The No-Blame Game

Tennis doesn’t let us make excuses. So why can’t we stop trying?

- Stephen Tignor

What’s the first thing you do when you get to the courts? Maybe you stretch—or you wiggle your body around enough to make it look like you’re stretching. Maybe you strap a brace on a knee, or wrap a shoulder in tape. Maybe, if you’re young, you just pop open a can of balls and start swinging.

If you’re like my tennis partners and I, you also might feel obligated to accompany these preparations with an update on the state of your health. It often begins with a reference to how late you stayed out the previous night, and the extra glass of wine you had with dinner. After that, areas covered could encompass recent hamstring pulls, back strains or flare-ups of tennis elbow; the 5K you barely survived over the weekend; and any surgeries you happen to be recovering from. Only when these war stories have been acknowledged by your opponents can the warm-up begin.