Serve Of Inspiration: Motivational Quotes From Tennis Legends
Life mirrors a tennis match, where every point is earned through tenacity, victories and losses alike. The fear of losing propels us to strive harder, mirroring the challenges of the tennis court.
Yet, tennis imparts a crucial lesson — true championship lies not solely in victory or defeat, but in the indomitable fighting spirit within.
Embrace the wisdom of the best tennis quotes, reminding ourselves that triumph is within our grasp.
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Motivational Quotes From Tennis Legends
1. “Life is like a tennis game. You can’t win without serving.” – Arthur Ashe
2. “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” – Arthur Ashe
3. “Life is a lot more beautiful when you have to struggle and fight for something, you know. It’s always a little sweeter at the end when, you know, when you get what you want.” – Mark Philippoussis
4. “There are times when you can’t play, whatever the circumstances are. Tennis does go on. You just have to find other things in your life at that moment.” – Venus Williams
5. “Tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love – the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.” – Andre Agassi
6. “We have to fight through our pain and find a way to get through it. Life is about fighting through that pain and, when you can, easing the pain of others.” – Andre Agassi
7. “I always believe if you’re stuck in a hole and maybe things aren’t going well you will come out stronger. Everything in life is this way.” – Roger Federer
8. “When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up – and for me it’s tennis.” – Roger Federer
9. “Life is about challenges and how we face up to them and the attitude we take into every day life so hopefully we’ll be able to motivate people to do more with their life.” – Martina Navratilova
10. “The positive attitude that gets you through life, and it is a choice. I’ve always been too much of an optimist where I sort of ignore bad stuff until it sits right here in front of me.” – Martina Navratilova
11. “Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” – Roger Crawford
12. “Life is incredibly fair or else we wouldn’t be able to learn from our mistakes.” – Todd Martin
13. “In a perfect dream, things would be set exactly the way you would want them. But I think it’s more interesting that in real life, things aren’t exactly the way you planned.” – Naomi Osaka
14. “Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned and you just gotta find joy in the unknown.” – Naomi Osaka
15. “The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. Life is a learning process and you have to try to learn what’s best for you.” – John McEnroe
16. “You don’t have to hate your opponents to beat them.” – Kim Clijsters
17. “You have to believe in the long term plan you have but you need the short term goals to motivate and inspire you.” – Roger Federer
18. “Winning is a way of expressing yourself.” – Boris Becker
19. “Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” – Robert Frost
20. “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” – Arthur Ashe
21. “What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” – Andre Agassi
22. “The fifth set is not about tennis, it’s about nerves.” – Boris Becker
23. “The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are at their worst.” – Martina Navratilova
24. If I don’t practice the way I should, then I won’t play the way that I know I can.- Ivan Lendl
25. “Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe
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The Best Tennis Quotes
26. “Losing is not my enemy, fear of losing is my enemy.” – Rafael Nadal
27. “Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner.” – Arthur Ashe
28. “I’m not the next anyone, I’m the first Maria Sharapova.”- Maria Sharapova.
29. “An otherwise happily married couple may turn a mixed doubles game into a scene from ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’!”- Rod Laver.
30. “You lose some, you win some. Nothing wrong with that at all.”- Stefan Edberg.
31. “I fear no one but respect everyone.”- Roger Federer.
32.” Everything comes at a cost. Just what are you willing to pay for it?”- Serena Williams.
33. “Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you’re too damned old to do anything about it.”- Jimmy Connors.
34. “Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good.”- Serena Williams.
35. “My motto is: I’m alive, so that means I can do anything.”- Venus Williams.
36. “And for me, I know I get insane guilt if I go home at the end of the day and don’t feel I’ve done everything I can.”- Andy Roddick.
37. “I have two lives, and all the problems I might have, I feel like I drop them once I step on to the match court.”- Roger Federer.
38. “Every good tennis player has to have a short memory. Good or bad.”- Alexander Zverev.
39. “I never wanted to be the great guy or the colorful guy or the interesting guy. I wanted to be the guy who won titles.”- Pete Sampras.
40. “Sometimes I wish I could have been a bit more relaxed, but then I wouldn’t have been the same player.” – Steffi Graf.
41. “A smile is a curve that can straighten out a lot of problems.”- Ana Ivanovic.
42. “Contrary to my image, I do have a sense of humour.”- Andy Murray.
43. “I’m always trying to show my personality outside of the court.”- Tomas Berdych.
44. “I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red.”- Maria Sharapova.
45. “You don’t have to hate your opponents to beat them.”- Kim Clijsters.
