If you meet a tennis player, it can be difficult to talk about their hobby if you don’t know a lot about it. Let’s provide you with some questions to get started.
Fantastic questions can uncover great stories from the most “uninteresting” areas, provide a new perspective on a tired as well as old subject, and rapidly reveal the most significant trends among your players.
Asking your favorite tennis player the correct yearbook interview questions is the most effective approach to filling the yearbook with amusing anecdotes, memorable phrases, and cultural relevance. Let’s dive in below:
In tennis, what is your goal?
You can ask what their goals are in tennis. Do they want to win championships or just have fun with their friends? Tennis is a competitive sport but players can have big goals. You can discuss these and see how far along the player is to achieve them.
Tennis players are often very competitive so once they start talking about matches and competitions, they might be able to talk for a long time. In essence, you are asking what motivates them to play.
What Kind of tennis do you play?
There are several types of tennis, from indoor tennis, and gravel tennis to grass tennis. You can ask the player what they have tried before and what they are planning to practice. You can mention double tennis as it is a new variety of tennis that not a lot of players have heard about. It can be an interesting start to a conversation if you can teach them something new.
Just be respectful as they probably know a lot more about this than you do given that they have already played it for a while.
Some people want to play international tournaments and become a professional tennis player.
How long have you been playing tennis?
In 1873, the game was invented. Most players don’t play for that long so you can ask them when they started.
This can give you some insights into what clubs they have played before and how they developed their tennis skills over time. You can also talk about their previous teams and coaches and what they have learned from playing with them.
What is your best Skill in tennis?
In tennis, you have to be able to defend and attack. There are several positions on a tennis court so you can ask the player where they are standing. Some of them focus on defense, others on offense. That’s something that takes practice. It takes time to develop these skills and therefore tennis players are often excited to talk about this.
You can also talk about the results of the US Open tournament. It is possible to discuss their favorite player or moment.
We have discussed the scoring system in tennis here.
Do you enjoy attacking?
An ace, in which you score a point and the other player can’t touch the ball, is a great way to score a point. Tennis players often enjoy scoring and it can give a great feeling. You can ask them how they feel after scoring after a long rally.
Tennis players often have a great anecdote to tell about a match or something that happened during training. Be patient and let them talk. You can ask short follow-up questions to probe further. A lot of people don’t listen enough after they have asked a question and start blabbing themselves. Be patient and let the player talk about their hobby.
What Kind of Service Do You Use?
Serving is restarting the game behind the court after a player has scored a point. This gives them an advantage as they can start the attack. There are several ways to serve in tennis. Every player has to do this during a match so players often practice this a lot.
Tennis: What part do you enjoy the most?
Some players enjoy hitting the ball harder whereas other players enjoy improving their technique. You can discuss what they like the most. Given that players often spend several hours per week on this hobby, there must be something that attracts them.
Keep in mind that training tennis is often done with others and they often have great friends on the team. You can ask about these as well.
Questions don’t have to be incredibly difficult in order to be informative.
Summing Up
You’re already two stages ahead of the game if you make sure to keep the questions open-ended and focused. Use some of our questions as a starting point for further conversations. Just show them that you are interested and let them talk.
You can acknowledge that you don’t know a lot about this sport. A lot of people pretend that they know something about it but tennis players will know when you are faking this.
Tennis is a complex sport and people often understand if you don’t get all the nuances. As long as you are interested and listen with intent, they will keep talking about their passion. There are a lot of aspects that you can talk about (from drills, the court, the trainer to their goals). You just have to find an angle and see what the player enjoys talking about. For some people, it might take some time before they open up. That is OK and you just have to remain calm.
Tennis is a complex sport. You might have to do some research before you start thinking about questions. Check some highlights of matches and see how it works. The scoring system can be overwhelming at first but you will get the hang of it.
Tennis players are often passionate about their hobby so in most instances, they will talk a lot about this. If they are shy, you should give them some time to think about an answer. Don’t interrupt them! Below are some tips on how you can interview people. A big part of it is just listening and be comfortable with silence.
