Your biggest regret

[mxmx]

To me the biggest regret is that Sampras retired too soon...and did not know that chasing a legacy would have been so important. If he knew this, he would have taken some aspects more seriously.

I think the biggest regret will soon be when Federer retires. I am not a fan but he is certainly a driving force for the game and very interesting to watch.

 

[Frankc]

To me the biggest regret is that Sampras retired too soon...and did not know that chasing a legacy would have been so important. If he knew this, he would have taken some aspects more seriously.

I think the biggest regret will soon be when Federer retires. I am not a fan but he is certainly a driving force for the game and very interesting to watch.

Agreed with Fed... I find that I am finding other avenues now and not watching tennis... New to me, but true.

 

[heninfan99]

reading this thread

 

[pc1]

To me the biggest regret is that Sampras retired too soon...and did not know that chasing a legacy would have been so important. If he knew this, he would have taken some aspects more seriously.

I think the biggest regret will soon be when Federer retires. I am not a fan but he is certainly a driving force for the game and very interesting to watch.

Maybe Miloslav Mecir having to retire early before he fulfilled his great potential. Perhaps Borg retiring so early. McEnroe not really being a factor in majors after age 26 when he was in the final of the US Open in 1985. I suppose in general not having some of the greats of the past not being able to play Open Tennis.

When Seles was injured of course and when some of the great female players retired like Graf, Evert, Navratilova etc. Not seeing Evonne Goolagong enough play.

 

[Gizo]

1) - Gerulaitis never beating Borg in an official tournament match, being on the receiving end of some brutal beat downs.
2) - Mauresmo's disastrous record at RG for such a talented player. She never reached a single semi-final there despite winning good quality clay court titles at Rome (twice), Berlin (twice), Amelia Island and Warsaw. She often choked under the pressure there in early round matches, like against Jana Kandarr in R1 in 2001.
3) - Goolagong never winning the US Open title. She lost in 4 consecutive finals there from 1973-1976, against Court, King and then Evert twice.

Argentina never winning the Davis Cup title would have been top of my list until 2 weeks ago.

 

[BTURNER]

The biggest regret in tennis has to be that for over a century, tennis was played with fans being entertained, and paying ticket prices to tennis venues and promoters, with barely a dime going to the people who provided the entertainment at their bodies expense.

Think of all the players who's names you will never know, who could have stayed in the game, and become greats or near greats but for the fact they could not pay a rent, and help feed a family of parents, siblings or spouses enough to stay and do what other people got money for them to do.


Lets not forget what happened to those who had the wrong shade to their skin, or wrong shape to their eyes or worshiped in an unpopular house of worship so their invitation to inner circles which controlled competitive play and court/ coaching access was never even possible. That is a pretty big regret too.

 

[BTURNER]

The biggest regret in tennis has to be that for over a century, tennis was played with fans being entertained, and paying ticket prices to tennis venues and promoters, with barely a dime going to the people who provided the entertainment at their bodies expense.

Think of all the players who's names you will never know, who could have stayed in the game, and become greats or near greats but for the fact they could not pay a rent, and help feed a family of parents, siblings or spouses enough to stay and do what other people got money for them to do.


Lets not forget what happened to those who had the wrong shade to their skin, or wrong shape to their eyes or worshiped in an unpopular house of worship so their invitation to inner circles which controlled competitive play and court/ coaching access was never even possible. That is a pretty big regret too.

Most of the worst calls in tennis history had nothing to do with a line and a ball.

Sorry for the double post.

 

[Phoenix1983]

The biggest regret in tennis has to be that for over a century, tennis was played with fans being entertained, and paying ticket prices to tennis venues and promoters, with barely a dime going to the people who provided the entertainment at their bodies expense.

Think of all the players who's names you will never know, who could have stayed in the game, and become greats or near greats but for the fact they could not pay a rent, and help feed a family of parents, siblings or spouses enough to stay and do what other people got money for them to do.


Lets not forget what happened to those who had the wrong shade to their skin, or wrong shape to their eyes or worshiped in an unpopular house of worship so their invitation to inner circles which controlled competitive play and court/ coaching access was never even possible. That is a pretty big regret too.

What a pessimist you are. Depressed me just reading your spin on tennis history.

 

[jaggy]

I've had a few

 

[BTURNER]

What a pessimist you are. Depressed me just reading your spin on tennis history.

I am surprised you never thought about this stuff before.

 

[DMP]

Connolly's injury.

Ashe's early death.

Von Cramm and the Nazis.

Personally: never seeing Hoad in his prime.

 

[galain]

Pat Rafter steamrolling Agassi and looking dead on course to final (and probably win against Schuettler) the Australian Open - and then crashing at the last hurdle with cramps.