46. Good shot, bad luck, and hell are the five basic words to be used in a game of tennis, though these, of course, can be slightly amplified.- Virginia Graham
47. Tennis is a mental game. Everyone is fit; everyone hits great forehands and backhands.- Novak Djokovic
48. I think luck falls on not just the brave but also the ones who believe they belong there.- Novak Djokovic
49. The next point — that’s all you must think about.-Rod Laver
50. Tennis is an addiction that, once it has truly hooked, a man will not let him go.-Russell Lynes
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Inspiring Tennis Quotes
51. Basically, I started playing double-handed on both my forehand and backhand side because my first racket was so very heavy.-Bjorn Borg
52. What is the single most important quality of a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there, and winning matches when you are not playing that well.- John McEnroe
53. I’ll let the racket do the talking.-John McEnroe
54. The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.-Martina Navratilova
55. Spectacular performances are preceded by spectacular preparation.-Frank Giampaolo
56. Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.-Martina Navratilova
57. I have always considered tennis as a combat in an arena between two gladiators who have their racquets and their courage as their weapons.-Yannick Noah
58. It’s one-on-one out there, man. There ain’t no hiding. I can’t pass the ball.-Pete Sampras
59. Golfers are forever working on mechanics. My tennis swing hasn’t changed in 10 years.-Pete Sampras
60. “What a polite game, tennis is. The chief word in it seems to be ‘sorry’ and admiration of each other’s play crosses the net as frequently as the ball.”- J.M. Barrie.
61. Pressure makes me produce. Kills most guys. Mortifies ’em.-Bobby Riggs
62. Being able to go into Wimbledon and be part of an amazing atmosphere is special.-Kate Middleton
63. To its great credit, Wimbledon has been a leader in bringing about change and improvement in the sport.- Fred Perry
64. Every time I hit the ball, I would pretend I was on that magical court at Wimbledon. And then, every time I went to sleep at night, I would dream about playing at Wimbledon one day.- Evonne Goolagong Cawley
65. I got to play in a crowd, play in the Wimbledon Finals, and be the guy on a Davis Cup team for a while. Those are opportunities not a lot of people get.-Andy Roddick
66. Girls had never been important. I’d had a girlfriend or two and had liked them a lot but it wasn’t love, because my first love was tennis. ―Boris Becker
67. The tennis ball doesn’t know how old I am. The ball doesn’t know if I’m a man or a woman or if I come from a communist country or not. Sport has always broken down these barriers. ―Martina Navratilova
68. Just go out there and do what you have to do. ―Martina Navratilova
69. Tennis has given me soul.―Martina Navratilova
70. You don’t have to be pretty for people to come and see you play. At the same time, if you’re a good athlete, it doesn’t mean you’re not a woman. ―Martina Navratilova
71. I can’t become satisfied, because if I get satisfied, I’ll be like, “Oh, I’ve won Wimbledon, I’ve won the U.S. Open. Now can I relax.” But now people are really going to be fighting to beat me. ―Serena Williams
72. I’m a perfectionist. I’m pretty much insatiable. I feel there’s so many things I can improve on. ―Serena Williams
73. I am here to play women’s tennis. I’m a lady. Predominantly, most of the time I always like to play ladies.―Serena Williams
74. If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that’s concentration.―Serena Williams
75. I want to reach absolute perfection. And I think I can reach it.―Steffi Graf
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Inspirational Tennis Quotes
76. I never look back, I look forward.―Steffi Graf
77. I made it look so easy on court all those years. No one realized how hard I had to work. No one realized how much I had to put into it. They underestimated my intensity.―Pete Sampras
78. “You always need to try hard to find solutions. It’s the same in life or tennis.” – Stan Wawrinka
79. “I don’t want to waste a single day of my life being stagnant or staying still and not elevating myself through experiences.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas
80. “I have to really work to get things in life. Things don’t come easy. I refuse to give up. That’s simply how it works with me.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas
81. “Sometimes life has other plans and we have to open new doors that lead to exciting possibilities.” – Monica Puig
82. “Life makes you who you are, and my career in my tennis and my travels, the people that I’ve met, the cultures, I think that makes all that — it makes me who I am.” – Steffi Graf
83. “Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.” – Billie Jean King
84. “You can do anything in this life whether you’re in a wheelchair or not. I go to festivals, nightclubs, I travel the world.” – Dylan Alcott
85. “Sometimes it’s hard because you get upset on court, but I think in life one learns through experiences in order to evolve as a person.” – Ana Ivanovic
86. “At one point in your life, you’ll have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t.” – Andy Roddick
87. “I don’t have any regrets about anything I’ve done in my life. I learn from my mistakes and without mistakes I wouldn’t be where I am today.” – Mats Wilander
88. “It is more important to be happy and enjoying the life you are living – win or lose.” – Kiki Bertens
89. “Find something that you’re really interested in doing in your life. Pursue it, set goals, and commit yourself to excellence. Do the best you can.” – Chris Evert
90. “You just have to take life as it goes, and I believe you never get things put on you that you can’t handle.” – Caroline Wozniacki
91. “When you’re able to turn those somewhat negative moments in your life, turn them into something meaningful, ultimately it becomes much more powerful.” – Maria Sharapova
92. “I’ve grown so much from making errors and from making mistakes, whether losing matches or other things.” – Maria Sharapova
93. “If you’re a champion, you have to have it in your heart.” – Chris Evert
94. “Being champion is all well and good, but you can’t eat a crown.” – Althea Gibson
95. “Dreams do come true if you keep believing in yourself. Anything is possible.” – