For me it is the greatest sport (no offense to people who play other sports). But I mean it is a combination of strength, stamina, skill, precision, agility, etc. I mean I love the variety the game has, not to mention it is a 1 v 1 sport which is so fucking amazing. I like team sports and all, but to me the greatest feeling is when you beat someone individually. Of course it works both ways, so when you lose you want to beat the shit out of your opponent especially if they had a really annoying playing style. When you win a tournament it is so perfect, you were THE BEST individual out there for that particular event, fantastic. You don't have to rely on teammates to win/lose.

Also, I love how mental the game is. Since the game requires precision and consistency oftentimes the game becomes so mental, probably one of the most mental sports in the world. But I mean the game can be played so many ways, and what you can do to the ball makes the game so exciting and enjoyable.

Again, not bashing other sports, but to me tennis just encompasses so many different skills and abilities.

This post was edited by Godest on Apr 20 2011 06:25pm

u should try boxing


all those individual aspects you mentioned + less luck

(not saying theres a lot of luck in tennis, there is some though)

less variety too imo and also the different game styles varies more than in boxing, sure maybe i dont know a lot about fighting but it looks more or less the same (except maybe MMA) to me, however even a total noob can see differences in tennis players' playstyle, just saying

Lol.. Individuality isn't the only aspect I like, as I said, there is variety and all those other aspects I mentioned which frankly I don't see as complete in boxing.

professional tennis can be one of my favorite events to watch on TV
i like to follow the major tournaments, and exclusively keep an eye on nadal's progress.

as previously mentioned, its a great culmination of many skills ( like any sport really, basketball/football etc etc you're utilizing just as many diverse skills in speed, agility, strength, conditioning )
but it is the mental part of the game that seperates itself from team sports. its independence as opposed to interdependence to team sports; i didnt like the 'dont have to rely on team mates to win/lose' phrase
on that note, its not easy to succeed when trying to clique with 4-11 or however many more team mates. and you're kind of neglecting doubles tennis.

i dont play tennis, and its extremely difficult to just jump in it @ 23 years of age. i've tried a handful of times ( my dad is huge into it been playing for 30 years, thats probably why i even care enough to watch it sometimes on tv. ) so to say theres more luck in tennis than boxing is absurd haha. boxing is somewhat of a basic instinct of self defense. tennis is a well defined and matured game of volleying a ball via rackets. ofc you put them both at their professional levels and nothing comes easy. but i bet 99% of 15 year olds can throw a destructive punch or two at a peer, while the % of 15 year olds that could set up a formidable rally with an opposing peer would be so minor like 10%. sure djokovic might get a lucky roll on the ball as its spinning off the net, but the same can happen in boxing. pacquaio's may have had different intent with a jab but the opponent weaved into it.

didnt want to start a debate

but yeah any combat sport if you really want the variety (mma)

and i love tennis btw just saying...


i find it more fun but i cant say based on the criteria he mentioned its a better sport

What? You clearly refer to team sports as being interdependent yet you don't like the phrase you have to rely on your teammates to win or lose? They virtually have the same meaning. I have watched handfuls of interviews with tennis professionals about why they like tennis, and they put it exactly along the lines you "only you have control" "you don't have to rely on others" etc. I'm certainly not saying anything irrational/new.

Neglecting doubles is exactly that. When people refer to tennis and success, they refer to singles. Doubles is fun to play, and I have certainly played my fair share of USTA doubles events and especially during Varsity school matches, but I could care less. Singles is where all the glory is at, singles are where the best play. Nothing against doubles players, but 99.999999% of every tennis player would rather be number 1 in singles than doubles, it is as simple as that.

I never said it was easier/harder to be in a team sport, I was merely pointing out that it is completely different. In a way, it is probably more difficult to be a successful team than it is being a successful individual, however, no teams means more individuals which means more people to play against. I have taken plenty of team management courses to know how rare it is to come across a "good" team, one that is cohesive and competitive enough individually to strive for a higher goal. But it certainly isn't a picnic for individual sport players either.

you speak of goals and bliss upon individual success. and touch on how it may be more difficult to embody a team concept and develop cohesive within a group/organization.
neglecting that it may in fact be a higher feeling of elation when success is reached in team sports than a 1v1 type thing.
its one thing to beat a player in straight sets, but its a whole different ball game when you make 7 or 8 different people look like pylons all day.

as far as the best play singles, well most of the best also play doubles... im not disputing that they'd rather see glory in singles though

i didnt like your phrase because it boils team concepts down to its very elements. almost hinting at inferiority
if you hadn't noticed i'm a team sport enthusiast, though i can admire the work and talents in any sport

This post was edited by macfinn on Apr 22 2011 03:29am

my father is da best tengiz player