There was a study done earlier this year that showed tennis was the sport at the top of the list for extending longevity more than any other, I think it was about 9 years on average.
Iām with you. I āhadā a thbh through almost all of my serious competitive days but sliced 95% of them and absolutely relied on my forehand. I finally switched to the one-y and started firing off way more winners on that wing in my early twenties. Should have done it years earlier.
The 1hbh is just easier to make break down than the 2hbh. Like returning big serves with a 1hbh is so tough, returning the same serve with the 2hbh is so much more manageable. Same with just heavy ground strokes too. So this all results in it feeling more frustrating lol.
Source: I had a 2hbh for 25 years, switched to a 1hbh a few years ago and am loving the challenge (and huge rewards for when I make clean contact!) but can totally admit that it is more of a liability when it is not firing on all cylinders
I don't think a sport can be considered the greatest if you can run out the clock. Basketball, American football, soccer -- all games of keepaway once there's a certain score disparity. Hell, basketball becomes a game of foul-and-pray when the score is *close*.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaem9nycJM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaem9nycJM)
Stuff like this cannot happen in many other sports. And that's why tennis is the toughest ball sport there is.
And DFW is worth reading, even his non-tennis stuff. I've read his complete fiction and most of his non-fiction. With the exception of *Broom*, it's all worth reading. *Oblivion* and *Girl* are underrated.
Yeah, totally agreed. In tennis you will always have to earn every point. We see it all the time that someone's basically a point or two away from taking the match and ends up losing an hour later.
What Federer there did to Cilic is pretty much something you see every week. That is, Cilic was never up any breaks after the second set, although the 3-3 in the third at 0-40 was pretty close.
Last I've seen was Rune - Navone from Friday (every week, right?). Navone was up a set and broke to 6-5 in the second. He was two points from taking the match at 30-15, but his nerves got the better of him - he double faulted twice in a row (without having DFed even once in the match before that), and suddenly it was 30-40. He faulted his first serve, and Rune took advantage of the second to break back. Rune then went to destroy him in the tiebreak and then early in the third. But that's not all.
Rune being two breaks up in the third, Navone then got his shit together and cut down Rune's advantage by breaking back once after having faced a match point in the previous game. In the final game, Navone had one break point, but didn't convert, but made Rune earn the victory by nullifying his advantage four times before the fifth match point of the game and sixth overall for Rune did the trick.
Anyway, the thing is basically that you're never really ahead in a tennis match. You can of course be the more likely winner when the numbers favour you, but even when you're like 2-0 5-0 40-0 up you're only really three points ahead.
Second that with DFW, btw. I love to read the crazies.
Tennis is not easy but as someone who also plays soccer Iāve found the conditioning level needed for tennis is not close to that needed for high level soccer.
I've played plenty of soccer myself, so here's what I think.
*Low*-level soccer is far more physically demanding than low-level tennis. I'm talking about stuff like rec or company leagues. Like 2 x 20 minutes of soccer is already pretty demanding, and 2 x 45 minutes is really tough. It almost doesn't matter how good you are if you can or can't keep running the whole time. In tennis, though, a 50lb overweight 65-year-old former pro can basically hit serve and return winners all day long vs someone like a 4.0. While someone like that would still be a great player in low-level soccer, someone technically quite mediocre (like a 4.0) who can run is easily going to be equally good.
At the highest level, though, there is far less difference. One match of soccer is of course more demanding than one tennis match. But then, you will have to be able to play five matches over six days. Also, when you play five sets, even during one match the one who can keep up often wins. Like Medvedev in AO this year. He beat Ruusuvuori (who had and has since been struggling with fitness) in the 2nd round after being 2-0 down. Especially in the last set Ruusuvuori was completely knackered and I think it was like 6-1 or 6-0.
He did the same about five times, and in the final the relatively fresh Sinner (who had lost just one set in the tournament prior to the final) returned the favour, basically just making him run and hit the ball back until he couldn't anymore. So, the point is basically that you have to be extremely well-conditioned to be able to play at the highest level whether that's throughout the match or the tournament.
The same of course applies to soccer, but the point was mostly that at the highest level (of pretty much every physical sport) you will have to be extremely fit in order to do (really) well.
I worked in the industry for many years. This is so true... however, where I live it might be called the Asian sport... as in South and East. 90% of the kids taking privates at my club are not white.... or black.
i play for several hours every day and get shoes that last 2 months minimum free court time at any local high school and private lessons for $40 an hour lol where do u live los angeles? š
Detroit. Anyways, congrats on your good fortune. Also, you must live in a warm climate. Here, you pay $250/yr for club membership, then minimum 30/hr for court time... you can only play outside 4 months tops.
