Do you think you could have made it as a pro?

If you'd had the right training, facilities, started at a young age etc?

I don't believe in that age thing. I don't understand the coaches who rejects players because of their age before seeing them play. That happened to me. Talent is the main factor in tennis, before working hard. Now I found a coach who was kind to watch me at work before saying I'm too old. (I'm 17, but I started playing at 11 and i took a break for some years) I know that Ilie Nastase started professional tennis at 16 and I think you should live your dream if you think you can do it.

No :lol:

I don't believe in that age thing. I don't understand the coaches who rejects players because of their age before seeing them play. That happened to me. Talent is the main factor in tennis, before working hard. Now I found a coach who was kind to watch me at work before saying I'm too old. (I'm 17, but I started playing at 11 and i took a break for some years) I know that Ilie Nastase started professional tennis at 16 and I think you should live your dream if you think you can do it.

Did Nastase play tennis for the first time ever at 16?

I just couldn't see someone hitting a tennis ball for the first time at 17 for example and eventually making it as a professional tennis player, could you?

Well, Nastase said that. Maybe he played tennis before, but not professional, not with a coach. He started practicing it with a coach at 16 when he had his first tournament.

I do believe everyone can become a good player if he trains hard. However, it requires years and years of hard training every single day. I don't think everyone is willing to sacrifice so much of his young life. You can't teach natural talent, of course.

To me, it was always clear that tennis will only stay a hobby. I want to be good at it, but that's it. ;)

LOL I don't know about pro but I think I could have made a decent player if I had committed to it when I was younger. I only play for fun, started about 2 years ago, something like once a month with a friend. We basically taught eachother how to play. I am terrible at it now, but I reckon I'd have been decent if I were taught properly. Sometimes I can hit some nice forehand winners :hearts:

If you'd had the right training, facilities, started at a young age etc?

Oh... then you never know... At least I have an acceptable height for tennis (1.81 m)

I really now wish I had started tennis early. That being said, if I had maximized all my potential, I might end up like Cibulkova, with no titles but still good results, because of my height. :crying2:

If I had the right facilities, then perhaps, yeah. I come from a sporting background and a country that's insane about sports. I've played tennis since I was about 4 or 5 years old, so a very, very long time, but I never played it consistently. I didn't pick up a racquet for about 3 or 4 years, but had I been training since I started or whatever, and had the right facilities then I may well have gone on to be a pro.

No :lol:

Same here :lol: Only started to follow & play the sport in my teens. So obviously no.

I always tell myself if I started earlier :lol:
I started at 8, but I would only play like 5 times per year and then I started playing more often and doing some programs when I was 12, but that's really too late. Now I just play for fun because I know I'll never play professional :p

But just like 99% of this board, I hope that one day I will have a kid who is a professional player :rolls:

If I started earlier..maybe,who knows :)

I always tell myself if I started earlier :lol:
I started at 8, but I would only play like 5 times per year and then I started playing more often and doing some programs when I was 12, but that's really too late. Now I just play for fun because I know I'll never play professional :p

But just like 99% of this board, I hope that one day I will have a kid who is a professional player :rolls:

Exactly, and I shall live out my dreams through them....and when they start failing i'll go crazy and push them too far. It's the natural thing to do.

I could possibly make a really really bad satellite player....but Ive never really bothered with competitive tournaments enough to find out.

No even though I'm still young I play just for fun. I don't even have the time to play competition which I really hate. But I just don't have the time to play for anything besides fun and some friendly matches. The only thing I'm ever competing in are the club tournaments.

Not even if I had Lena's bangs.

I have many talents, but athleticism is not one of them.

When I was playing, my coach said I might have had a shot at being a good high school, maybe D III kind of player if I wanted to work to catch up (I started late, but not that late) because I had a good serve and decent hands and was good a dubz. I didn't want to invest the effort, and now that I'm older I suspect there was an element of wanting to sell my parents on a lot more tennis lessons. So I always played for fun.

But I'm slooooooooooow. To slow to compete in any sport above a fairly low level.

I always tell myself if I started earlier :lol:
I started at 8, but I would only play like 5 times per year and then I started playing more often and doing some programs when I was 12, but that's really too late. Now I just play for fun because I know I'll never play professional :p

But just like 99% of this board, I hope that one day I will have a kid who is a professional player :rolls:

:haha: One of the biggest trues in TF :lol:

Hingis and Dementieva's mothers did it, so it can't be that bad :scratch:

I always tell myself if I started earlier :lol:
I started at 8, but I would only play like 5 times per year and then I started playing more often and doing some programs when I was 12, but that's really too late. Now I just play for fun because I know I'll never play professional :p

But just like 99% of this board, I hope that one day I will have a kid who is a professional player :rolls:

So true. :lol: I plan to make it my life. I have it all planned and at the ready :angel:

In regard to myself being pro, if I started younger, got actual coaching earlier, hand consistency and didn't meltdown 7.198 times a match...I probably could have.

Maybe.

On the challenger circuit.

Qualifying rounds.

For the qualifying draw.

Wish I would have started early. somtime I think about playing ITF event just to just it a try

Just like everyone If I started earlier, maybe. :) I started at 11, so that's quite late. It was also until I was like 15 that I realised I liked tennis very very much and at that time it was already to late.

But just like 99% of this board, I hope that one day I will have a kid who is a professional player :rolls:

I had such high hopes for my daughter. She took lessons for a few years and had potential, but no desire once she hit about 12 :sobbing:

My son has expressed some desire to take classes, but he'd better start soon. He's more team-oriented and loves baseball, though, but he is athletic.

I doubt I would have made it; I'm only 5' 9". I do wish I had been serious about tennis or baseball and would've at least gave it a go :sobbing: