Zahkarova was playing Prince last night vs Osaka, haven’t seen one in ages

2016 champion. 10 years after he won the title here, he’s ready to say goodbye.

Right so here goes.

Tennis was never something I watched attentively and frequently. I'd only ever watch Wimbledon if it was on, and maybe bits of the US Open, Australian Open and French Open.

But this summer, that all changed. I became HOOKED to tennis. I was on the bandwagon of Djokovic winning the Australian Open title this year after beating Sinner in the Semi-Final.

When Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in the Final, my whole day was ruined. My relatives came over. And there I was sitting down devastated. My mood for the day was ruined because a guy lost in a tennis match. It should never ever mean that much, but it did.

I never watched any ATP or WTA tournaments after the Australian Open was over, not even Masters 1000 tournaments.

But then this summer, I became addicted to watching tennis. It started with the French Open and wanting to see Djokovic win his 25th Grand Slam title. Then when Sinner got knocked out, I started to believe. Then Djokovic got knocked out. Which dampened my spirits. But I still watched the full final between Zverev and Cobolli. I knew Zverev had been in a Grand Slam Final before this point, but I didn't know it was 2. I thought it was only the 2020 US Open Final. But whatever. Zverev won it and I felt happy for him.

Yet again, I didn't watch any other ATP or WTA tournaments after the French Open and not even any Masters 1000 tournaments. I didn't even know any were on just like after the Australian Open.

So I watched Sinner playing Kecmanovic where I thought Kecmanovic was going to take the game, but didn't, but was still a great watch. Then the same day later on, Djokovic played Wu, and beat him.

I started watching women's matches too. I caught the ending of Eala knocking Swiatek out and how big of a moment that was not only for her but the Philippines too. I felt it.

Then I watched more matches. Osaka vs Sabalenka. Bergs vs Fery. Sinner vs Struff. Kostyuk vs Noskova. Gauff vs Muchova. Zverev vs Fery.

I had so much emotional weight placed on the Djokovic vs Sinner Semi-Final, and so I was devastated when he got knocked out, but understood it and quickly accepted it, because Sinner is a phenom.

Then I watched a lot of the tournaments after that. 250s, 500s, Challengers and Masters 1000s leading up to the US Open.

When watching these tournaments after Wimbledon, I'd always think to myself "I wonder what their life is like".

"I wonder what the lifestyle is like".

"I wonder what their relationships are like".

I found out that tennis has the longest season in any professional sport in the world and that it has basically no off-season. I also found out that the manufacturing process of the tennis balls became cheapened because tennis ball companies want to make more profit. And this leads to more injuries in modern tennis.

I remember after my first tennis lesson 1 and a half months ago, going to the local store, to buy Oshee drink (Iga Swiatek's sponsor) and feeling like I'm part of something (a tribe of sorts, because the bottle says "IGA TEAM", so I felt like I was contributing to her sponsor and also it being a better drink for playing tennis then say a Lucozade or Powerade.

This was a few days after reading about Iga Swiatek's story of how she became a professional tennis player. And her upbringing. I remember kicking the football in my garden that afternoon thinking "I wish that could be me, why is that not me, why do I live such a shitty life growing up in such a shitty area".

I found out that Elena Rybakina lives in Dubai, so all her earnings are tax-free. I went on the UAE car dealership websites imagining I was her and looking at buying a car to bash and beat in the desert climate.

I also remember walking back down my street after exploring a forest with my friend. It was 9 PM but summer so only a few streetlights were on and it was still not pitch black yet. I remember walking down the pavement imagining Carlos Alcaraz's life because I saw him using a Louis Vuitton bag as the bag to carry his tennis equipment earlier that day, and I just imagined his lifestyle, his daily schedule, the millions in his bank account, and his own zest for life. I was out exploring nature, yet I thought of a guy's life who I have never interacted with and never will interact with.

I think the most vicarious thing is me wanting Novak Djokovic to win his 25th Grand Slam singles title. Because of how much I used to think of it only just a few weeks ago, I was thinking like it was my title and like it was my achievement, yet it is anything but.

So yeah, that's it. Vent over. Weight off my chest.

I really need to stop putting so much emotional weight and emotional bandwidth on men and women hitting a small yellow ball on a court between white lines with a racket.

I'll still play it myself, but I really want to cut down drastically or even stop watching it entirely.

Maybe getting a permanent ban from r/ tennis was the thing I needed to be freed from my tennis addiction.

I don't think anybody else will be able to relate. But yeah.