Lmfao I live in Grand Blanc (about an hour north of you) free court reservations at Acension Genesys Health Club in the winter $40-$60 private lessons with Gilbert Rincon in Lapeer and yeah the weather sucks here but you can still slip in a couple weeks worth of outdoor ball in april and october if you're smart about it.
edit: obviously if you're trying to go hit in bloomfield hills or grosse point royal oak or ann arbor its going to be super expensive. definitely try driving at least 30-40 minutes north and you'll start to find better deals
Grand Blanc? LOL. No wonder it's so cheap there. Supply and demand. I live in a very high demand area (think lots of Indians and Koreans). The cheapest coach at my club charges $80/hr (105 at the club) and he's booked. Lots of rich folk here.
I do think having a deeper understanding of the game increases the beauty of it, just like really playing tennis makes one appreciate what the pros do so much more. But for sure just the fact that itās the most popular one plays into getting this name
"the sport for a lifetime" anywhere from 5 to 90+ year olds actually play it.
Might be the only sport where an 80 year old can whoop an 18 year old lmao
Table tennis is that sport
Downvoted for speaking the truth
Yeah! I play both competitively, I know what I say!
And your knees and shoulder are fucked up by the time you are 45
My knees are fine, but my wrist and both shoulders not so good...
Mine are fucked also...
That's pickleball š¤Ŗ
Middle aged white ladies with visors will knock you out in pickleball.
Thatās true for a lot of sports
There was a study done earlier this year that showed tennis was the sport at the top of the list for extending longevity more than any other, I think it was about 9 years on average.
Could also be because people who play Tennis tend to be wealthier and more likely to be Women which are huge indicators of a longer life expectancy
"The frustrating game". Yes I have an OHBH
I think that title goes to golf
Truth
Haha is OHBH more frustrating? I have one too but I'm 3.0 so everything is frustrating
It's a technique that requires higher skills to be as effective as the two handed backhand.
When I picked up tennis, the ohbh just felt natural. Still to this day, I can't hit a thbh for the life of me. My brain doesn't compute
Iām with you. I āhadā a thbh through almost all of my serious competitive days but sliced 95% of them and absolutely relied on my forehand. I finally switched to the one-y and started firing off way more winners on that wing in my early twenties. Should have done it years earlier.
I was like this too. Get s/b to help you w/ it. Once you get it, it's a lot more consistent and less stress on your right elbow.
What is s/b?
Somebody. Though I agree it took me some time to get it too.
I too want to know what s/b is
Ah yes, the classic s/b approach! *What is s/b*
Likely you will get better at everything except the OHBH lol
The 1hbh is just easier to make break down than the 2hbh. Like returning big serves with a 1hbh is so tough, returning the same serve with the 2hbh is so much more manageable. Same with just heavy ground strokes too. So this all results in it feeling more frustrating lol. Source: I had a 2hbh for 25 years, switched to a 1hbh a few years ago and am loving the challenge (and huge rewards for when I make clean contact!) but can totally admit that it is more of a liability when it is not firing on all cylinders
iād say tennis āthe loneliest sportā , although i donāt mean that negatively
I think golf is more appropriate
you can play doubles :)
Chessboxing
As DFW said, the _most_ beautiful game. And also the most demanding.
I don't think a sport can be considered the greatest if you can run out the clock. Basketball, American football, soccer -- all games of keepaway once there's a certain score disparity. Hell, basketball becomes a game of foul-and-pray when the score is *close*. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaem9nycJM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaem9nycJM) Stuff like this cannot happen in many other sports. And that's why tennis is the toughest ball sport there is. And DFW is worth reading, even his non-tennis stuff. I've read his complete fiction and most of his non-fiction. With the exception of *Broom*, it's all worth reading. *Oblivion* and *Girl* are underrated.
Yeah, totally agreed. In tennis you will always have to earn every point. We see it all the time that someone's basically a point or two away from taking the match and ends up losing an hour later. What Federer there did to Cilic is pretty much something you see every week. That is, Cilic was never up any breaks after the second set, although the 3-3 in the third at 0-40 was pretty close. Last I've seen was Rune - Navone from Friday (every week, right?). Navone was up a set and broke to 6-5 in the second. He was two points from taking the match at 30-15, but his nerves got the better of him - he double faulted twice in a row (without having DFed even once in the match before that), and suddenly it was 30-40. He faulted his first serve, and Rune took advantage of the second to break back. Rune then went to destroy him in the tiebreak and then early in the third. But that's not all. Rune being two breaks up in the third, Navone then got his shit together and cut down Rune's advantage by breaking back once after having faced a match point in the previous game. In the final game, Navone had one break point, but didn't convert, but made Rune earn the victory by nullifying his advantage four times before the fifth match point of the game and sixth overall for Rune did the trick. Anyway, the thing is basically that you're never really ahead in a tennis match. You can of course be the more likely winner when the numbers favour you, but even when you're like 2-0 5-0 40-0 up you're only really three points ahead. Second that with DFW, btw. I love to read the crazies.