 

[galain]

And Lendl never winning Wimby. He came close.

 

[scootad.]

Seles' stabbing. [no I don't wanna turn this into one of the those threads, but it's truly one of the biggest unfortunate regrettable events in tennis history]

 

[Shaolin]

Fed hitting that serve to Djokovic's FH 2011 US Open final.

 

[Mainad]

Fed hitting that serve to Djokovic's FH 2011 US Open final.

"Oh God, I could've been on 18 Slams by now and he only on 11. Why didn't I go down the middle with that serve, why oh why???"

 

[boredone3456]

All of the above are good

For me

1. Dementieva never winning a major despite making 2 finals and having decent shots to win both of them, as well as multiple other SF appearances.
2. Tracy Austin and her repeated injuries essentially ending her career despite comeback attempts.
3. Lenglen and Wills Moody never having a real rivalry

 

[kiteboard]

The biggest regret in tennis has to be that for over a century, tennis was played with fans being entertained, and paying ticket prices to tennis venues and promoters, with barely a dime going to the people who provided the entertainment at their bodies expense.

Think of all the players who's names you will never know, who could have stayed in the game, and become greats or near greats but for the fact they could not pay a rent, and help feed a family of parents, siblings or spouses enough to stay and do what other people got money for them to do.


Lets not forget what happened to those who had the wrong shade to their skin, or wrong shape to their eyes or worshiped in an unpopular house of worship so their invitation to inner circles which controlled competitive play and court/ coaching access was never even possible. That is a pretty big regret too.

Listen to this guy, but will has more to do with tennis than money or coaching.

 

[Vegito]

Deleted post.

 

[thrust]

And Lendl never winning Wimby. He came close.

For me, Rosewall losing the 70 Wimbledon final in 5 sets to Newcombe, at age 35
The Seles stabbing which probably changed the history of the women's game in favor of Graf.

 

[hoodjem]

My biggest regret is that I did not take tennis as seriously as I could in high school. It was just a way to join a team and have fun in the afternoons. I could have trained harder and taken more lessons.

The biggest regret I have for tennis is that Borg left the competitive game when he did.

 

[eldanger25]

As far as "fan" regrets, all-time I regret the spat between Jimmy Connors and RG that led to his banning in 1974, and his nose-thumbing refusal to return to the event until the 1979 edition. As far as 1974, Connors is still the only Open Era man bar Laver to go undefeated at the majors in a given calendar year (20-0 at the other 3 majors in 1974), and it would've been tremendous to learn if he could've taken the trophy in Paris and maintained his pace at the following major events.

I also think he'd have been a favorite or co-favorite in 1975 (when he straight-setted Borg in the Open semis on green clay a few months after the Swede won RG; and beat Pecci-Laver-Rosewall back-to-back-to-back to win the Volvo on red clay earlier that summer), and in 1976 (when he won big titles on red and green clay that whole summer, and then took 9 out of 10 sets from Kodes-Vilas-Borg to win the Open on clay, perhaps his greatest major title run).

As an aside, I'd give Jimmy a puncher's chance in 1977 too; not sure if any mere mortal beats Borg at the RG '78 edition.

Some of the above is influenced by how stats-conscious modern fans have become. It's important to remind that a cluster of players sitting on 7 to 11 majors (Mac, Connors, Borg, and to an extent Lendl although he was the first modern 4x majors a year guy), are as or nearly as great and accomplished, and from a certain vantage point more legendary, than the Open Era folks currently sitting between 12 and 17 slams. These guys literally redefined the sport - particularly Borg and Connors, who represented the last gasp of the pre-Open Era pro tour sensibilities - but they skipped some majors to grow the game and challenge its leadership in other ways, and have suffered as quantitative approaches to measuring success/achievement take over across all sports.

In terms of current players, I have some sympathy for Nadal's injury woes. He'd have been a real contender at RG 2004, Wimbledon 2009, the 2012 Open, Australia 2013, and the 2014 Open. When you're talking about a guy within striking distance of Federer's 17 majors, it's a shame Nadal didn't get a few more chances to inch closer to Rog.

Also, Kuerten's hip. He was making a similar leap from clay- to all-court great that Nadal made before that damn hip injury.

 

[pc1]

As far as "fan" regrets, all-time I regret the spat between Jimmy Connors and RG that led to his banning in 1974, and his nose-thumbing refusal to return to the event until the 1979 edition. As far as 1974, Connors is still the only Open Era man bar Laver to go undefeated at the majors in a given calendar year (20-0 at the other 3 majors in 1974), and it would've been tremendous to learn if he could've taken the trophy in Paris and maintained his pace at the following major events.

