6/29/09

Tennis grunts distracting?

Former No. 1 women's tennis pro Chris Everet was recently interviewed by Reuters saying that the grunts by the tennis players today are becoming a bit much. According to Reuters, Everet said, "It comes before they hit the shot. That's the first thing you hear and you are kind of like thrown off guard as a player and then before you know the ball gets past you."
Is it just me or has Everet admitted to letting the other players throw her off her own game? Tennis, for the most part, is an individual sport. Everything starts and ends with you. The coaches can't even coach you while you're playing. It's up to you to take what they have taught and put it into practice.
As a former athlete of mostly team sports, when there is a loss, there is enough blame to go around. Somebody didn't rebound, somebody else had an off shooting night and somebody else wasn't covering their man. My point is, in team sports, there's always some one else to blame. In individual sports, there's just you and the opponent.
I said that to say, if the opponent gets you off your game, it's your fault. It's your job to practice game like situations. What's to stop you from having someone grunt at you while you practice? If you ask me, Everett is like the chick who stands up for her solo on Sunday mornings sayings she has a cold and asking the church to pray with her as she does the song. What they're really saying is "if I eff this up, it ain't my fault!"
When I was throwing shot and discus, if I didn't place well, it was MY fault. Not the big chick who could throw the damn things a mile. It was all mine. Maybe I didn't train hard enough or maybe I just sucked, but it was no one's fault but mine. So, Everett, accept it, you suck under pressure. Move on, start to commentate. Get a real job, just make sure you're not under pressure.
You'll suck at it!

2 comments:

clnmike said...

I have to agree, you need to be focused on your game as opposed to making excuses. At the same time as a spectator the grunts are annoying.

Tiffany S. Jones said...

You know, the grunts don't bother me. I've been watching tennis since Venus and Serena wore braids and beads so I guess I've gotten used to them. I think this is just a way to blame someone else for her lack of focus.

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