Gilles Simone spoke about the current state of the sport a full two weeks after his big farewell to the big tennis stage. And she provided insights into the mental life of a tennis pro.
by Michael Rothschädl
last modified: 11/20/2022, 19:09
“Tennis is a sport that drives you crazy,” says Gilles Simon two weeks after his retirement. Almost exactly at the same time that calm, well-organized and above all friendly guy off the court Andrey Rublev looked close to tears more than once in the first set of his semifinal duel with Casper Ruud. And he doesn’t even know how to keep his nerves in check. “We are all crazier on the pitch than off the pitch” Gilles Simon says.
The French has finally given up on madness, if you will. Simon finally said goodbye to life as a pro player with the Paris-Bercy home event where the Frenchman picked up two big wins against Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz. And thus the best opportunity to look at tennis from a new perspective at the Scheidweg. What the veteran did on the sidelines of the ATP Finals.
Simon: “Tennis is a great frustration”
“A lot of good people make themselves stupid on the court because it causes so much frustration. Tennis is physical, tactical, technical, you get to choose the weapons you want to fight with,” explains Simon. “Tennis is a great frustration because we keep failing. You can have the best match of the year but you will be wrong on many aspects. It’s just a series of small failures.”
While this sounds like a tough reckoning with the sport that has accompanied Simon on a day-to-day basis throughout his life, it should of course be noted that the Frenchman also has a love for the yellow felt ball. But not exclusively. “Tennis is a difficult sport because you are often confronted with your weaknesses and you always prefer to find an excuse rather than face your weaknesses.” With Rublev following suit, it often seems that confronting one’s weaknesses is quite painful.
