Tennis Improvement Memo 107. The impermanence of the passing ball. Observing 'birth, aging, sickness, and death'

▶ There is 'birth, aging, sickness, and death' in a single shot

The ball (too) is impermanent.

A shot that has just been hit has momentum.

It pushes through air resistance, and in the case of a stroke, it carries energy that rises against gravity.

When it reaches its breaking point, it heads toward a descent and lands on the court.
Then, it gains rebound energy from the surface to rise again, reaches its peak, and arrives at the point of falling.

Is it maintaining its momentum, or is it losing it?

People often talk about 'acceleration,' but a shot's initial velocity is its fastest, and unless it is riding a strong tailwind, there is no acceleration, so if it feels that way, it is suspected that your way of looking at the ball is mistaken.

The ball comes toward you while losing speed.


Within this single shot, you can see the 'birth, aging, sickness, and death' of the ball.

▶ All things in nature decay if not used

In other words, from the moment a shot is born until it dies.

We compare that process to 'birth, aging, sickness, and death.'

If you observe that state closely, you can see how it will change in the future, and because of that, you will intuitively understand how the player should move or hit.

It is the same as observing the state of your mind and body, where you can see how they change and intuitively understand whether you should work or rest now.

However, busy modern people rarely have the luxury of facing their own mind and body.

If you rely too much on air conditioning because it is hot, you cannot feel the change in body temperature caused by the heat of vaporization from sweating, and if you warm yourself too much with heating because it is cold, the function to generate heat within the body also declines.

Physical functions and physical sensations also, if not used in a balanced way, will decay, just like your legs and lower back.

No matter how much nutrition you supplement via IV, if you are a bedridden patient, the muscles in your legs and lower back will decay, and your bones will become brittle.

If you rely too much on supports, you may lose the muscle strength to support yourself with your own muscles.

Concentration also decays if not used.

If your mind is exhausted, you must rest.

You face such changes of impermanence.

▶ Physically, it is also a 'unique, one-of-a-kind ball'

The 'birth, aging, sickness, and death' regarding the ball.

This is not just about shots where the trajectory rises or falls, or momentum decays, but the ball itself as a material is also impermanent and, as expected, has 'birth, aging, sickness, and death.'

Compared to the fresh, just-born state after opening the can, how much has the internal pressure of the ball dropped after a few games?

How much has the felt, which was smooth at first, become fuzzy?

On a clay court in particular, it might be covered in dust.

The printing of the manufacturer's name and model name also fades.

With every single hit, the condition of the ball is changing moment by moment.

In that sense as well, 'This ball is a unique, one-of-a-kind ball'.

▶ Strengthen your interest and concern for the ball

Its appearance, hardness, and texture are all impermanent.

A ball immediately after being hit intensely may hold heat.

When your observation extends to such changes in the ball itself as a material, your interest and concern strengthen, making it easier to concentrate.

▶ Djokovic, smelling the 'scent'

Also, when it comes to concentration, in tennis play, visual perception through the eyes is the main thing but, on the other hand, smelling with the nose is also, of course, concentration.

In particular, scent is the only one of the five senses that reaches the limbic system (the old brain), which governs instincts and emotions, directly.

The other four senses pass through the neocortex (the new brain), which governs rational thinking.

For that reason, it is said that the sense of smell activates more sensory activities.

That is why aromatherapy is likely effective for reducing stress and regulating the autonomic nervous system.

A ball just taken out of a can has a fragrant rubber smell.

▶ The ball is alive

The ball is just like a 'living creature.'

As mentioned here as well, a ball that does not lose its fuzz is technically possible to develop, but if you do that, the ball size would swell up more and more every time it is hit, becoming the size of a softball.

In order to maintain the standard of 6.54 to 6.86 centimeters in diameter, the ball literally wears itself down to keep that size, and organically 'ages'.

Also, if it swells up, it will stop bouncing, and it would also violate the standard that when dropped onto a solid flat surface from a height of 254 ± 0.3 centimeters, the bounce of the bottom of the ball must be between 135 centimeters and 147 centimeters.

Therefore, the ball has a 'need' to shed its fuzz and change.

Observing the degree of damage to the ball can be said to be diagnosing its 'sickness.'

▶ The 'real reason' why new balls fly too much

And when it can no longer maintain the standard, the ball meets its 'death.'

There is no need to prolong the life of a ball.

If you practice with so-called 'dead balls' that can no longer maintain internal pressure, rather than getting better, you create a 'gap in your image of reality,' and the more you practice, the worse your tennis will actually become.

The reason new balls fly too much in a match is not because they are 'still hard.'

There is a 'gap in your image of reality,' and that results in mistiming your swing, which causes it to fly too much.

▶ If you pay attention to the ball condition, your concentration will increase

Balls are not 'always' or 'all' the same.

Each and every ball is 'always' and 'all' different.

Players often choose their balls before serving, right?

They pick up a few balls to check their condition and return the balls they don't use to the ball person.

For general players, since many use a rotation of two balls, even if you cannot select your balls, you can still pay attention to the state of the ball in your hand.

That leads to concentration on the ball.

This column by Ai Sugiyama contributed to WOWOW is helpful.

If you think 'let's concentrate on the ball' with your neocortex, that is no longer concentration.

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