Alright, let’s talk about this Ryan Fishback tennis thing. Saw some clips of him playing, I think it was college tennis, Virginia Tech maybe? Can’t quite recall. Anyway, something about his game caught my eye. Wasn’t flashy like some pros you see, but solid, smart. Especially some of his net play and maybe those tricky serves he throws in sometimes.
So, I got this idea. You know how it is, you see someone do something, and your brain goes, “Huh, I could try that.” It looked kinda straightforward on the screen. Famous last words, right?
Hitting the Court
I grabbed my old racket and a can of balls, headed down to the local courts. Wasn’t too busy, thankfully. Decided I’d focus on trying to replicate that quick transition he seems to have after the serve, getting to the net fast and being ready for a volley. Seemed simple enough.
First attempts were, let’s be honest, a disaster.
- Served the ball, then tripped over my own feet trying to rush in.
- Got to the net okay, but the imaginary return whizzed right past me.
- Actually tried hitting a serve and volley with a buddy later – mostly netted the volley or popped it up for an easy smash.
It’s funny how smooth players like Fishback make it look. Like it’s just natural. But down here on Court 3 with my slightly worn-out shoes, it felt anything but natural. My timing was all off. I was either too early and crowding the service box or too late and stuck in no-man’s-land.
The Grind and Reality Check
Spent a good hour just doing that. Serve. Rush (or stumble). Try to shadow volley. Felt pretty foolish, not gonna lie. A couple of teenagers on the next court were probably wondering what this old guy was doing.
Why was I even bothering? Well, work had been a bit much lately, long hours staring at a screen. Felt like I needed to shake things up, do something physical, something challenging where the feedback is immediate. You hit the ball wrong, it goes out. Simple as that. Not like debugging code where the error message tells you nothing.
Back to the court. I started breaking it down more. Focused just on the footwork after the serve. Little steps, trying to stay balanced. Then added the racket prep for the volley. It got slightly less clumsy. Slightly.
Didn’t exactly master the Fishback-style serve and volley, not even close. But I did get a feel for how complex it is. It’s not just hitting the ball; it’s the anticipation, the footwork, the racket control, all happening in a split second. You gotta respect the skill involved.
Left the court sweaty, a bit frustrated, but also kinda satisfied. It’s good to try stuff, even if you fail miserably at first. Reminds you that learning takes time and effort. Maybe I’ll stick to my usual baseline game for now, but hey, it was an interesting experiment. Gotta appreciate the guys who make it look easy.
