Strings Attached

Game, Set, Match _OmerTalks

You know when you have these vivid recollections of what happened around a certain time in your life. Whist writing this post, I remember going to JJB Sports (old school right) and my dad buying 4 rackets. Of course I had the Federer Wilson racket, my sister and mum got a Prince and my dad bought himself a Head racket.

Honestly, I don’t think he ever played with that racket. Neither did my mum…

Shortly after purchasing the rackets our lessons started, doing drills and circuits to practice, foot movements, how to strike the ball and co-ordination techniques. At 12 years old I was asking multiple questions to the coach to help me improve my game. My sister on the other hand was less so interested, so we made her ball-girl.

I was a left-handed player, which was bitter-sweet, because Federer’s main rival at this time (Nadal) was a leftie, I also hit the background with two hands on the racket (again like Nadal) and to make it worse, I was far more aggressive (like Nadal) than I was slick (like Federer).

Regardless, Federer is the G.O.A.T - no debating.

After a few tennis lessons, I definitely found myself improving. Pair that with watching the sport and playing it occasionally at school during lunch breaks, ensured a level of progress was made.

What I’ve found is by aligning yourself to a group/coach when picking up a sport/fitness activity for the first time will help you stay more motivated to continue it.

Why? Well it creates an element of accountability and structure. Surrounded by other like-minded people who are willing to grow and improve, fosters that vision for you too. It did for me and to this day I join run/sprint/calisthenics clubs for that reason.

Fast forward to 2020 - I joined a tennis club near me - and continued playing here for 3 years.

Apart from occasional tennis matches or playing at school with friends, which resulted in more chat then matches. This was the first time playing tennis more regularly for a long time. I even started a side instagram account for it - thinking I was going to be some tennis inspirational guy.

Playing doubles was often the format I would play (2 vs 2) - although I personally always prefered singles. Playing from the back of the court and longer rallies was far more enjoyable.

See footage below of me hitting some forehands.

In doubles, volleys are often the way to secure points, standing tall at the net and closing down any opportunity for the opponent to make a passing shot - through the aggressive nature opponents who are unfamiliar with this game play usually crumble. So learn how to volley for sure when playing doubles.

Tennis is and will always be part of my top 3 favourite sports, to play and watch.

It’s one of the few sports I’ve played competitively for a long period of time - the fast paced rallies, strategic thinking in terms of ball placement and crazy run-arounds on the court all result in tennis being the sport I love playing.

With tennis, I had a clear passion for it - sometimes that’s all it takes to get started but to stick around I would definitely recommend joining a club/coaching group to actually see progress over a period of time. Even if you drop away, at least you can say you put in the effort and saw some tangible benefits - in terms of fitness, stamina and technique.

Plus it’s a good topic of conversation if you’re ever at a party and its dragging.