Could you put a note at the end of your posts that lists matches (and platforms) that you recently served as a broadcast commentator? With luck, I'll be able to hunt it down on ESPN or the Tennis Channel. Always educational when you call the play.
I second that! Du (hier katholische Schuld wegen ungefragten Duzens einsetzen) bist meine persönliche Jim Courier UND Lindsay Davenport. I read - and I learn 😉
Lovely beginning "I’m not saying where I go history happens. But where history goes I happen to be.". And great until the very last word. A true winner.
For a weekly journal, a thematic tie in between the fact that a papal conclave took place while you were in Rome covering the tennis, your personal accidental brush with Catholic guilt (due, I might add, to missing school for a tournament!) and your professional state of finding just enough, but not too much, compulsiveness in a sport which has a scoring system based on avoiding errors, is absolutely first rate. Don’t know how long it took to bang this one out but bravo!
"The outcome dictates the ethics." This is why I love the sport and why every match becomes a rich text. When there is a scarcity of points and they who wins the last point wins the match, so many of our everyday mores must be suspended.
I played my first set of tennis last night and lost 1-6. Post match I appreciated the experience of my opponent and his patience as I double faulted over and over, and frequently had to be reminded if I should be on the ad or deuce side. I hope I can continue to lose gracefully like Petra.
Fresh, irreverent, insightful and wise as always, thanks! But this! "Turn off the phone, turn off reality, just replay every single mistake I made and punish myself by not eating, not sleeping. The next day I would continue in the same manner until the guilt kicked in for not practicing and then I would go back to practise and work until complete exhaustion. That was my cycle of trust. The more tired I was the less energy I had left to feel guilty." Wow. No wonder Infinite Jest is your favorite book. Jon Wertheim was asking the question, Is there something about pro tennis that's incompatible with mental health?" And, of course, IJ answered that over 1,037 pages. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the tour, and tennis upbringing in general could be made more humane, less susceptible to mental collapse.
Andrea, absolutely you are doing this all wrongly. You are a young beautiful woman, you should be leaving a trail of devastation and havoc in your wake with zero remorse or reconciliation. Trample on the scum, treat them like dirt, assert your dominance, make them feel insignificant at every opportunity, it is your right, and their obligation. You are welcome. LOL
Superb writing as always and you seem present at some world events are you per chance magic or just in the right place at the right moment. I love it that you share so many personal experiences on your journey. Speaking of religion I was baptised as Church of England never been in a church since but never understood if that makes me a Protestant or a witch finder(actually a family member). Enjoy your weekend as I enjoy coffee blacker than my own heart 😂😂oh an please keep writing ❤️
Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem that’s at the entrance of Centre Court: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…[then] yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!”
Things that make me happy: Friday and getting a glimpse behind the curtain of pro tennis, and your high quality, goofy humor. Here's a relatively goofy poem about a pigeon and a cafe. https://westonpparker.substack.com/p/empty-hands
Could you put a note at the end of your posts that lists matches (and platforms) that you recently served as a broadcast commentator? With luck, I'll be able to hunt it down on ESPN or the Tennis Channel. Always educational when you call the play.
I second that! Du (hier katholische Schuld wegen ungefragten Duzens einsetzen) bist meine persönliche Jim Courier UND Lindsay Davenport. I read - and I learn 😉
Lovely beginning "I’m not saying where I go history happens. But where history goes I happen to be.". And great until the very last word. A true winner.
You echo the great Wimbledon (Kipling?) sign:
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.”
For a weekly journal, a thematic tie in between the fact that a papal conclave took place while you were in Rome covering the tennis, your personal accidental brush with Catholic guilt (due, I might add, to missing school for a tournament!) and your professional state of finding just enough, but not too much, compulsiveness in a sport which has a scoring system based on avoiding errors, is absolutely first rate. Don’t know how long it took to bang this one out but bravo!
"The outcome dictates the ethics." This is why I love the sport and why every match becomes a rich text. When there is a scarcity of points and they who wins the last point wins the match, so many of our everyday mores must be suspended.
I played my first set of tennis last night and lost 1-6. Post match I appreciated the experience of my opponent and his patience as I double faulted over and over, and frequently had to be reminded if I should be on the ad or deuce side. I hope I can continue to lose gracefully like Petra.
Fresh, irreverent, insightful and wise as always, thanks! But this! "Turn off the phone, turn off reality, just replay every single mistake I made and punish myself by not eating, not sleeping. The next day I would continue in the same manner until the guilt kicked in for not practicing and then I would go back to practise and work until complete exhaustion. That was my cycle of trust. The more tired I was the less energy I had left to feel guilty." Wow. No wonder Infinite Jest is your favorite book. Jon Wertheim was asking the question, Is there something about pro tennis that's incompatible with mental health?" And, of course, IJ answered that over 1,037 pages. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the tour, and tennis upbringing in general could be made more humane, less susceptible to mental collapse.
Andrea, absolutely you are doing this all wrongly. You are a young beautiful woman, you should be leaving a trail of devastation and havoc in your wake with zero remorse or reconciliation. Trample on the scum, treat them like dirt, assert your dominance, make them feel insignificant at every opportunity, it is your right, and their obligation. You are welcome. LOL
Try growing up Catholic. Finally left them for the Protestants. Martin Luther was right (about most things).
Superb writing as always and you seem present at some world events are you per chance magic or just in the right place at the right moment. I love it that you share so many personal experiences on your journey. Speaking of religion I was baptised as Church of England never been in a church since but never understood if that makes me a Protestant or a witch finder(actually a family member). Enjoy your weekend as I enjoy coffee blacker than my own heart 😂😂oh an please keep writing ❤️
Thank you for bringing us from ecstasy to agony and vice versa. 🤣
Oh, how much I relate to that Catholic Guilt issue. Even without tennis balls in sight.
As always, very enjoyable. Thanks for the recommendation of QR84. Lengthy but a really interesting read. Yay Jesmine! What a treat.
Your letter reminds me of:
Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem that’s at the entrance of Centre Court: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…[then] yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!”
Things that make me happy: Friday and getting a glimpse behind the curtain of pro tennis, and your high quality, goofy humor. Here's a relatively goofy poem about a pigeon and a cafe. https://westonpparker.substack.com/p/empty-hands
Gilt > guilt - drop the u -- you! And enjoy the gold instead. 😁
Wishing the best for Kvitova -- I hope she'll make one more grass court run. ❤️
Bob Prevost: tennis player first, Pope Leo second. The way life should be. Priorities.