Tennis The Menace
- Dr. Lloyd
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
For years, I watched the Finals of the US Open Tennis Tournament. What I saw was not just in a league of its own: It was in another universe from the caliber of any sport I had labored to play. I turned to tennis when my middle-aged body was no longer fit to play in the basketball games, anytime and anyplace, since a teen-ager.
BTW, I only lasted that long because I had religiously practiced my jump shot, often from 3-point land (well before that was a part of the game), and could score more than half of the time. Generally, that was to the surprise of my defender, because I wore glasses and, in time, was the only one on the court with grey hair.
My basketball pals had arranged a Saturday morning, full-court game against a (non-varsity) college team, most of whom weighed about 40 pounds more than I did and were half my age. The point guard who defended against me soon decided I would no longer score off him. He waited until I jumped into my shot and put his full leg against my two airborne legs. When I landed, I felt an excruciating knee pain that told me I had badly torn something, which turned out to be the ACL (knee anterior cruciate cartilage) ligament. That was it for my basketball career, despite the arthroscopic surgery I soon had.
But I was devoted to sports and would not, could not, stop. I was fitted with a “Joe Namath” clunky, knee brace that was far more powerful a retainer of my joint than the ligaments and tendons that preceded it. Still, competitive basketball, now too, became another memory. But I was not done with sports. After knee rehab, especially swimming in the cold water of the Harvard University pool, I started to play tennis, though I was too old to be good at it.
But that did not deter me. I began tennis lessons and spent weekends and some nights (at indoor courts) to feed my relentless hunger to play sports - even without my killer jump shot to equip me. Soon too many injuries and too much professional work ended my would-be career playing tennis.
But my passion for tennis never died. When its major tournaments came along, I taped or watched the Finals, riveted to the grace of the game. As I write this blog, I am watching the 2025 US Open Tournament Finals. Which brings me to the heart of this essay.
For some years the women’s games and tournament prizes had been dwarfed by men, who commanded prime viewing time and seriously hefty prize money. Few celebrities were in the high-cost seats for the women’s games. But no more.
Both women’s and men’s professional tennis games became more alike, with artful and often sustained rallies, not only the serve-volley-point games the men had played (their games had been dominated by the fierce ~130+ MPH serves). But soon, men had mastered these blazing serves and retort volleys returned. Women are also now serving at 3-digit MPH and returning them as well. How any of these players, men and women, can even see that small yellow ball coming at them like rockets and pound it back - placed well - defies me, even if they are wearing contact lenses.
Tennis had regained its gracious art, like the game played by Roger Federer.
When this year’s Women’s final concluded, the winner received a $5 million dollar check and the silver Tiffany tournament trophy – as will the winner of the Men’s Final. Though I could not spot Spike Lee at the Women’s Final, the cameras picked out other quite notable celebrities – men and women – as lively spectators to the women’s games.
Tennis no longer stands alone from the other competitive sports. Not only are women a draw but many of today’s players are people of color. The winning players now, themselves, rank as celebrities. Its media audience is vast and global. No one suffers brain damage from head injuries, though musculoskeletal injuries still abound. Money remains the name of the game. Prize money is huge and not disparately paid to the men. Prize money is only surpassed by the amounts paid for endorsements to Tournament winners by shameless sponsors. Rolex, Tiffany, and Cadillac evidently have enough retail customers to support their huge expenditures, as do the big tennis equipment companies, like Nike. As far as I can now imagine, AI has not found its way onto the courts – but must play its part in making for odds predictions.
Tennis, once a sport for rich, white people has evolved. But for weekend players without their own backyard courts, it remains the menace to normalcy in their lives it has always been.
Lloyd I Sederer MD is a psychiatrist, public health doctor, and non-fiction writer.
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