Article August 5, 1972 Issue

Whose Game Are You Playing?

GLORIA McELROY READ

The most frustrating game one can play on the tennis court is the other person's. To play the opponent's game is to play defensively. This is not necessary when one is sure of his own game. To gain confidence, whether in tennis or in life itself, one must understand certain fundamentals and practice them. One can learn, if he is given the right instructions and follows them.

A recent experience of mine brought to focus certain facts along these lines. I was badly beaten in a tennis match. The fact that I was beaten did not disturb me. But it was clear to me that I was actually the better player and had lost the match by reacting to the unsportsmanlike conduct of my opponent—that did bother me.

I had become so concerned with my opponent's behavior—how she invariably called in her favor every questionable shot, every close serve, every baseline lob—stopping play to tie a shoelace, to wipe sunglasses, to dry hands, to pin hair—that I failed to concentrate on my own game. I simply lost possession of myself and allowed my opponent to run me around the court, defensively playing her style of tennis, not my own.

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