What do you like about playing tennis?

[thehustler]

I so enjoy playing tennis. My first sport was basketball and I played that religiously until I was probably in my early 30's. In my mid 20's though I started playing tennis and just loved it. It's so much fun. Here's why I like it:

You just need 1 other person to play. Basketball needs at least 6 people to get a decent 3v3 game, soccer, football require a lot more.
It's free to play. Public courts everywhere, outside, fresh air.
It's you vs your opponent. No coaching, no timeouts, just problem solving at its finest.
Matches can be quick and they can be long and punishing. In my youth I loved long and punishing. Now at 40 with kids I need quick (punishing is ok, as long as my opponent is the one who's punished).
It's great exercise.
Rules are very simple. 99.999% out is 100% in. If you're not sure you call it in. Basic honor system. Lets aren't a big deal, having 2 serves isn't a big deal (don't drag baseball into this, pitchers generally throw more than 1 pitch to a batter, so no home run talk crap)
It's fun.
I got my current job because someone I played tennis with worked for the company. He got me a referral and I got the job. Oddly enough applying thru the company website (first) said I was rejected after they made an offer to someone else (ME!).

I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting. But why do you like playing tennis?

 

[tennis_pro]

1) individuality, you're out there on your own
2) so many different styles you can play
3) so many different shots you can hit and you can still create something new
4) it's so complex, to be a really good tennis player you need to master many different skills
5) you never get the same point played twice (unless you're Isner)
6) the feel good moment when you hit a clean winner or an ace. Me personally I love hitting clean backhand winners DTL or a backhand crosscourt knifer a la Dolgopolov
7) give a racquet to 10 different people and I can assure you you'll see 10 different styles of play

No other sport comes even close to this that's why I'm almost all in on tennis.

 

[thehustler]

1) individuality, you're out there on your own
2) so many different styles you can play
3) so many different shots you can hit and you can still create something new
4) it's so complex, to be a really good tennis player you need to master many different skills
5) you never get the same point played twice (unless you're Isner)
6) the feel good moment when you hit a clean winner or an ace. Me personally I love hitting clean backhand winners DTL or a backhand crosscourt knifer a la Dolgopolov
7) give a racquet to 10 different people and I can assure you you'll see 10 different styles of play

No other sport comes even close to this that's why I'm almost all in on tennis.

Yeah I agree with those as well. Makes me think about how many styles there are and there's really no wrong way to play tennis. If you're a pusher and it works, good for you. Junkballer? Awesome. Power player? Nice.

Hitting a clean winner or ace always feels weird for me. I don't hit aces that often, but when I do I feel ok, but also like...did I really hit the serve I wanted in the spot I wanted and the returner didn't hit it? Wow. How do I do that again? Winners I feel ok on as I hit enough of them (at times). Nothing beats a good bh dtl though. Can so demoralize opponents.

 

[johnwah]

i play for the girls... girls love guys that play tennis... eerr..

i think most of us play for those feel good points... and im fat so i need to lose weight... so excercise... I hate running otherwise..

 

[Rafa.the.Magnificent]

I love the rhythm of a long rally.
I love hitting a great passing shot.
I love to take it out of the air.
I play with my husband and it's a great thing we can do together.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

1) individuality, you're out there on your own
2) so many different styles you can play
3) so many different shots you can hit and you can still create something new
4) it's so complex, to be a really good tennis player you need to master many different skills
5) you never get the same point played twice (unless you're Isner)
6) the feel good moment when you hit a clean winner or an ace. Me personally I love hitting clean backhand winners DTL or a backhand crosscourt knifer a la Dolgopolov
7) give a racquet to 10 different people and I can assure you you'll see 10 different styles of play

No other sport comes even close to this that's why I'm almost all in on tennis.

Sometimes those excuse me winners are also pretty sweet too. I've hit a few of those where it's like you totally don't intend to do that, and yet it goes for a clean winner anyway.

Backhand smashes are nice too.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

Yeah I agree with those as well. Makes me think about how many styles there are and there's really no wrong way to play tennis. If you're a pusher and it works, good for you. Junkballer? Awesome. Power player? Nice.

Hitting a clean winner or ace always feels weird for me. I don't hit aces that often, but when I do I feel ok, but also like...did I really hit the serve I wanted in the spot I wanted and the returner didn't hit it? Wow. How do I do that again? Winners I feel ok on as I hit enough of them (at times). Nothing beats a good bh dtl though. Can so demoralize opponents.

