The Tennis Thread

[cloudy]

after having recently seen the world cup and nba threads popping off on this board due to the recent happenings in their respective sports, i thought it only appropriate to get a tennis thread going now that the 2018 wimbledon championships are up and running. (i apologize if such a thread already exists - i tried searching...)

over the years, my recreational interests have teetered between skateboarding and tennis, and i'm hoping that this thread might be able to combine those two interests in a way that keeps me stoked on both (how self-serving, i know!). there are a number of similarities between following the two activities that lead me to believe that there may be some overlap within the fandoms:

1. geeking out on the gear: i've always equated rackets with decks (learning about/trying out different shapes, lengths, widths, stiffness), strings with trucks (messing with the tightness/looseness, materials), grips with griptape (having a preference for a specific tackiness, grittiness, color), and shoes with shoes (self-explanatory, really. hell, at one time, i think the sampras was being used by both types of athletes. dill?). the rackets/decks comparison i think is particularly interesting. both utilize the "pro model" approach in trying to sell units, which leads to rumors swirling that pros might not actually use the models that are being sold in stores.

2. keeping track of who's on/of: all the individual sponsors that one can accumulate over the course of a career, as well as what the fit of those brands might say about a pro's style, makes it particularly interesting following the ins and outs of such happenings. both can get so into the weeds that we even start keeping track of kids getting "flowed" rackets/decks.

3. liking pros more for their style/personality than their "ranking": the stories that revolve around guys like fred gall and yannick noah lead them to be revered as cult heroes, whereas guys like ninejah and novak djokovic, despite their achievements, are considered by many to be boring and robotic.

4. international appeal: the information age has made the world a much smaller place, yet certain sports still don't have the global reach of others. while the nfl is gaining a bit more traction in europe, and the premier league is starting to find a larger viewership stateside, there's something about tennis and skateboarding that translate pretty well on an international level. many countries also produce a certain "style" of pro, which is an interesting subject in and of itself. spanish clay court specialists, brazilian contest skaters, etc.

so, what types of subjects might be discussed in such a thread? well, tennis, for one. gear you've been trying out, match commentary, tournament predictions - i think any and all could be interesting coming from a skateboarder's perspective. honestly though, i'm more interested in reading about the overlap of the skateboarding and tennis worlds.

for example, pro skaters who also fuck with tennis. ellington seems to be a really big fan:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXoIFsJnR62/?hl=en&taken-by=erikellington

steve brandi also coaches tennis on the side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jW_0IQWOQg&t=2s

how about posts regarding the influence of tennis aesthetics on skateboarding style?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh1l8a1ntu5/?hl=en&taken-by=esskateboarding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6Z6BAWQN4

or footage/photos from tennis court skate spots? the berkeley banks is the first spot that comes to mind:



thanks for reading - i hope there are other tennis fans out there!

[nice weather]

while the nfl is gaining a bit more traction in europe, and the premier league is starting to find a larger viewership stateside, there's something about tennis and skateboarding that translate pretty well on an international level.

That's like saying tennis isn't international because Wimbledon keeps being held in England.

Everything can be likened to skating or quite frankly anything else. This is stupid, you are stupid. There's a Palace tennis line as well now btw.
Start a new account and go again. Make the tennis thread only about tennis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY3a383iCY0

[cloudy]

Expand Quote

while the nfl is gaining a bit more traction in europe, and the premier league is starting to find a larger viewership stateside, there's something about tennis and skateboarding that translate pretty well on an international level.

[close]

That's like saying tennis isn't international because Wimbledon keeps being held in England.

Everything can be likened to skating or quite frankly anything else. This is stupid, you are stupid. There's a Palace tennis line as well now btw.
Start a new account and go again. Make the tennis thread only about tennis

i'm not sure i'm following you on that one. wimbledon is not a league, like the nfl or the premier league; it's a tournament. it's one of four grand slam tournaments that, while not operated by the ATP or WTA, does provide ranking points to players on both tours. the ATP and WTA have tour stops all over the world. the nfl and the premier league are leagues specific to two countries separated by a vast ocean, which makes sense as to why for a very long time they weren't all that popular in one another.

i'd have to agree with you that "everything can be likened to skating or quite frankly anything else," but to me what's more important is how apt those comparisons are. i happen to believe that tennis and skateboarding blend together rather nicely, more so than, oh, let's say, skateboarding and bowling. not too long ago there was a thread that gained some traction that compared pro skaters to rappers. ultimately, all these comparisons are pretty silly. they just offer a way to pass the time.

and i'm down if people just want to use this thread to talk tennis (but if they really, really want up-to-the-minute tennis stuff, they might want to first check out a forum appropriately named "talk tennis" - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php). i was just making the case that i happen to find the overlap between the two pretty intriguing.

btw, thanks for the tip on the palace tennis line! i hadn't yet heard about that. was cool to see lucien clarke hanging out with garbine muguruza.

