Tennis has given me the opportunity to interact with many different types of people. Playing on the tennis team at my school helped me meet new people who I would have never met in school. The experiences I have had with these different groups of people led me to change the stereotypes that I’ve had in my head. I’ve learned life lessons in tennis that go beyond what is being taught in school. One of the best parts about tennis is that it could be played by anyone. I’ve seen kids and the elderly of all ethnicities play this sport. This diversity causes many varying beliefs and ideas to meet. Before I started playing tennis, I had prejudices of other races. During my high school tennis career, I’ve played alongside teammates from differing
...become stronger and more ethnically and bodily diverse as a result of Serena Williams presence. Williams inspired young African Americans to become involved in professional athletics when she defied the unspoken rules of game by proving where one is from, what color one’s skin is, what shape one’s body is, and how much money one has, do not matter. In addition, her charitable interests and business deals outside of her sport have developed Williams into the woman she is and made her legacy undeniable. Youth today, are fascinated with Serena Williams and her success. Anyone, even without outside knowledge of tennis, could be drawn to the appeal of a hard working minority woman changing the rules of a game and how society sees that game and its players. The story of inspirational success against all odds is the Story of the queen of the court, Serena Williams.
A young African-American boy walks onto some rundown tennis courts at a local park with his father in Richmond, VA. Armed with an old wooden racket and a can of white tennis balls, his father begins to feed him some different shots and tells his son everything he knows about tennis. Being an African-American, this young boy did not have many friends that were as interested in tennis as he was. Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, Arthur Ashe’s desire to play was not encouraged by either race, but instead of giving up on the sport he loved, he continued playing to the dismay of many. Little did Ashe know, however, that his persistence would change the game forever. His efforts opened doors for many of the popular African-American tennis players, such as Serena and Venus Williams, MaliVai Washington, and Bryan Shelton. The class that he brought to the game of tennis and the bravery he showed by changing a sport dominated by whites made Arthur Ashe a legend in his own time.
This player points out that a person cannot understand the physical or social experience of tennis unless he or she also plays DI Women’s College Tennis. Consequently, DI Women’s College Tennis players often express a strong preference for interacting with other similar athletes. Her life would change drastically if she did not belong to OU women’s tennis. She eats, sleeps, and breathes tennis. The in-group/out-group distinction is a major reason why she would struggle with not belonging to this specific co-culture.
Some people may think that tennis is just a blow off sport, that it doesn’t take any talent, and anyone can do it. I started playing tennis about 4 years ago and I remember how hard it was to learn. One of my best friends and I started playing together and his dad had taught him how to play, when he first started teaching me I got really frustrated because I would keep hitting the ball out and I found out that playing and coaching tennis was much harder than it seemed.
The qualities I have developed on the tennis team have helped me become a better team member and individual. I now find myself volunteering more in my community to provide an example of never giving up and with the realization that someone is always there to help when you need help. Every day I am reminded that I could have given up. But I didn’t and that is what made me a stronger person to go forth and fulfill my dreams and
I earned a spot on varsity. Being on varsity gave me my first taste of truly competitive tennis. Usually during practices, we would be separated from the other girls not on varsity, and our coach would run special drills with us. Tennis is an energy demanding sport. Matches usually started around 8, although sometimes I had to wake up at 4 because of a long drive, and depending on how many teams were at the tournament, could end late in the evening, one day we didn’t finish until around 9pm. By this time in my tennis career, I knew all the rules of tennis inside and out. I would frequently help the players on the team newer to the sport with scoring, knowing where to stand to serve, and what grips to hold their rackets in. It was fun to teach them because they never would have guessed that there could be so many different ways to grip the racket, or angles to hit the
Sports play a very important role in my life ever since I could walk. My interests in playing sports began at the age of three as my parents signed me up for soccer, flag football, basketball, and lacrosse. First grade started my competitive edge as I began to play for travel teams in various sport tournaments. This competitive edge transferred from the sports field to the classroom having teachers and coaches helping me be the best I can be. Sports have continually well-shaped and defined my character by teaching me how to accept a win from working hard, also how a loss is an opportunity to learn and fix mistakes.
This did not last long as a white tennis player Alice Marble wrote in American Lawn Tennis “lambasting her sport for denying a player of Gibson's caliber to compete in the world's best tournaments ” (biography.com). Marble was all about encouraging racial diversity in sports and when someone as good as Gibson was not able to thrive she decided to do something about it. Because of this, Althea Gibson went on to become the first African American that competed at the U.S. National Championships and she was also the first black player to compete at Wimbledon. Not only did she break records in tennis, but she also broke records in golf as well. Tennis and golf were not the only sports undergoing racial transformations.
One can find sport at every level of competition producing a positive effect on the quest for racial equality in society. For example, young people from all racial and ethnic background integrate when they must work together for success in sport (Woods, 2016). Racially diverse athletes who succeed and have the platform to speak on these issues can also bring light to racial inequalities. Woods wrote about this platform in his strategies to combat challenges to racial diversity in sport. Woods appealed, “Prominent minority athletes must assume the responsibility of pointing out inconsistencies and inequities and using their popularity to help improve the future for other minority athletes” (p.306).
Tennis is a science. It can be brought down to 2 basic ideas: technique and repetition. These two factors will make you a strong tennis player and will allow you to hold your own in both doubles and singles matches. These two ideas can also be used to forge strong scientific experiments and ideas that other can work from. I started “playing” tennis in third grade when my mom signed me up for a tennis camp.
Once people start to learn how to play the game, they can become much more aware of their surroundings. Tennis not only requires one to watch the ball constantly, but also watch for other balls that may come onto the court. Playing tennis also requires the individual to practice. Similar with starting any new sport or club, many people are given the chance to meet new people who share something that they are both passionate about and can relate to. People are also given a chance to become more physically fit. Tennis requires many short sprints from one end of the court to the other, as well as constant conditioning to build up one’s strength, physically and mentally. Tennis can give many people the chance to become more physically active and expand their social life once they decide to incorporate it into their daily
As I quietly sat there in the patient’s chair, my heart was being ripped out and torn to shreds. “You can’t play tennis anymore. The condition you have can cause irreversible damage that could result in anything from extreme pain to paralysis to even death.” My doctor told me I had scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and basically told me I had to give up my favorite sport if I wanted to live. But how could I live without tennis?
Peer relationships, obeying authority, and looking up to a role model, are all character traits that are learned through the practice of athletics. During a normal match of tennis, many mistakes will be made. However, these mistakes will be able to tell you the flaws in your swing and the ability to fix them and continue competing without getting frustrated. Tennis teaches the ability to handle mistakes and to use them to your advantages. Tennis teaches many positive characteristics that benefit the athlete in many areas of
My love for tennis blossomed at the young age of eleven. During middle school my peers knew me as the boy who was remarkably talented at tennis and I savored that title. Butterflies floated throughout my youthful body whenever someone complimented me. As the years passed, my dad nurtured me into a top player. Before I knew it high school arrived and it was time to compete at a higher level. My excitement was out of this world, but I knew my dad could no longer push me forward and my future was up to me. However, the ego I developed over the years blocked what lie in front of me. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture; the hard work demanded of me, teamwork, and the motivation to reach an ultimate goal. Throughout my four years of participating
Have you ever wondered if one sport was better than the other? Maybe you have argued with a friend about this subject, but couldn’t give any reasons why. There are lots of sports out there, some that are very popular and some that people have never heard of. Each sport is unique compared to others. Everyone has their own opinion about a particular sport, but this essay is about two sports that I enjoy the most, tennis and golf. This essay will compare and contrast these two sports based on the facts.