TennisWorthy at the Hall of Fame Podium
Talent is a prerequisite for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but it is not a core value. Talent can only get a player so far. A certain layer of psychological drive is necessary to reach the Hall of Fame tier.
TennisWorthy recognizes the core values of tennis as dedication, perseverance, courage, grace, focus, integrity, athleticism, sacrifice and discipline. Over the last 74 years, the greatest players in the history of the sport have come through Newport to share those core characteristics through their induction speeches.
Greatness never comes easy. Even the best players have dealt with challenges – physically, mentally and emotionally. All players face roadblocks, but Hall of Famers are the ones who find ways to get around those barriers. Or go over them. Or go through them. Whatever it takes. Martina Hingis’ family crossed over the Iron Curtain. Gustavo Kuerton’s family sold their car. Andre Agassi was his own ball boy. The paths are never the same, but if those core values are followed, the roads can each end in Newport.
Below are some of the best examples of these core values in the players’ own words.
DEDICATION
"You can be optimistic, you can be dedicated, but most of all you have to bring that special energy and desire to anything that you do. Everyone that has stood on this stage before me and will stand here after me has had a passion for the sport of tennis. I found mine when I was five years old and I’m dedicated to pass it on to the next generation.
- Kim Clijsters
INTEGRITY
“At the end of the day, the thing I’m most proud of is I never strayed from my core values. From the attitudes and philosophy passed on to me from my parents, and men like Rod Laver, I embraced the quiet way, and I walked the high road as best I could. Above all, I wanted to represent myself, my family and the game in a way which we could all be proud of.” - Pete Sampras
Perseverance
“People are always asking me how I'd like to be remembered. If I helped at all, I helped the notion that it's OK for a woman to be an athlete, to be competitive, to be tough, to be determined. Those attributes have always been acceptable for men, but it's only in the last 20 years or so that it was OK for women to have those qualities, too. Also, I'd like to tell little girls all over the world to pursue your dreams. I wasn't blessed with the greatest talent or physical prowess, but look at me now. You can do anything if you put your mind to it." - Chris Evert
COURAGE
“I was born behind the Iron Curtain and my mother wanted to tear the curtain apart for me. That was the reason I played tennis as a little girl. In 1980, my mother had not many choices for giving me a better life and a chance for freedom to see the world. She chose the game of tennis as a way out.” - Martina Hingis
GRACE
“I have other things that are just as fulfilling. I always made a conscious effort not to have wins and losses on the tennis court determine my self-esteem. When I retired, I didn't miss a tick.” - Arthur Ashe
Focus
“I would like to thank my brother Zoltan. The countless hours he practiced against me, he was the one I always wanted to beat. He’s eight years older and I always felt that if I can only beat my brother, I’ll actually have a shot at playing professionally maybe one day. Well, it took me a very long time to actually beat him, but that challenge kept me going. He really inspired me to want to work harder and he was there all along with me doing the same thing.” - Monica Seles
ATHLETICISM
“I can’t believe the level of tennis that I got to see in my career. The shots hit, the records that were broken, the records that continue to be broken. Thanks to [Andy] Murray, Novak [Djokovic], Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] for playing the game at a higher level than it’s ever been played. It sucked being in your vacuum at times. I still consider myself lucky. I got to guard Jordan, I went the distance with Ali, I pitched to Babe Ruth. I feel like I know what it must have been like to watch Picasso. I saw it all. I won a couple times, not a lot, but a couple.” - Andy Roddick
SACRIFICE
“I got to live my best experience in tennis. As the first I can remember, my father give me the racquet for the first time. Also, tennis took him away from me as he passed away umpiring a game. I was a three-time Grand Slam champion. It's a great honor. But I had the experience in our life, as my mother, it happened that we almost had to sell the house. We sold the car, we sold the piano, we sold everything for me to be able to travel around. We didn't know where we were going. We know we were on the right track, in the right way, but we didn't know where we were going. We just were confident that we would find a nice finish.” - Gustavo Kuerten
DISCIPLINE
“Rock bottom is an interesting place. I moved in and spent some time there. It's actually not a bad place. It's a place where you get to ask, who do I want to be? Am I ready to take ownership of my life? For me, ownership meant growing up, focusing every day on being just one day better. Ownership meant not only embracing tennis, but celebrating it. Ownership meant going back to the Challenger circuit, feeling honored to be my own ballboy, feeling privileged to flip my own scorecard. Ownership meant feeling grateful for being and having the chance to start over. Climbing out of that hole that I had dug for myself, that's when I started choosing to believe that each of us have a plan for our life, a purpose to fulfill, a body of work to create, a reason to be.” - Andre Agassi
By Jeff Eisenband
