The Beautiful Game: Tennis Turns Sport Into Art

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. How appropriate, then, that tennis has been giving pleasure to the world for centuries.

But what makes something as abstract as tennis such a thing of beauty? What are the splendid strands of color that, when intertwined, produce the rich and complex embroidery of what, after all, is just a sport?

The strongest and brightest threads, the essential fabric of the tapestry, are the athletes who ply their trade in the tennis limelight: the players themselves.

Ever since the cultural flowering of classical Greece, the beauty of the human form in action has been celebrated. Statues chiseled to muscular perfection more than two millennia ago mirror today’s flesh and blood bodies, honed to the same perfection in the pursuit of peak fitness.

For admirers of the human form, tennis holds one particular advantage. The complexity of the skills and attributes required to perform at this sport’s highest level allows players of many shapes, builds, and styles to flourish. Which means that, for the fans, there is something for everyone.

For every woman who admires the muscular biceps of Rafael Nadal, there is another who favors the angled shoulders of Roger Federer, or the lean frame of Novak Djokovic.

For every man who is drawn to the statuesque Maria Sharapova, another is drawn to the elegance of Ana Ivanovic, or the rangy Elena Dementieva.

Some prefer an in-your-face personality: Serena Williams, Robin Soderling, or Fernando Gonzalez. Others like their players serene and respectful: Bjorn Borg, Venus Williams, or James Blake.

But the appeal of tennis is far more than skin deep. It combines many finer strands from many art forms that, woven together, make it a uniquely strong, complex, and beautiful sport.

At the heart of great drama is individual conflict or quest, and the most compelling drama uses plot and character to advance an emotional or physical journey.

So imagine the tennis court as the setting for a play or a film, and watch the players take to their stage for an opening performance.

The dramatis personae have to maintain concentration, focus, energy, and tactics in the face of constant challenge. They have to win the last point, regardless of the number of games, or sets, or hours that have passed. They have to repeat their all-out effort in every match, at every tournament.