This essay discusses with regard to tennis and to the degree to which moderation can affect a tennis player's life. While most tennis players are well-acquainted with the attitudes they need to take on in order to experience best results in the field, many find this to be too much of a pressure and sometimes see serious problems as they struggle to be the best.
Sport Psychology
There is much controversy with regard to athletic identity and to the role it plays in a person's life. While most people think about concepts like fair-play and a healthy body when dealing with ideas related to athletic identity, others consider that it can have a negative influence on a person's life because of the lifestyle it imposes on the respective individual. It would certainly be difficult to have an opinion on whether having an athletic identity has a positive or a negative influence on a person. Tennis is typically promoted as a glamorous sport and individuals who excel in this sport are provided with a great deal of privileges. Even with this, it would be difficult to determine the degree to which being a professional tennis player is likely to improve a person's life.
Physical activity is generally associated with a great deal of satisfaction in a person's life. A great deal of studies has shown that individuals who perform physical activity on a regular basis are more likely to be happy with their condition than those who rarely perform physical exercise. Taking this into account, it would be safe to say that physical activity is an essential concept in shaping a person's personality and in helping him or her develop better.
Being an athlete involves being much more than a simple person. An athlete needs to perform perfectly and he or she strives to be the best in the sport he or she works with. As a consequence, many athletes come across significant problems because of failing to succeed in their domain or because they experience health issues associated with pushing their limits.
When they are performing during a competition, athletes struggle to give their best and in some cases this pays off. However, in other situations athletes end up having a low morale as a result of failing to win or even suffering health problems as a consequence of pushing their bodies too hard. The case of Canadian Frank Dancevic is especially intriguing because it shows how a person can experience significant problems as a consequence of wanting to catch-up with other athletes. "Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic said he started feeling dizzy in the first set of his match against Benoit Paire and then collapsed in the next set." (Canadian qualifier faints as heat wave hits Australian Open) Even though the high temperatures seen in Australia during the Australian Open played an important role in the player's problems, it would be safe to say that he fainted as a result of being determined to play and even win. His lifestyle practically pressured him to get actively involved in a process that entailed giving everything he had.
Moderation is surely one of the most important things when considering athletes and sport in general. Being a tennis player can be especially demanding, with the respective person having to do everything in his power in order to work at his or her full potential. Sleep is an important concept in this discussion, as tennis players need to concentrate on getting enough sleep in order to recuperate their physical and mental strength. By sleeping for enough time, tennis players make sure that they have all the energy they need during a competition.
A tennis player's sleep can be negatively affected by a great deal of things. Concepts like the stress associated with a competition and the fact that they travel very often are likely to interfere with a tennis player's ability to sleep. "Many things can affect tennis players' quality of sleep, including stress, worry and frequent international travel across time zones. This disrupts the normal twenty-four hour "biological clock." (Satisfying sleep 1)
Tennis players need to be prepared to deal with an increasing amount of stress and effort that build up as a competition comes closer. The fact that these people have access to a glamorous life and that they can practically buy everything they want sometimes makes it difficult for them to live life in moderation.
The case of Richard Gasquet provides proof with regard to how having a moderate lifestyle can sometimes be too much for a tennis player. Regardless of whether he consumed cocaine or not, the case involving him being tested positive for use of cocaine shocked the tennis world. This situation practically proved that life can sometimes be stressful for a tennis player and that he or she cannot always put across exemplary behavior. "In France, they have been calling it 'The Cocaine Kiss', the story of how Richard Gasquet spent an evening with a girl in a Miami nightclub, tested positive for the stimulant the next day, and then convinced an anti-doping tribunal that it was because of those French kisses with "Pamela." (Hodgkinson)
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