[butterballs for jerry]

Loved to play tennis until a year and a half ago I pivoted and felt a tear in my knee. Would still love to play, love the footwork, never got into the industry or gear though. Nothing like a good vollie, really brings you to the here and now. Had a friend break his racket in anger after I beat him, probably the highlight of my career. Took a break to smoke a cig and drink some beer during that match like the low ranked dude who played the Williams sisters and smoked them. I get the comparisons to skating but the physical punishment is in a different category. Fuck I loved putting spin on the ball... anyway, decent thread, kinda got a wall of text there but it's all good 

[cloudy]

Loved to play tennis until a year and a half ago I pivoted and felt a tear in my knee. Would still love to play, love the footwork, never got into the industry or gear though. Nothing like a good vollie, really brings you to the here and now. Had a friend break his racket in anger after I beat him, probably the highlight of my career. Took a break to smoke a cig and drink some beer during that match like the low ranked dude who played the Williams sisters and smoked them. I get the comparisons to skating but the physical punishment is in a different category. Fuck I loved putting spin on the ball... anyway, decent thread, kinda got a wall of text there but it's all good

LOL! liked that bit about your "career highlight." it brings up another good point regarding the racket/deck parallel - both can be focused!

that's a bummer about your knee. you might look into getting a group of friends together for some doubles - a lot less court coverage is required, and there are a lot more opportunities to volley, which you seem to enjoy.

no argument there about the physical punishment, which is maybe why some skaters enjoy the game. tennis can be played up until a ripe old age, depending on your level of intensity. not to call out ee and slash as senior citizens or anything, but those dudes have certainly put their bodies through the wringer with skating, and they both still get after it on the courts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRmA4YzBZ-A/?hl=en&taken-by=erikellington

[I sniff Jim Gagne's butthole all the time]

john mcenroe used to throw a hussy fit if he was playing bad tennis and if your bitch steps up he's smacking the hoe.
he focused racquets like jeremy klein.

[kentrock]

tennis is a blast!  i love playing it, watching it, the racket, the clothes and shoes, everything

[Nosferatu]

Don't forget about Gino, one of skating's biggest tennis fans. Stoked on Ellington's 40th birthday photo.

Tennis is rad.Who is your favorite player? I kind of like everybody but...
ATP: Querrey, Monfils, Federer
WTA: Sharapova, Ostapenko, Williams Sisters

[cloudy]

Don't forget about Gino, one of skating's biggest tennis fans. Stoked on Ellington's 40th birthday photo.

Tennis is rad.Who is your favorite player? I kind of like everybody but...
ATP: Querrey, Monfils, Federer
WTA: Sharapova, Ostapenko, Williams Sisters

damn! straight up blasphemous that i forgot to include gino. (edit: it's pretty funny reading "don't forget about gino" in the voice of owen wilson.) he's basically the epitome of this intersection. i really enjoyed this read from monster children that touched on the subject - https://www.monsterchildren.com/62510/an-interview-about-nothing-gino-iannucci/

as far as favorite players go...

ATP:
OG player - patrick rafter. to this day i still hit with his prince triple threat warrior. always scouring ebay for deadstock ones.
current player - fed. obviously. but lowkey, really been enjoying that canadian kid denis shapovalov. fucking feisty that one. reminds me of a young lleyton hewitt.

WTA:
OG player - justine henin. steeziest one-handed backhand on the tour, men's or women's.
current player - also would have to go with ostapenko. she's kind of a brat, but i'm into it. she's was absolutely on one at last year's french open.

[Madam, I'm Adam]

I love playing tennis. I've been playing for a long time, way before I started skating. I don't know much about pro tennis, though. I guess Agassi did meth.

I was so psyched when I found out Gino played tennis. Here's an older Mighty Healthy commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plr51RlLJjQ

[cloudy]

I love playing tennis. I've been playing for a long time, way before I started skating. I don't know much about pro tennis, though. I guess Agassi did meth.

agassi certainly had an interesting career arc. i always found it kind of similar to guy mariano's story. both busted onto the scene as teenagers and absolutely killed it, only to then fall into a drug habit-induced obscurity before bouncing back and becoming better than ever. unlike agassi, however, i don't think guy has ever admitted that his long hairstyle was a wig.

[artskool]

It's funny how tennis gets a bad elitist rap here in the USA at least, when there are free public courts all over the place.

