There is something to be said for continuing to invest in
talent and experience. I can think of
few fields in which the more experienced masters are pressured to get out to
make room for the young. Sports can be
desperately cruel. Tennis has mastered
the art of rejection because of age.
In this tennis is no different from Hollywood. The movie industry is littered with the
career corpses of actors who can no longer pretend to be ingénues. Take Jennifer Lawrence, who went from playing
16-year-old Katniss to a 40-year-old mop sales woman. There is no room in movies for the Olds. Or maybe just for Meryl Streep.
But Meryl is a fantastic actress not just because of her
talent but also because of her tremendous experience. The more you do something—especially
when you have a talent for doing it – the better you become, and the more
confidently you perform.
Sadly, there have been many tennis careers in which talent
was clearly wasted on the young. When such
players retire, I say good riddance. If
you can’t appreciate the talent and opportunities you have been bestowed, I
won’t waste my breath applauding you.