I also think he'd have been a favorite or co-favorite in 1975 (when he straight-setted Borg in the Open semis on green clay a few months after the Swede won RG; and beat Pecci-Laver-Rosewall back-to-back-to-back to win the Volvo on red clay earlier that summer), and in 1976 (when he won big titles on red and green clay that whole summer, and then took 9 out of 10 sets from Kodes-Vilas-Borg to win the Open on clay, perhaps his greatest major title run).

As an aside, I'd give Jimmy a puncher's chance in 1977 too; not sure if any mere mortal beats Borg at the RG '78 edition.

Some of the above is influenced by how stats-conscious modern fans have become. It's important to remind that a cluster of players sitting on 7 to 11 majors (Mac, Connors, Borg, and to an extent Lendl although he was the first modern 4x majors a year guy), are as or nearly as great and accomplished, and from a certain vantage point more legendary, than the Open Era folks currently sitting between 12 and 17 slams. These guys literally redefined the sport - particularly Borg and Connors, who represented the last gasp of the pre-Open Era pro tour sensibilities - but they skipped some majors to grow the game and challenge its leadership in other ways, and have suffered as quantitative approaches to measuring success/achievement take over across all sports.

In terms of current players, I have some sympathy for Nadal's injury woes. He'd have been a real contender at RG 2004, Wimbledon 2009, the 2012 Open, Australia 2013, and the 2014 Open. When you're talking about a guy within striking distance of Federer's 17 majors, it's a shame Nadal didn't get a few more chances to inch closer to Rog.

Also, Kuerten's hip. He was making a similar leap from clay- to all-court great that Nadal made before that damn hip injury.

Great post eldanger25. Totally logical. I agree with you about Kuerten.

 

[pc1]

My biggest regret is that I did not take tennis as seriously as I could in high school. It was just a way to join a team and have fun in the afternoons. I could have trained harder and taken more lessons.

The biggest regret I have for tennis is that Borg left the competitive game when he did.

I only wish my high school had a tennis team. I had to settled for the chess team which wasn't bad by the way. The chess team in my school was pretty great.

I guess I had to pick between studying Laver, Newcombe and Rosewall to studying the game of Fischer, Petrosian, Karpov and Spassky. Physically I could never match the talent of Laver and Newcombe but at least in chess I could pick up the pieces as well as Karpov. LOL.

 

[BTURNER]

I only wish my high school had a tennis team. I had to settled for the chess team which wasn't bad by the way. The chess team in my school was pretty great.

I guess I had to pick between studying Laver, Newcombe and Rosewall to studying the game of Fischer, Petrosian, Karpov and Spassky. Physically I could never match the talent of Laver and Newcombe but at least in chess I could pick up the pieces as well as Karpov. LOL.

What I like about chess, is that my pieces always go where I intend them to go. That does not happen nearly as often with my tennis balls . And of course the 'rest period' is a lot longer.

 

[hoodjem]

I also regret getting a Wilson T2000. My parents were not wealthy, and I could not get another racquet for over a year.

I had to play with that piece of junk for a long time.

 

[pc1]

I also regret getting a Wilson T2000. My parents were not wealthy, and I could not get another racquet for over a year.

I had to play with that piece of junk for a long time.

You could still sell it to Jimmy Connors. It's a credit to what a great ball striker he was that he could control that blasted thing.

What is amazing is that two of the greatest players ever, Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors used two racquets that were horrible. Laver used the Chemold which was just awful. I would bet Laver would have done a lot better if he didn't endorse that racquet. I believe he painted some wooden racquets at times to make it seem like it was Chemold. Some have said Laver may have won a few extra majors if he didn't used Chemold. I don't think anyone is going to cry over Laver's "poor" record however. LOL.

 

[hoodjem]

Some have said Laver may have won a few extra majors if he didn't use Chemold.

I have heard that before from other sources.

You may be right.

 

[pc1]

I have heard that before from other sources.

You may be right.

I would think if just about every top player used a Chemold their winning percentages would go down.

 

[Gmidkiff]

Of course, the Seles stabbing . But worse than the stabbing was Seles not being able to regain her level of play after she returned . The cards never fell into place for Seles and that's very unfortunate.


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[suwanee4712]

- Hana not taking time off from the tour earlier to properly heal her body and her mind. She waited too late and during a time of transition in the game of tennis itself.
- Jaeger not being able to hire a coach and go out on her own sans her father.
- Ruzici never once beating Chris. 0 for 25 is pretty painful. She was good enough to do it, but not strong enough mentally.
- Gaby and Conchita never making a French final, and Sukova never making a Wimbledon SF let alone a final.
- Shriver never winning a singles slam.

 

[dgold44]

To me the biggest regret is that Sampras retired too soon...and did not know that chasing a legacy would have been so important. If he knew this, he would have taken some aspects more seriously.

