Playing or watching tennis is a very individualized experience

Peering into the cage during a boys tennis match, I wondered why there was even the concept of the “boys varsity tennis team.”  Aside from the matching purple polo shirts and white shorts, the team members are characterized by their unique quirks and skills.  

Each player has his own way of serving, his particular strengths and weaknesses and a distinct guttural noise that he produces when he hits the ball.  Especially during the singles matches, it seemed as if the players wouldn’t have minded if the tennis cage had fencing between the courts. Then stray balls from other games would stop rolling onto the other players’ courts in the middle of a rally. 

So I camped out at the far right court, with a camera in hand to observe the number one singles match going on at the time between junior Amreet Mohanty and a Lynbrook Viking.  With all the hype surrounding tennis at our school, I thought that the match would be filled with energy and enthusiasm.  

One set in, perhaps a total of six words were said by the two players on the court. Two of them were Mohanty repeating “yeah” when I asked him to confirm the score midway through a set. 

Ultimately, I chose to leave after getting a few pictures of Mohanty. Perhaps the victory celebrations are wilder affairs, but with people finishing at different times, I’m inclined to believe that the displays aren’t too elaborate.  After all, each player wins and loses alone. Every point won is by the player’s own merit, and each point lost is the player’s own error. 

While camaraderie may be the backbone of team sports, silence and individual focus seems to be tennis’ style.  And my individual choice is to stay away from watching such a quiet sport.  

{cc-by-nc-sa}