Get into the game - Tennis

Not even the heat of summer has kept tennis players from sweating out games on local courts.

It's that kind of enthusiasm, along with a new tennis organization now in place, that's helped fuel the sport's renaissance in the area.

"It's starting to come back," said Tim Benton, a tennis player from Cape Girardeau. "Fifteen to 20 years ago it was really big around the area."

What helps make the sport so popular is its relatively simple nature. Find another person with a racquet and a couple of tennis balls and you're set.

"Tennis is relatively cheap, and basically all you need is another person," Central High School coach Bud Craven said. "Plus its a lifelong sport. You can play tennis the rest of your life."

Like any sport, a beginner would be hard-pressed to simply pick up a racquet and become a pro like Andre Agassi. And without instruction, a beginner can pick up bad habits.

"The No. 1 thing to know is to pull your racquet all the way back," Craven said. "It's crucial to get the racquet back. It's unfortunate a lot of kids just hit."

Tennis is dominated by the basic fundamentals of the serve, forehand and backhand shots. As a tennis player gains more experience, serves get faster, and new forehand and backhand grips become the routine.

Benton said beginners can pick up the basics of the game fairly quickly, and once a player learns the basic skills, he's set.

"Once you know how to do it it's like riding a bike," he said.

And unlike most sports containing constant down periods, tennis allows a player to constantly practice shot-making abilities.

"There's not too many sports where you're in the middle of the game all the time," Craven said. "In tennis you're in every point."

That high-paced atmosphere, especially in the heat of the summer, makes tennis an ideal exercise tool.

"If you play enough you can get a good workout," Benton said. "It's a good way to stay in shape."

With the local courts filled with players of all ages, tennis is surprisingly absent at several area high schools. While Central, Jackson and Chaffee all have girls tennis programs, Central is the only local school with a boys program. Notre Dame does not have a boys or girls tennis program.

Craven said it's because of that that female players in the area often are further along than their male counterparts.

"Unfortunately we don't have people taking advantage of the tennis pros," Craven said.

Although tennis has had trouble taking root on the high-school level in the area, there is a movement to organize local players. With the impending closure of Universal Fitness Center's only area indoor tennis courts, the Cape Area Tennis Association was created to explore the idea of an indoor facility.

"Our goal is to have a facility that does not require a membership and is affordable to the general community," CATA board chairman Al Mitchener said.

The organization, which has about 95 members, formed in the fall and plans to hold money drives to create a new indoor facility.

"We had set a goal for 100, and I think we're going to make it," Mitchener said.

The organization is sponsoring a challenge ladder over the summer and plans to hold tournaments in the future.

"We want to make this a hotbed for tennis," Craven said.

The tennis organization's challenge ladder has attracted about 30 players in the men's bracket, 16 women's doubles teams and about 12 men's doubles teams.

Benton said he's seen a rise in the number of younger players through the ladder.

"There's a lot of young high school guys and guys in their 20s I didn't know before," he said.

Through the tennis ladder area players are starting to make more connections as well.

"The idea of a tennis ladder is to be a mixer," Mitchener said.

"It's a good way to make friends," Benton added. "With this ladder you're forced to play different people, so you meet new people."

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171