Billie Jean King, Pete Sampras, Serena Williams, John McEnroe.
Tennis has always been a magnet for interesting athletes and unique personalities, and this has naturally lead to some great quotes over the years.
Here are five of our favourite tennis quotes, in no particular order:
BORIS BECKER:
The Quote:
I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I love to play.
Why we like it: There are two types of elite athletes – those who are motivated primarily by winning (or hatred of losing), and those who love the game so much that they can’t stop playing. Many Hong Kong tennis players are not planning to compete professionally – winning and losing is much less important than enjoying the game.
SERENA WILLIAMS:
The Quote:
I’m a perfectionist. I’m pretty much insatiable. I feel there’s so many things I can improve on.
Why we like it: If one of the all-time greats has things to work on, then we all have things to work on. The journey to becoming the best tennis player we can is never complete. Even after achieving great things in tennis, Serena strives to be better each and every day.
VENUS WILLIAMS
The Quote:
Tennis is mostly mental. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.
Why we like it: Serena’s sister has some wisdom to share too. We believe that preparation and preparedness are key to success, and it’s reassuring to hear that she agrees. If you think you are going to fail before you even try…you probably will.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
The Quote:
Tennis is a mental game. Everyone is fit, everyone hits great forehands and backhands.
Why we like it: Similar to the Venus quote, the recent Wimbledon winner doesn’t think it’s physical skill that determines greatness – at a certain level, everybody has physical skill. The same is true for other sports – Michael Jordan was never the biggest or strongest basketball player, but he was among the smartest and is considered the best.
BILLIE JEAN KING
The Quote:
Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Why we like it: Nobody rolls out of bed and becomes a tennis legend. It takes years of hard work. Whether fighting for equality between the sexes or reigning supreme over (arguably) the greatest generation of female tennis stars in the 70’s, Billie Jean King practices what she preaches.
We’ll leave you with some tennis humour, courtesy of the late American comedian Mitch Hedberg:
The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall.
Why we like it: It made us laugh.
Do you have a favourite tennis quote? Let us know in the comments! Better yet, come join our community and let us know in person – registration for adult programmes are on-going, visit http://www.atatennisaces.com/adult-programme/ to register.