I think the biggest regret will soon be when Federer retires. I am not a fan but he is certainly a driving force for the game and very interesting to watch.

Well.. Sampras was totally fried and dead from the game. He has nothing left and prior to winning his last slam - he was being knocked out in the early rounds of every tournament. Nobody figured Sampras would survive the first week of the US open. Not only did he have an utterly brutal draw but we managed to "cream" a lot of great players to win it.

My biggest regret i dont know ?? Would have been nice to see Rafter and Roddick win Wimbledon. Would have been great if Agassi beat Sampras in one of those 3 slam US open finals.
Lendl not winning Wimbledon, well maybe too.

 

[mxmx]

I also regret Hingis' and Capriati's break from the game back then...Two of my favourite female players.

 

[Bill W]

that I quit playing in my prime and haven't raised a racquet for over 25 years...until now...

 

[hoodjem]

The biggest regret in tennis has to be that for over a century, tennis was played with fans being entertained, and paying ticket prices to tennis venues and promoters, with barely a dime going to the people who provided the entertainment at their bodies expense.

Think of all the players who's names you will never know, who could have stayed in the game, and become greats or near greats but for the fact they could not pay a rent, and help feed a family of parents, siblings or spouses enough to stay and do what other people got money for them to do.

Sounds exactly like college football.

 

[BTURNER]

Sounds exactly like college football.

It does. but this travesty went on longer and was pervasive on three continents.

 

[Djokovic2011]

- Hana not taking time off from the tour earlier to properly heal her body and her mind. She waited too late and during a time of transition in the game of tennis itself.
- Jaeger not being able to hire a coach and go out on her own sans her father.
- Ruzici never once beating Chris. 0 for 25 is pretty painful. She was good enough to do it, but not strong enough mentally.
- Gaby and Conchita never making a French final, and Sukova never making a Wimbledon SF let alone a final.
- Shriver never winning a singles slam.

Martinez did actually reach the FO final in 2000, losing to Pierce in straight sets.

 

[hoodjem]

It does. But this travesty went on longer and was pervasive on three continents.

All true.

 

[suwanee4712]

Martinez did actually reach the FO final in 2000, losing to Pierce in straight sets.

I stand corrected.

To be honest, I took a break from tennis for a few years during that period.

 

[Crocodile]

I think Sam Stouser losing to Fracescsa Sciavoni in the French would be her biggest regret, it was the final she should have never lost and she just got the yips . I don't think Francesca ever reached any heights after that. Sam off course won the US after that beating Serena who at the time was just coming back from illness, so Sam can be proud of that achievement, a pity she is a long way from those days now.

 

[boredone3456]

I think Sam Stouser losing to Fracescsa Sciavoni in the French would be her biggest regret, it was the final she should have never lost and she just got the yips . I don't think Francesca ever reached any heights after that. Sam off course won the US after that beating Serena who at the time was just coming back from illness, so Sam can be proud of that achievement, a pity she is a long way from those days now.

Ya I would agree, Sam was the huge favorite to win that match after going through Henin, Serena and Jankovic to get to that final. Schiavone, by comparison, had a far easier road to the final (Li Na and an injured Dementieva being her biggest conquests).

I'd say Sam may be full of regrets at the French Open. 2009 was a missed opportunity, she had real chances to take control against Kuznetsova in the SF and couldn't do it, and given how Safina imploded in the final the title could have been hers that year. Even 2012 losing the SF to Errani, missed the chance to play another final. However I don't think she would have beaten Sharapova that year so maybe its not a major missed opportunity.

 

[PDJ]

Ya I would agree, Sam was the huge favorite to win that match after going through Henin, Serena and Jankovic to get to that final. Schiavone, by comparison, had a far easier road to the final (Li Na and an injured Dementieva being her biggest conquests).

I'd say Sam may be full of regrets at the French Open. 2009 was a missed opportunity, she had real chances to take control against Kuznetsova in the SF and couldn't do it, and given how Safina imploded in the final the title could have been hers that year. Even 2012 losing the SF to Errani, missed the chance to play another final. However I don't think she would have beaten Sharapova that year so maybe its not a major missed opportunity.

As good as Stosur can be against Serena Williams, she's as bad (really bad) against Sharapova. Just falls apart.
But, her wins over Williams are quite an achievement. Kudos.

 

[Gmidkiff]

Navratilova losing that '94 Wimbledon final SUCKED. Getting to the finals was great , but winning that 10th Wimbledon would have been the perfect for her to end her career.

Capriati not making a US Open final . Three crushing 3rd set tiebreaker losses in 4 semifinals .

I would have really liked for JJ to have won a Slam.


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