Tennis is the only "ball sport" I ever enjoyed. I tried to play a year ago though, and the shock of hitting the ball completely killed my wrist and elbow right from the start. I was pretty psyched that I can still hit a decent serve after 25 years off though.

[cloudy]

It's funny how tennis gets a bad elitist rap here in the USA at least, when there are free public courts all over the place.

Tennis is the only "ball sport" I ever enjoyed. I tried to play a year ago though, and the shock of hitting the ball completely killed my wrist and elbow right from the start. I was pretty psyched that I can still hit a decent serve after 25 years off though.

i've had my bouts with tennis elbow over the years. some people might be surprised to learn that with just a few changes to the gear that they're using, they can significantly reduce the transfer of their racket's vibrations onto their forearm, which is what's causing their wrist and/or elbow pain. for me, the tennis elbow flare-ups are almost always catalyzed by the use of polyester strings. there are numerous benefits to using poly (e.g., more durability, better grip on the ball for added spin), but for the typical recreational player, those characteristics aren't all that important. that's why my go to strings have been multifilament strings. they do break a little more often, but the comfort they offer on the arm makes it worth it for me. changing up your strings could be a quick fix you might consider trying. also, inserting a rubber vibration dampener into your stringbed might help. these days, they even make rackets that are marketed as "arm friendly." fortunately, my tennis elbow has never gotten so bad that i've had to make that investment, but my aunt has, and she claims that it's done the trick. i also have plenty of hitting partners that swear by those compression tennis elbow sleeves. i'm a bit skeptical on those, but hey, could be worth a shot.

[iKobrakai]

The only time I played tennis was in a rehab against a 50 year old alcoholic. He fucking slayed me.

I got the feeling that unless you know what you're doing, you have no chance. The guy trained people in the past, was playing around with me.

[pugmaster]

*insert joke about Daryl's backhand*

[SneakySecrets]

I like tennis a lot as well.  My favorite thing is when I am somehow able to catch one of the major tournaments in the early rounds and follow it all the way through.  Unfortunately, being an adult makes this an extremely rare occurrence nowadays.

I was actually thinking about starting almost the exact same thread except with boxing.  I also see lots of similarities it shares with skating.

[cloudy]

I like tennis a lot as well.  My favorite thing is when I am somehow able to catch one of the major tournaments in the early rounds and follow it all the way through.  Unfortunately, being an adult makes this an extremely rare occurrence nowadays.

I was actually thinking about starting almost the exact same thread except with boxing.  I also see lots of similarities it shares with skating.

i hear that! wimbledon especially when i was on summer vacation as a youngster. i loved it because you could wake up super early and the matches would already be going. by the time they'd finish for the day, you would still have what seemed like an entire day ahead of you. then there'd be those years, like this one, where the world cup would be going on at the same time. that was pure bliss.

throwing in more skateboarding/tennis related content for good measure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpWWb04WYD0

[Art_Vanderlay]

On Wimbledon - Kyrgios and Zverev once again proving that they suck at grand slams. It seems like they are just struggling mentally.

Good to see Nishikori on the comeback and also good to see Del Potro in the second week.

I feel like Del Potro deserves another grand slam win. That injury seriously fucked him up for so long.

Tsitsipas is a great player and seems like a nice guy too. Good to see him doing well.

Looks like it's anyone's title on the Women's side. Would be kinda sick to see Osaka take it.

I think it's interesting that you mentioned style over ranking. I've always thought about that. I used to love watching Sebastien Grosjean. Still love watching Dolgopolov, his style is so unique. Used to really enjoy watching Tomic too. He had a kinda lazy effortless style. Shame he's such a dickhead.



 

[artskool]

Expand Quote

It's funny how tennis gets a bad elitist rap here in the USA at least, when there are free public courts all over the place.

Tennis is the only "ball sport" I ever enjoyed. I tried to play a year ago though, and the shock of hitting the ball completely killed my wrist and elbow right from the start. I was pretty psyched that I can still hit a decent serve after 25 years off though.

[close]

i've had my bouts with tennis elbow over the years. some people might be surprised to learn that with just a few changes to the gear that they're using, they can significantly reduce the transfer of their racket's vibrations onto their forearm, which is what's causing their wrist and/or elbow pain. for me, the tennis elbow flare-ups are almost always catalyzed by the use of polyester strings. there are numerous benefits to using poly (e.g., more durability, better grip on the ball for added spin), but for the typical recreational player, those characteristics aren't all that important. that's why my go to strings have been multifilament strings. they do break a little more often, but the comfort they offer on the arm makes it worth it for me. changing up your strings could be a quick fix you might consider trying. also, inserting a rubber vibration dampener into your stringbed might help. these days, they even make rackets that are marketed as "arm friendly." fortunately, my tennis elbow has never gotten so bad that i've had to make that investment, but my aunt has, and she claims that it's done the trick. i also have plenty of hitting partners that swear by those compression tennis elbow sleeves. i'm a bit skeptical on those, but hey, could be worth a shot.

