Tennis, Tennis, & More Tennis
Plus: tennis, tennis, and tennis.
Oh, it’s been a heck of a week. I feel like I’m floating on air. Or just really tired. I spent several hours each day of last week at Austin’s newest sporting event, the ATX Open. More about that later, but suffice it to say, this tennis nerd had a time.
Reading
String Theory by David Foster Wallace
Any reading in the realm of tennis has to feature the work of David Foster Wallace, a brilliant and now deceased writer known for long, post-modernist tomes. But he also was really into this sport and wrote much be-endnoted text about it. The most memorable to my mind is his discussion of growing up playing tennis in the harsh wind of down-state Illinois. As someone from the panhandle of Texas, I empathize.
Late to the Ball by Gerald Marzorati
The one hit a little too close to home, but in a good way. Gerald decided to start taking tennis really seriously in his late 40s. That sounds familiar. He sets off to see just how good he can get, and while the end result isn’t all the surprising, it is fascinating to see the intersection of aging and competition in someone who loves the sport. Marzorati often writes about tennis for the New Yorker, and that work is worth a read as well.
Writing
“Professional Tennis Comes to Austin”
Within a few days of this going out, my wrap up piece for the Chronicle will be published, but here’s my opener. It highlights eight players I was excited to see. As a prediction of success it failed miserably. Two had to withdraw, three didn’t make it out of the first round, and only one made it to the semi-finals. Oh, and neither of the finalists made my list. I was America-centric, so that didn’t help. Still, I hope this prompted some people to get amped for the tournament.
Watching
Break Point
I’ve only caught one episode of this documentary, but so far, so good. It goes behind the scenes of the 2022 world tennis tour and profiles that 2nd tier of non-Serena, Roger, Rafa, and Novak. As an avid tennis watcher, I know all these players, but it’s very cool seeing them both on court and off, with extremely high production values throughout. Worth a watch for any sports fan.
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
This documentary is a trip. It takes decades old actual film footage from the French Open and attempts to craft a philosophical treatise on the pursuit of perfection by none other than Johnny Mac. It starts with an absolute bang, showing the slowest of slow-motion footage of his iconic serve paired with Sonic Youth’s slow-burn rocker “The Sprawl.” It kills. The rest of the movie is pretty good, too.
Available on Kanopy from your local library.
Listening
The Tennis Podcast
How does one listen to tennis? How about a podcast by a couple of Brits who follow the sport as closely as anyone. Catherine Whitaker and David Law bring all that English sass to play every week. No better way to keep up with the tour.
Moving
Cardio for Tennis
Playing competitive tennis is a bear. Anyone who thinks it’s easy needs to get off my lawn. I regularly average (AVERAGE!) 85-90% of a my max heart rate for a 90 minute match. There’s just no time to ever recover, and failing to sprint for a ball is not an option. So what to do? Intervals. The only way I’m going to recover faster is by training to recover fast. My favorite methodology is jumping rope. I hit it until I get my heart rate way up, and shuffle around while it falls 30 or so beats. Peat and repeat.
Strength for Tennis
The best advice I have here is to go unilateral. Let’s go upper and lower.
Bulgarian Split Squat: Start off with just body weight and put one leg back on a bench or a couch. The top of the foot is facing straight down. Support most of your weight on the other leg and squat down until the back leg’s knee touches the ground. (I use a small cushion for padding.) Sets of eight would be great. These are universally hated for how bad they can suck, but start small and move up. I’m currently holding a 50 lbs. kettlebell in my off hand. Next stop, 70 lbs!
Half-kneeling Press: Put one knee on the ground and the opposite foot flat out in the front. Grab a dumbbell with the knee-down-side arm and press straight overhead. You not only get shoulder strength but hip mobility. Two-fer. Don’t say I never did anything for you.
Living (in Austin)
The ATX Open
Hanging out all week at a country club isn’t a normal occurrence for me, but watching lots of tennis is. Last week’s ATX Open was a WTA 250 event and brought some pretty decent players to our town. I’ve watched a good amount of collegiate tennis, but this was special, getting to see top-level pros do their thing. I’ll definitely be back next year as I anticipate this being a feature of our sports scene for the foreseeable future.
Miscellany
Favorite Tennis Gear
Half the fun of playing tennis is the toys. I love that sporty chicken!
Asics Court FF 2 Tennis Shoes
Volkl C10 Pro Racquet
Le Coq Sportif Black Cap
What’s Next
Not tennis.
Maybe, just maybe, a little thing called South by Southwest. Buckle.