Breaking Back 🎾 Tennis Podcast

I can speak in front of an audience of a thousand people or in a TV studio on a broad range of topics without any preparation and without a twinge of fear, but yesterday I had my first real experience with stage fright. I found myself on a tennis court in a live streamed professional tournament with a few hundred in the crowd. Throughout the match, my wrist, arm and body literally froze with the expected negative outcomes. I had difficulty breathing, and it was not a fitness issue. It got a bit better as the match progressed, but I was not able to overcome it. I regularly play with mid-20-year-old D1 college players and recently retired pros on a familiar court with no audience with none of the same symptoms. It was a very humbling experience that gives one even more respect for the pros who play for a living in front of the cameras and the crowds. We forget that they also need to manage the challenges of their carefully examined personal lives, their break ups, their emotions, financial stresses, and their mental health, family, and other challenges. Tennis is one of the few sports where the athlete is out there alone in front of the klieg lights for hours operating with incredible intensity with barely a bathroom break. And they might have been awakened in the middle of the previous night for a drug test while staying far from home. For all but the top players, they also struggle financially as they manage their small businesses working to recruit and retain talent, manage expenses, balance their budgets, and pay their taxes on time. Whatever respect we already have for these incredible athletes, it is not enough. They deserve more of our applause and appreciation.