Chet Murphy was the longtime tennis professional at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. He was terrific. An accomplished player and author, one of his most popular books was the classic Tennis for Thinking Players.
Mr. Murphy knew that players could easily get lost inside their own skulls and fall prey to paralysis by analysis. He used to asked the best questions of his students. For example, he would ask if they knew the distance from one service line to the other. Most players had no idea but would guess anywhere from fifty to sixty feet.
Chet would tell them the real distance is forty-two feet. Then he’d ask them how much force in their arm swing was required to make an approach shot travel forty-two feet. He would ask the student to demonstrate the force needed. Chet knew that the player’s swing and body movement through the ball might make it travel fifty-two feet. No worries. The ball would consistently be in and force the opponent to hit pressure laden passing shots.
That’s the kind of pre match thinking that pays dividends. The player flows during points but has the requisite knowledge to make early and accurate decisions about target, spin, and force needed to do the job.
Pretty smart fella, this legendary pro.
Tennis for Thinking Players.
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