Thanks! I'll look into it. I just used my old racquet from 6th grade. Maybe it's time to update.

[cloudy]

On Wimbledon - Kyrgios and Zverev once again proving that they suck at grand slams. It seems like they are just struggling mentally.

Good to see Nishikori on the comeback and also good to see Del Potro in the second week.

I feel like Del Potro deserves another grand slam win. That injury seriously fucked him up for so long.

Tsitsipas is a great player and seems like a nice guy too. Good to see him doing well.

Looks like it's anyone's title on the Women's side. Would be kinda sick to see Osaka take it.

I think it's interesting that you mentioned style over ranking. I've always thought about that. I used to love watching Sebastien Grosjean. Still love watching Dolgopolov, his style is so unique. Used to really enjoy watching Tomic too. He had a kinda lazy effortless style. Shame he's such a dickhead.

welp, so much for osaka. just needs more experience on the big stage i think. center court against kerber is a tough draw. can't wait for the day when she finally wins a slam - her post-match interviews are always so hilariously awkward!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK7dd0lz9Gg

unique is definitely the right word for dolgopolov. i'd compare his serve to neen williams' heelflip. other people may be doing the same shot/trick, yet it seems like an entirely different thing.

manic monday tomorrow!

[Nosferatu]

Serena is definitely taking this thing.

Maybe Nadal on the men’s side. He is cruising thru and seems on point.

[cloudy]

ok so i know i must seem crazy for trying to keep this tennis/skateboarding comparison going (stop trying to make fetch happen!), but i swear, this stuff just keeps popping up! on today's episode of the tennis podcast, they were recapping the kerber v. kasatkina quarterfinal, and catherine whitaker described kasatkina as "gnarly." her co-host, david law, interjects "what does that mean?!" and she goes on to say "it just sort of means cool, and hard...you know, no-nonsense and just, yeah, gnarly...i think it's a word that, you know, did you ever have like a skateboarding computer game when you were younger? and the commentator would shout 'far out! gnarly!'" i have to say that shit sounded pretty hilarious coming from a 32 year old british woman with a posh accent. https://www.acast.com/thetennispodcast/wimbledonday8-kerber-kasatkinadazzleoncentre-serenabattlesthrough-federerrelegatedtocourtone

[cloudy]

courtesy of the "palace power move" thread over on uwtb:

Angelique Kerber rocks Palace and wins Wimbledon.

shout out to this hater who was in on the palace tennis line early. it seems to have come full circle now.

Everything can be likened to skating or quite frankly anything else. This is stupid, you are stupid. There's a Palace tennis line as well now btw.

[heritage]

Don't forget about Gino, one of skating's biggest tennis fans. Stoked on Ellington's 40th birthday photo.

Tennis is rad.Who is your favorite player? I kind of like everybody but...
ATP: Querrey, Monfils, Federer
WTA: Sharapova, Ostapenko, Williams Sisters

We should totally play some time.

[Betaphenylethylalamine]

Expand Quote

Don't forget about Gino, one of skating's biggest tennis fans. Stoked on Ellington's 40th birthday photo.

Tennis is rad.Who is your favorite player? I kind of like everybody but...
ATP: Querrey, Monfils, Federer
WTA: Sharapova, Ostapenko, Williams Sisters

[close]

We should totally play some time.

Agassi, pat chan, macenroe, Sampras

Tennis is awesome

[LemThurdy]

I love tennis man it’s a amazing sport. I played most of my life at varying levels. It’s agreat sport for life

[Art_Vanderlay]

Anyone following the Aus Open?

Hoping that Jauber can take the women’s singles.

Djokovic will probably win the men’s. But hoping Felix, Sinner or maybe Fritz can make a run to the semis or better. Tsitsipas could be a chance too.

[PatrickSkateman]

Anyone following the Aus Open?

Hoping that Jauber can take the women’s singles.

Djokovic will probably win the men’s. But hoping Felix, Sinner or maybe Fritz can make a run to the semis or better. Tsitsipas could be a chance too.

I am. Pulling for Djokovic.

Crazy that Rublev took Thiem out.

Also a shame no Kyrgios.

[Atiba Applebum]

Netflix just started a Tennis series in the vein of F1: Drive to Survive

[Madam, I'm Adam]

Tsitty gets litty. Tha Lix is always fun to watch. Rooting for Felix of course.