By Luke Jensen, French Open Doubles Champion
Jensen Zone fans: We are ALL in this together! I mean, one big, global team getting back up from the latest hit that knocked us down. I am so enthusiastic with the knowledge that we have the ability to move forward and come out of this even greater as a global society. I feel anyone’s greatest learning tool in anything you do in life is to listen and watch what is going on in your world locally and globally. Tennis gave me the gift through hard work to see the world. I have met very interesting and smart people from cultures that some only read about.
The quarantine also let me reassess where I am in my own journey, and I feel I made significant progress in finding more time to do things that I deeply value such as spending time with family and friends.
I also was able to reconnect with people for whom I normally never had enough time. Similarly, many of my tennis friends have been finding new ways to work out and connect with improving their games. Since the lockdown, I have held many online classes for my student-athletes, focusing on mental toughness exercises as well as tactical sessions that help them use more tools to win. Additionally, YouTube has been a great tool for digging into classic matches and spending productive time learning from classic tennis heroes.
I also expanded on the practice swings that I’m a big fan of for total body coordination and tempo. These practice swings are designed to improve footwork and balance.
Further, just watching the pro game on various live events without fans has been exciting, but also watching live tennis at any level is awesome! I even tuned into the National Corn Hole Championships because I am craving competition; I need to watch anything with pressure.
Soon, tennis tournaments, players, and fans all will be slowly coming back and all with a new appreciation of the game we love and the people around us from around the world who enjoy the game as well. When you do take the court again, be patient. Allow your game to come back to you and don’t force it.
Enjoy the impact of a solidly hit shot and the creativity of a drop shot.
