Tennis: Can This Majestic Sport Ever Be Considered an Art

I was chatting with a sociologist/artist another day that was adamant in explaining to me that sport and tennis in general cannot be considered an art. Her explanation was that art, whether it would be music, film or paint, shows emotions and feelings. With art you may share your emotions and feelings with your mates or your partner, hence creating a connection with the artwork. However, is it true that tennis can't be considered an art form? Does not tennis give us emotions and feelings just like a Monet painting?

We, as tennis fans, go through a stream of feelings when watching a tennis match. We may feel admiration, anger, passion, nerves, happiness-you name it. We also proceed through tense emotions, especially if we're backing our favorite tennis player to win. Francis Bacon, a famous painter, once stated that there is no beauty which has no strangeness in its proportions. Tennis might be strange in the way we consider it to become beautiful or ugly. Some people feel Federer plays attractive tennis that is easy on the eyes, while other people feel that Nadal plays unattractive, brutal tennis. Former tennis player Robbie, now turned punter, often talks about Federer’s shots looking “like an oil painting.” He also talks about how Nadal’s shots are “full of energy.” All this is certainly subjective. But even so, how many times maybe you have seen a painting that may include these characteristics, negative or positive, but still keeps you intrigued? This is what tennis is all about. Not only is it art, it also takes you to another place.

Rafael Nadal is a player that lets all his emotions out on the court. He wears his heart on his sleeve. When he wins a point and performs his famous jump and fist pump, you feed off his energy. You are feeling like you have won the point with him and sometimes you might mimic his fist pump maneuvers. You smile along with his every victory and feel sad with his losses, or vice versa, if you are not a fan. Dinara Safina broke down in tears when loosing in her second French Open final. You would see her eyes full of sentiment while the tears wiped out her cheeks. When she was playing, her face looked troubled, and we as tennis fans felt insecure. There are times in tennis when the emotions are so intense that we prefer not to watch.