I have played tennis since I was 12 years of age, I am now 49. I still remember my very first City tennis tournament at the Blue Gum Park Tennis Club in Perth where I lost a tight one, 5-7, 6-7 in the first round, I never forget a score.
During that match my eye caught a really good older player on the court behind us, probably one of the higher seeded players in the 18's.
His play was rather outstanding as I watched him hit a few shots though what he said to his opponent at one stage in that match has stuck with me to this day.
'You're weak mate'.
I thought I was hearing things.
'YOU'RE WEAK MATE'.
Yep that's what he said to his 'weaker' opponent.
That was my very first introduction to tennis 'sledging' which I was somewhat surprised about but I took that away with me and put it in the book of tennis knowledge in my mind to sift through at a later date.
I wondered why that hot shot player had said those words to a lesser credentialed player however as I have aged I have seen it more and more and seen it spill into coaching, nature of the sport I call it.
When I trained in Queensland in the late 80's I recall four players in particular who were complete arseholes and another four players who were rather unassuming with their everyday business on and off court.
Here's what transpired.
The four arseholes never made a dollar from the sport, a real shame as they paraded around that tennis facility as though it was their own back yard. Their behaviour included regular peanut gallery comments while some of us were trying to concentrate on our training or our challenge matches.
The four unassuming players ?
Well here's their names for you.
Neil Borwick ( World number 104 singles 1993 , World number 60 doubles, 1992 )
Andrew Kratzmann ( World number 13 doubles 2000 )
Peter Trammachi ( World number 45 doubles 1999, World number 127 singles 1998 )
Pat Rafter ( World number 1 singles 1999 )
For the record, I never hit with Rafter or Borwick as Neil was in the top squad and Pat was in the fourth squad. I used to hit daily with Trammachi and Kratzmann in squad number 2.
There were a lot more guys trying to make a dollar from the game at the Coops tennis training facility back then but those eight players in particular left a lasting impression on me with their attitude at the time and where they in fact ended up with their tennis.
The four who I speak of in somewhat derogatory terms reminded me of that hot shot who I so vividly remember at my first City tournament.
I wonder where he ended up with his tennis ?
The egos of the four loud mouths at Coops were out of control yet they believed in their own minds that tennis owed them a living and they would simply walk onto the Pro Tour due to their high opinion of themselves.
Good luck with that attitude.
Names ?
Well I can't print their names for legal purposes obviously however one day I would like to send them all a Xmas card and suggest to them that with a slight tweak in attitude they may just have added their names to the list of Borwick, Trammachi, Kratzmann and Rafter as successful tennis professionals.
Such is life.
The egotistical side of tennis coaching is rather comical to say the least and I could write pages and pages on some of the things I have both seen and read over the years.
I wrote rather fondly some time ago about the coach who challenged me to a match because he didn't like what I wrote on this site. Well he's not actually a bad bloke, just rather passionate about tennis, as I am so I didn't really take too much offence to his comments, I simply offered him a rather lengthy reply as to why I write what I write.
Last tennis season I read something that I still can't quite fathom, a coach was boasting that they had a 'waiting list' for private lessons. Seriously ?? Never heard of it.
At $60 to $80 per hour this coach apparently was so good at their craft that students were banging the door down to get a lesson.
By all reports this particular program is now struggling for numbers, interesting.
Was it all in the mind do you think ?
Well that's tennis in a nutshell isn't it ?
Ego at it's absolute best.
Some will write things on their site that aren't actually true but it makes them sound like they are gods gift to the sport all to justify that rather tasty hourly price tag that has self importance written all over it.
Tennis players and coaches alike will always own an ego because it's an individual sport, it's the nature of tennis, it's like boxing, a one on one combat sport where a knock out punch is required for a victory.
When the victory eventuates it's up to the individual how to handle the success, some do it better than others, nature of the sport......
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