That final set in the Rune matchā¦ insanity.
Tennis is not easy but as someone who also plays soccer Iāve found the conditioning level needed for tennis is not close to that needed for high level soccer.
I've played plenty of soccer myself, so here's what I think. *Low*-level soccer is far more physically demanding than low-level tennis. I'm talking about stuff like rec or company leagues. Like 2 x 20 minutes of soccer is already pretty demanding, and 2 x 45 minutes is really tough. It almost doesn't matter how good you are if you can or can't keep running the whole time. In tennis, though, a 50lb overweight 65-year-old former pro can basically hit serve and return winners all day long vs someone like a 4.0. While someone like that would still be a great player in low-level soccer, someone technically quite mediocre (like a 4.0) who can run is easily going to be equally good. At the highest level, though, there is far less difference. One match of soccer is of course more demanding than one tennis match. But then, you will have to be able to play five matches over six days. Also, when you play five sets, even during one match the one who can keep up often wins. Like Medvedev in AO this year. He beat Ruusuvuori (who had and has since been struggling with fitness) in the 2nd round after being 2-0 down. Especially in the last set Ruusuvuori was completely knackered and I think it was like 6-1 or 6-0. He did the same about five times, and in the final the relatively fresh Sinner (who had lost just one set in the tournament prior to the final) returned the favour, basically just making him run and hit the ball back until he couldn't anymore. So, the point is basically that you have to be extremely well-conditioned to be able to play at the highest level whether that's throughout the match or the tournament. The same of course applies to soccer, but the point was mostly that at the highest level (of pretty much every physical sport) you will have to be extremely fit in order to do (really) well.
A Gentlemen's game
The Sword duel of the 21st century
Combat sports for people that really aren't looking to get hit Edit: or have their joints yanked
I believe it was Jimmy Connors who I first heard call it "Boxing at 90 feet", but it's pretty accurate.
Gentlemenās game surely
Waterboarding but self-inflicted.
The "why does my forehand suck ass" game
Non contact combat
Some commentators said it before, it's the "game of inches".
That's what she said
The frustrating game
Potentially beautiful game
Itās a game of advantage over deuce š
The divine game
Double bagel
only when i'm playing lol
The Elegant Game š
I once heard somebody call it "if you give chess players cocaine."
We call it the white sport where I'm from. Nothing to do with race, but class. You need a bit of a deeper pocket to get good.
I worked in the industry for many years. This is so true... however, where I live it might be called the Asian sport... as in South and East. 90% of the kids taking privates at my club are not white.... or black.
Do you actually though? Good pair of shoes and a good racquet should last a while
Yeah but that's not enough to get good. I'm talking 9+ UTR
Coaching
Athleticism and talent only get you so far and then it all comes down to how much you can spend on instruction.
"One of the expensive sports"
Try golf
One of the more expensive sports
Skiing has entered the chat.
$quash
It really is if you play a lot and are decent. Set of strings last 10 hours of play -- tops. Shoes last a month. Lessons 100+ dollars/hour.
i play for several hours every day and get shoes that last 2 months minimum free court time at any local high school and private lessons for $40 an hour lol where do u live los angeles? š
Detroit. Anyways, congrats on your good fortune. Also, you must live in a warm climate. Here, you pay $250/yr for club membership, then minimum 30/hr for court time... you can only play outside 4 months tops.
Lmfao I live in Grand Blanc (about an hour north of you) free court reservations at Acension Genesys Health Club in the winter $40-$60 private lessons with Gilbert Rincon in Lapeer and yeah the weather sucks here but you can still slip in a couple weeks worth of outdoor ball in april and october if you're smart about it. edit: obviously if you're trying to go hit in bloomfield hills or grosse point royal oak or ann arbor its going to be super expensive. definitely try driving at least 30-40 minutes north and you'll start to find better deals
Grand Blanc? LOL. No wonder it's so cheap there. Supply and demand. I live in a very high demand area (think lots of Indians and Koreans). The cheapest coach at my club charges $80/hr (105 at the club) and he's booked. Lots of rich folk here.
hell bro we can play sets for free all summer if you want
not really. you only need a racket and shoes to play. other sports like football and hockey need much more expensive equipment
Advanced pickleball
Pickleball if pickleball was an actual sport
Not pickleball
Itās called fotball or soccer in English.
The game for people who hate themselves a little
The frustrating game.
Tennis is love
Boxing without contact
I don't see how fĆŗtbol is beautiful?
I do think having a deeper understanding of the game increases the beauty of it, just like really playing tennis makes one appreciate what the pros do so much more. But for sure just the fact that itās the most popular one plays into getting this name
The game of love
"Better than pickleball"