Role Model in Tennis Essay

 

The Role Model in Tennis

If you’re an aspiring tennis player looking for a role model, you’ve come to the right sport. Tennis, with its global reach and generations of icons, offers an embarrassment of riches. Every player’s persona is an extension of those who came before them, tennis’ version of natural selection, each generation adopting the effective traits of the past, all while adding their own personal mutations. Whether it’s the style, fashion, technique, or grit of today’s professionals, or closer to home, with who first placed a racquet in your hand or the mentor at your local club who showed you the way, role models are everywhere in tennis, the living curriculum of our sport.

From the very beginning, we imitate before we innovate. It’s the tennis blockchain; everything is added onto the foundation before. Whether it’s the grace of Federer, the grit of Nadal, the style of Agassi, or the calm of Sampras, we study, emulate, and then adapt—absorbing what resonates deeply within ourselves, putting our own personal spin on their desirable traits as something internal begins to form. We don’t just take what we like; we adopt it, refine it, make it our own. Their humility in victory, their grace in defeat, their resilience in adversity, all the coveted traits of the emotionally intelligent. Observing others manage the tennis life with equanimity and grace leaves a more profound impression upon us than a thousand words of advice. The magic alchemy of a role model. Helping us change how we comport ourselves without ever being told.

As our games develop, mentors and coaches take over that teaching role. They model how we train, teaching us how to compete, respect opponents and the game, and find meaning in our tennis quest beyond our oft-unspectacular results. The best mentors are not just performance-enhancing but life-enhancing, demanding excellence from us in all our affairs, ever-reminding us that our results are not a referendum of our worth.

Then there are our heroes on the professional tours—the players whose otherworldly athleticism and abilities, combined with their style, personality, and character, captivate us. Some are admired for artistry and grace, others for grit and resilience. They all have stories, many of which mirror our own, creating an instant bond. But the ones who leave the deepest mark embody something beyond their outsized talents: courage under pressure, humility in victory, class in defeat. Their tireless quest toward greatness showcases the qualities we need to embody on our own personal journeys.

And then there are the true trailblazers—Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Martina Navratilova, Venus and Serena Williams—whose impact transcends the game itself. They remind us that success on the court carries a responsibility: to use our platform for something greater than ourselves.

Role models, in this sense, become emotional mirrors. They help us envision the kind of competitor—and person—we aspire to be. We’ll never be able to play like them, but we can carry ourselves like them. Great players do not possess a monopoly on these life-affirming attributes. We can all conduct ourselves best by absorbing their essence.

Which leads to the most crucial point of FBTL’s Role Model series. We are all role models to someone. You never know who’s watching you, what someone else might be going through, or how much your example might mean to them. My father once told me a story about Rod Laver calling his own ball out in the middle of a match, an example of fairness and integrity that far exceeded the outcome of a single point. Laver was an ambassador of tennis, insisting it be played and competed in the fairest, most gentlemanly of ways. Compare that to today’s headlines, where we see players consistently pushing the boundaries of morality and fairness to get ahead. Laver wanted nothing that wasn’t rightfully his. That was his gold standard, one we should all try to emulate ourselves.

As a coach of 40 years, I ask every new student I meet who their favorite player is. For the longest time, it was the usual suspects. Federer and Nadal, Williams and Graf. Lately, though, especially when I ask my younger boys, the answer has been almost unanimous: Kyrgios. That tells you a lot about the power of personality in connecting, flawed or not. Role models don’t have to be perfect; they have to be real.

I used to take my students to Indian Wells every year. I’d send them out, tell them to sit on a practice court, find a player who resonates with you, someone you’d like to not just play like but be like. And sometimes you get a picture like this. (Karlovic Pic)

Asking him later what he liked most about Dr Ivo, he replied I want to be 7 feet tall and serve bombs!! Don’t we all.

Of course, not without a few hiccups. Tennis has had its share of drama and controversy—on and off the court. It’s tough out there. But the beauty of role models is choice. You can have as many as you like. No lifetime contracts required. You can bench them, forgive them, or outgrow them. Every player, after all, is one bad decision away from losing the public’s trust.

We live in ever-changing times, and Social Media influencers seek followers. Strong Role Models do not; they influence via attraction, not promotion. Role models lead with their actions, emphasizing principles over popularity. Because in the end, the most accurate measure of a role model isn’t their resume—it’s the lasting effect they, and we as we become role models, have upon others.