Barty Wimbeldon’s victory shows that good athletes make good tennis players

QUEUE SERVICEA: I am constantly reminded that many young adults who have once played tennis do well in other sports.

These young adults were often children I worked with on the tennis court, either as a junior club player or as a junior representative in Manawat.

The fact that many of these former tennis players have done well in the sport of their choice shows me that exceptional athletes often make good tennis players. Having been a professional coach for many years, it’s no surprise.

Tennis exceeds and covers many of the physical and mental requirements of other elite-level industries. Many of my top students over the years have been New Zealand hockey players, representative rugby players, national level swimmers, triathletes, dancers and gymnasts.

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The overwhelming crossover has been for hockey players. It makes a lot of sense.

Hockey is a sport where movement, balance, and hitting or controlling the ball with your hand-attached device are critical to success. Hockey requires many similar features needed in tennis. These are often skills that are most evident when comparing elite tennis players to others.

Another crossover sport is football. At the beginning of my tennis coaching career, I was lucky to spend the day with Fernando Segal, the former coach of the Davis Cup tennis court in Argentina, who explained to a number of us how much he believed good football countries are often also strong tennis states.

Segal thinks it’s essential to be able to move well in a sport like tennis where getting the ball to the hitting spot is higher on the priority list than how you hit the ball first.

I’ve often said to my students over the years: You may have the most amazing hand stroke in the world, but that means very little if you don’t get the ball right to use it.

Good footballers tend to be pretty good on their feet, and one of my most promising younger students ten years ago showed it.

Now my colleague in real estate agencies, Gorgi van Lienen, was my promising junior tennis student and could have achieved impressive results on the tennis court.

His potential scholarship to the U.S. for tennis would eventually become a football grant as he decided to pursue his football career at the age of 13.

Many tennis practitioners may have been disappointed with this decision, but I was thrilled that Lienen was committed to a sport she was passionate about and that her decision led to success.

Van Lienen is still in his early days, and in recent discussions, the hope of achieving a professional football game position is still achievable and the ultimate goal for him.

Not surprisingly, there are other examples of doubles athletes at the top level of tennis, such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Apparently, both were elite-level footballers who could have made a professional career in that sport.

One of the most amazing stories in this regard is the story of Ashleigh Barty, the world’s female tennis player, who took a break from tennis in 2014 and instead played professional cricket.

Barty played for the Brisbane Heat in the Australian Womens Big Bash League and then at the age of 19 she was made the coach of the under-15 women’s cricket team. This is a story I greatly admire.

From the number of my former elite students who have continued to represent the region or New Zealand in other sports or fields, it is clear that good athletes can often make good tennis players.

If you want to take my advice, keep the kids doing different sports for as long as you can because I believe that competing and training in many sports is very beneficial for physical and mental reasons.

Jono Spring is a former professional coach