Racquet’s See You In Court is a regular column in which I, Melissa Kenny, a famously mediocre lifelong player, heed reader questions about tennis, be they desperate (Help! I’ve won a few matches moonballing and now I can’t stop!), desperate in a different way (Where are the hot young tennis players in my area?) or life-threatening (Is it just me or are all tennis shoes fugly?). What I’m trying to say is, AMA! Look out for prompts on Racquet’s Instagram, or make yourself known in my DMs.
Preface: Some people are thinking too hard about racquets and it shows. It shows, most plainly, in their footwork (drowsy), in their timing (late), and in their shot-making (too generous a descriptor). Lord knows I have my own shortcomings. Catch me most weekday mornings at [redacted] courts to see for yourself. Crucially, my racquet is just fine. I don’t know anything about my strings—you’d have to ask Pierre—but I looked within and the enduring problem is my lackadaisical forehand prep. What I’m trying to say is, studying string tension and cutting-edge racquet technology won’t change that sledgehammer thing you do.
I have bemoaned the All gear, no idea community before. They’re a bombastic, Reddit-loving, customer service-emailing sort. Problem is, they know too much, and ours is a game of doing, not knowing.