Sunday, February 3, 2008

Tennis isn’t about serves, volleys, ground strokes, overheads, or drop shots. Tennis is a game of pursuit and revenge. Tennis is about fighting for your life. About playing a match for the purpose of garnering the respect of your captain. About playing a match for a coveted spot in playoffs. About berating yourself for errors. About holding back scathing comments to your partner because you know they will cringe. And because you know that if you do berate your partner you will be the talk of the town. Everyone will remember you as the one who was rude to partner. Tennis is about blasting the ball even though you know it might whop your opponent. Tennis is about moral challenges. About always being tempted to call the ball out even though it was in because it is a critical point in the match. It is a moral test to see who will make honorable calls and who will fold and cheat. Tennis is about how much you want to win. Are you willing to make an injured person run around because you know that will win you a point? Or do you feel empathy for the presence of a brace and hit the ball directly to the person? Do you feel pity for a pregnant women and hit them slow paced balls? Or do you hit your normal fast paced shots? Do you deceive others and lie about your playing ability so that you can play at a lower level and automatically win? Do you spend hours on the internet trying to get other’s disqualified? Do you offer money to people for the purpose of acquiring them for your team? Do let a guy beat you because you know they will feel demoralized if they lose to a girl? Tennis is more than just an athletic skill it’s a moral tribute. Moral judgment in tennis is more than just an athletic skill it’s a moral tribute. Moral judgment in tennis is more challenging than moral judgment in the Supreme Court.

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