Jump to my 20's...I worked at the Arizona Biltmore years ago as a personal trainer and was a decent athlete playing college volleyball and open racquet tournaments. So I could at least keep a ball in play and I was used as a hitting partner for low ranked club members. Did that for about a year for side money. Didn't know anything about the game or how to really play it. Fast forward to me turning 40 and only having work and family as a focus. Needed something to get back out and racquetball wasn't gonna happen, so picked up tennis and haven't looked back. Been in an injury cycle since the end of 2105, but just the end of last year got back in to league play. Playing 4.0 currently and hope to solidify that and make progress the next few year.s
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3 years seem to be a long injury cycle and you are too young to be constantly in pain. Have you identified what causes these pains? Have you changed your lifestyle? Do you do any other low impact exercise (like swimming) to get stronger and prevent further injuries?

Regarding my tennis story, I started when I was 9 (or 10) playing 2-3 hours per week, then between 14 and 17 I was playing about 15-20 hours every week. At 18 I stopped to "focus" on studying. I started again 10 years later (about 2 years ago) and trying to get back to the level of my youth.
 
FedGR said:
3 years seem to be a long injury cycle and you are too young to be constantly in pain.
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It's just been a smorgeshborg of things - started lower back, then knees (arthritis), then aggrevated shoulder injury, then wreck my ankle in a match, then a compressed disc in my neck, and so on. A walking travesty of troubles. Everything is glitchy (sudden pain that goes away, so no issue), but neck and knees continue to be issues. That said, I also haven't been doing much physical training, so everything has been prolonged. More my fault than injury.
 
ChaelAZ said:
It's just been a smorgeshborg of things - started lower back, then knees (arthritis), then aggrevated shoulder injury, then wreck my ankle in a match, then a compressed disc in my neck, and so on. A walking travesty of troubles. Everything is glitchy (sudden pain that goes away, so no issue), but neck and knees continue to be issues. That said, I also haven't been doing much physical training, so everything has been prolonged. More my fault than injury.
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Please please please, start swimming. Being someone that has suffered from my sciatic pain, I cannot stress enough the improvement I've seen from swimming and proper stretching.
 
FedGR said:
Please please please, start swimming. Being someone that has suffered from my sciatic pain, I cannot stress enough the improvement I've seen from swimming and proper stretching.
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I restarted stretching and yoga this year to start and already feel a bit better. Just have to moderate match time so I don't over do things.
In Arizona, swimming is mnadatory a lot of months out of the year! :cool:
 
I'm a DIY tennis player, where Y = youtube. I feel young when playing on court although i know i'm not and should not act that way. Tennis longevity, clean shots, and more tennis friends are my goals.
 
I see alot of insecure people here, reminds me of the instruction and tips section. Conversation becomes competition
 
BrokenGears said:
Which is why this forum is full of idiots

Bunch of people who don’t play tennis and the ones that do are old 2.0 players lol

Think they know **** about tennis
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So you think only those that play football know a thing or two about football? I have a friend who is a mad fan about NBA basketball, yet couldn’t even net the ball to save himself. He’d spend hours talking and dissecting the game, and anyone who heard him speak and doesn’t know him, would think he’s either a coach, or an ex pro of the game.
 
I play. My FH, single hand BH and movement are all good but my serve is a
disaster. I'm 6'3" and make maybe 20% of my first serves which is truly pathetic.
There are girls who are 5'3" who serve better than I do. It's so shameful I should
probably stop playing.
 
Your Hero said:
I play. My FH, single hand BH and movement are all good but my serve is a
disaster. I'm 6'3" and make maybe 20% of my first serves which is truly pathetic.
There are girls who are 5'3" who serve better than I do. It's so shameful I should
probably stop playing.
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But for sure that can be improved. I've improved a lot by watching serve lessons on Youtube, talking to people who serve well, and practicing occasionally (should have done more often) with a basket of balls.
My 1st serve % is still low, but it has become almost unreturnable. I usually slice on 2nd serve and get a lot of free points. Kick serve is the hardest for me.
 
@uscwang

Practice doesn't seem to help. Oddly, my second serve is tremendous for an amateur
player. I do more damage with it than my first serve. My kicker is kickin'! Between the two
of us we've got a good service game but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
 
Your Hero said:
@uscwang

Practice doesn't seem to help. Oddly, my second serve is tremendous for an amateur
player. I do more damage with it than my first serve. My kicker is kickin'! Between the two
of us we've got a good service game but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
Click to expand...

Haha, if I can get my 1st serve % higher.
 
I don't play tennis, and i've recently gotten into the game.

But I can see why tennis would have a low amount of non-playing fans.

I think its because the greatness of the sport is in a lot of subtle things that are easier to understand if you've played the game...the angles that some players take, the shot selection, the way they can change the direction of the ball, the topspin used, the ability to return a shot faster than it came to you, etc.

In some other sports, the coolest things are more basic and even non-players can be entertained by it: A) slam dunks and crazy ball-handling skills in basketball B) big hits and great throws/catches in american football.
 
Play an average of three times a week either drilling or practice sets, some social doubles but mainly singles, friendlies, tournaments and Team matches.
It’s the only sport I do now; used to play squash but decided I’d last longer if I stuck to tennis and as little on hard courts as possible other than the cushioned acrylic courts.
I don’t think many people watch tennis outside of GS events and that applies to most players too, football is king in the U.K. Personally I have TennisTV and enjoy watching certain players as often as possible, Kyrgios, FAA, Evans and the Big3 in particular.
 
Your Hero said:
@uscwang

Practice doesn't seem to help. Oddly, my second serve is tremendous for an amateur
player. I do more damage with it than my first serve. My kicker is kickin'! Between the two
of us we've got a good service game but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
Click to expand...

Hardly ever face decent kick serves, my own is distinctly average and gets attacked at my own level although social players can get all tied up trying to return it.
Any tips?
 
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