It is just a crazy life as a sportsman. My daughter, Sam, wants to go into tennis, and I tell her, 'No, you don't want to go into professional sport.'
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A little-known secret is that being a pro athlete is not that great. It's a pretty short lifespan. I know all these parents are out there driving their children to be professionals, but so many pros will tell you, 'No, you don't want to do this.'
Professional tennis has become an extremely physical and unbelievably competitive sport. Injuries are the bane of tennis players, and it goes with the territory.
I did always dream of being a professional player. I think every kid does dream of being a pro, but to last the journey you have to love tennis as a sport and if you are lucky enough to make it in the pros, it is really a bonus.
If you offer athletes stipends, then you're into pay-for-play, and that's the ballgame. People should realize that, and they should realize that amateurism never has been a sustainable model for a sports-entertainment industry. It wasn't in tennis. It wasn't in the Olympics. And it's not in big-time college sports.
Seems like most of the kids today are into other sports other than tennis.
My dad said if you become a tennis professional just make sure you get into the top hundred, because you have to make a little bit of money. You make a living so you can pay your coaching and, you know, your travels.
With tennis, you can go pick up a racket, take a lesson, and understand how much talent and skill it takes to be as good as the top pros. Same with golf: pick up a club. But not many can go out and get in a race car and experience a drive at over 200 miles an hour.
Tennis is so competitive. I guess that's the way it has to be.
In the pros, tennis is all about individuals. In college, it's getting individuals to make points for the team.
I've been around tennis, and I have a feeling for the sport. I still play tennis, and I can still do a lot of harm to a lot of people.