8 Life Lessons Gleaned From Tennis

June 28, 2018

Besides physical fitness, there are many life lessons to be had from playing tennis. Once you sign up for a tennis training programme, your determination to be successful will help you overcome your weaknesses. Although you certainly need a qualified tennis coach to improve, your achievement also boils down to how much effort you’re willing give to improve your skills and perform your best in practice and matches.

When you get into tennis, you gain the opportunity to learn these eight lessons which also apply them to your personal life.

1. Self-confidence

In tennis you must trust yourself and your instincts during the game. When you have strong faith in your judgement, you’ll have the courage to overcome your fears and keep moving forward to achieve your goals.

Tennis develops you to become a self-confident person. With this skill, you gain more control over your life and do what you wish, plan and expect from yourself.

 

2. Commitment

Playing a sport is not always about winning and success; at some point, you might face an injury and you will almost certainly encounter a loss. These occurrences are normal in life as well, and tennis teaches you to stay committed even if you don’t get the desired outcome from your efforts. When you see your commitments through despite challenges, your perseverance will produce a far better sense of accomplishment.

Additionally, for a person to improve in tennis, constant practice is vital. By practicing regularly, you learn to dedicate yourself, which will serve you well in other crucial life activities. After all, success is not found merely in winning, but also in choosing not to quit.

 

3. Responsibility

Learning tennis is more than just attending lessons - it requires you to "show up" during practice and matches to be the best player you can be. Understanding this equates to understanding that you are responsible for your actions and decisions in life.

For example, if you have an early game tomorrow morning, it’s only right that you make necessary preparations such as getting to sleep on time. There is accountability in what you do today that allows you to perform at your best tomorrow. When you learn to take responsibility for actions such as these, people are more willing to put their trust in you.  

 

4. Good sportsmanship

As with all sports, you will sometimes win and sometimes lose. Matches can get intense, and even heated, which makes good sportsmanship important. In tennis, you learn to handle the game with honour and treat your rival with respect no matter the outcome.

Sometimes, your result may not be as good as another's or as you hoped. Tennis teaches you to accept reality and resolve to work hard to improve. Moreover, when you win, you also learn to be thankful and humble, and to show respect towards your opponent.

 

5. Honesty

In most junior tennis matches, there’s no umpire and players will be the ones making the call as to whether the opponent’s ball was in or out. Although it’s often easier to lie and cheat to in order win the game, tennis teaches you the importance of being honest even when you can choose not to be.

The short-term gains of being dishonest are not worthwhile. Tennis helps you understand the integrity of the game, which will help you make the right decisions in the future, even if it means losing a match.

 

6. Teamwork

When you’re part of a team, you learn to work with others to achieve one main goal – to succeed. You also discover your own strengths and weaknesses and realize how they can serve the team. Even though not everyone can be an all-star, each player is a valuable member.

Teamwork is a lesson in being selfless. Instead of thinking only about what’s best for yourself, you focus more on what’s best for the team. In tennis, this is your doubles partner and the other players you practice with.

 

7. Strategy

In every game, you need a winning strategy. As you come up with the best plan to win, you also get a great lesson in dealing with day-to-day living. Preparing a strategy for a tennis match helps you increase your problem-solving skills to easily deal with adversity in a game.

Tennis teaches you to stop, evaluate a situation, and create a new strategy to win. What’s more, you develop a mental game when competing, which improves your mental strength even when off the court.

 

8. Time management

Life exists outside of your sport. Following a match or practice, you may still have to study for an exam or finish a project. For children in particular, sports like tennis teach them to balance their time so that it doesn’t jeopardise other responsibilities such as schoolwork.

In all stages of life, time management is a valuable skill. Busy days shouldn’t be an excuse, but rather, an opportunity to teach yourself about planning and scheduling the things you need to do.

 

Playing tennis provides you many opportunities to learn precious life lessons. More than just a sport, tennis teaches you how to use these lessons in other situations to enhance your life.