I guess it would depend on whether you consider some people playing on the court as playing tennis or not.

 

[thehustler]

I guess it would depend on whether you consider some people playing on the court as playing tennis or not.

If you're hitting the ball back and forth over the net, moving around and having fun it's tennis. Now different skill levels might not consider lower skill levels to be tennis, but we're all at a lower skill level to somebody. The different styles are the best and my favorite as they can drive people crazy if you don't 'play the right way'. Those people are easy to beat and they have every excuse in the book for losing.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

If you're hitting the ball back and forth over the net, moving around and having fun it's tennis. Now different skill levels might not consider lower skill levels to be tennis, but we're all at a lower skill level to somebody. The different styles are the best and my favorite as they can drive people crazy if you don't 'play the right way'. Those people are easy to beat and they have every excuse in the book for losing.

I meant the ones not hitting the ball over the net and inside the court.

 

[ChaelAZ]

I just like competing. It is a big part of my nature and I need it in my life to feel accomplished and fullfilled.

 

[Capulin Zurdo]

 

[Bartelby]

It's a tool-based sport and you don't need to be one to play it.

 

[fireandwind]

It is really good exercise for everyone, boost testosterone, increase mental alertness and help to forget about this world for the time being.

 

[Deleted member 293577]

I get to enjoy ketchup afterwards.

 

[TagUrIt]

Love this sport because:

It is a game that's always in motion.
It is you against your opponent. (unless it's doubles)
No two games are ever the same.
It can be just as mentally exhausting as physically.
It challenges you to be better each time you step onto the court.
It's not always about who hits the ball harder.
I enjoy watching just as much as playing.
It humbles you, because even when you think you know it all, you find out that you don't.

 

[BenC]

I like that this is a complex game and that there are different ways to play and improve.

I like the fact that being an equipment nerd can lead to actual improvement. Poly strings, unlocked string beds, adjusting string tensions, racket weight/swingweight modifications, etc.

I also like just taking a ball machine out and practicing different situations and finding out what works and what doesn't. When I use something that works in an actual game situation it's incredibly satisfying. It's like the driving range in golf except there's actual exercise involved.

 

[junior74]

I love when you hit the shot least expected by your opponent, like a short slice down the line instead of the expected deep one cc. Whenever that happens, it feels like slow motion, and both players just laugh at the wrongfooting

I love when I am down and out, but manage to hold serve by fighting and then slowly get back into it.

I love the solitude of tennis.

 

[Hamnavoe]

I don't like tennis.

 

[Centrius]

Playing tennis is what I love the most to do in my life.You guys have covered pretty much every reason why.

 

[Djokovicfan]

Topspin

 

[2good4U]

I just like competing. It is a big part of my nature and I need it in my life to feel accomplished and fulfilled.

Some people have a hole in their soul, and are desperate for ways to fulfill it.

 

[movdqa]

The challenge of improving, a bit of exercise, competition and social aspects.

 

[Sudacafan]

Just winning.

 

[Steady Eddy]

I like it when the ball goes off the exact sweet spot, and you get so much power with so little effort.

 

[Deleted member 742196]

I began liking tennis fairly late in life and if you didn’t grow up playing the sport it can be quite counter intuitive. In a real sense it was like learning to walk all over again.

As an adult you are naturally inclined in mind and body to shirk away from collision, to gently rein in something screaming in your direction.

Tennis was the opposite, to effectively find your strokes you have to seek that collision, we call it a contact point. You need to actively go to the ball coming somewhere in your direction. Then you need to find that calm to impart whatever it is you want to do to it.

I love the hundreds of tactile feedbacks from a session on court. There’s nothing quite like it. You try and try and try to control that ball and every contact point is an instant feedback of what you tried to do and what actually happened.

You learn how to “feel”, how awesome is that?

I also like that I can pretty much make tennis a lifestyle. It doesn’t matter anymore, I can go to Africa, Europe, China, Philippines and walk on to a tennis court and instantly connect with people. That’s also pretty terrific. You’re with someone but language isn’t a barrier because there’s a sort of international dialect of tennis between all of us. Whatever the age, race, gender or income group.

No other sport, or activity, makes me feel this way and that’s why I like playing tennis.

 

[-NN-]

Generally the pain after playing for hours on hard courts. It feels amazing in the evening and especially the morning.


However, I still find badminton more enjoyable to play and probably always will.