Why Is Tennis So Hard?

Tennis has to be one of the hardest sports to learn and probably one of the costliest to master. But, what is it that makes it so hard to learn and become a pro when thousands of kids try yet, thousands more quit, and then of the few that are left injuries prevail and then nothing comes out of it? I wanted to have an explanation. I searched everywhere for this explanation, spoke to many coaches, looked at the governing body website and no answer. As a student of the game and a defacto coach and as a fan, this is my take on why tennis is so hard. The best way to describe tennis is through this picture:

As you can see, the race is against time and against all the elements surrounding tennis.

If you speak to any child psychologist you will learn that kids like things in periods of time, the cycle is usually 4 years. This means that kids maybe into something for 4 years and then into something else. So, in tennis a parent has only 2.5 of these 4 yr. cycles. Developing a champ takes about 10 years, please understand a champ, not a top pro or a world’s number one. By champ I mean; a truly competent kid who wins tournaments and has a level of skill that is superior to most.

This is where the tricky parts come into play to be superior you must learn in that ten-year period the right things at the right time. This means that parents need to know exactly what to do at age 4-5 and then know what to do at age 8-9 and then at age 12-13. That is it. There are no more cycles in the development of a champ. I believe that it is the governing body’s obligation to explain and teach the parents what needs to be done by when. Coaches don’t know this. The famous ones, barely have time to help others and charge a ridiculous amount per hour that no one can afford. So, they are also of no help.

This is why learning tennis is so hard and being a pro is basically impossible.

Because most parents are clueless and so are the coaches, they don’t know what to do. Add to this bad mix, the governing body, it is just as uninformed as it has no instruction for parents in this matter, or parent advisors or parent involvement. To top it off, add to that terrible recipe the costs involved and the number of errors that would be made. The way tournaments are set up, the way coaches train, the need for other sports in the development of tennis players, the need for mental training, injuries, etc.

But does it have to be that way?

Of course not. There is a clear solution to this challenging problem. It’s called EDUCATION for coaches, kids, and for parents. I am writing a book on what needs to be taught but basically, these key ideas need to be taught to the vast amounts of good people making ignorant decisions.

Tennis is a game, it is meant to be FUN for all, especially the players. By the age of 12, the kids need to be very good at many sports, not only tennis? Parents, your kids will not be pro’s and if you stopped acting like they were, you probably will start having a better relationship with them and prevent them from quitting. How much mental training do you do? How are you helping tennis in America? What are you doing to involve others who don’t have the means to pay for everything? How much of your time are you giving out to help? It is very probable to be anything you want to be, you just can’t waste time and be ignorant? So what are you doing about it? In America, we can send a man to Mars, and we can’t get a Grand Slam champion in 20 years?

Give me a break, of course, we can!

So why is tennis so hard? Because we make it hard, we are at fault.

When are we going to finally realize that Tennis is a TEAM sport? And start acting like a TEAM. For our kids, for our future and for our country. It is not that hard, we just chose to make it.

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