Somewhere in this tennis world there are people who ask prospective partners questions like “What do you feel is your strength?, Your weakness?, What side do you play?”.
But those aren’t the real questions bouncing around in your head. I consulted with my fellow tennis empaths. We know your pain. What someone asks you to partner up, what you really want to ask them is:
Do you put on a visual display of agitation, sigh, gesture or otherwise get demonstrative when your partner misses a sitter?
Do you like to tell you partner where to stand, when to move and how to play every ball?
Do you lecture your partner after he misses a shot?
Do you lecture your partner after you miss a shot.
Is it ever your fault when you lose a point?
Do you count the number of volleys your partner has missed at net? Especially off of service returns when you are serving?
Do you count the times your partner has his serve broken, which is never his net players fault?
But my favorite observation comes from contributor Vitamin K. It is the unvarnished truth and entirely overlooked:
“Do you construct the narrative as to why you lost based on your partner's play as the match goes on (just in case you lose)”? (Editor’s note: any player who can admit they do this in their head during a match gets high praise for their tennis TSA (tennis self-awareness)).
OK, but how do you recognize the qualities in a player you want to partner with? From contributor Just a (tennis) Junkie:
How I know I want to play with this person? When (s)he says “I suck” or “F-me” after missing a sitter. I think “Okay, we’re compatible!!”.
Now that’s a high level of TSA!
I need the wisdom of the tennis community. Share, comment, contribute!
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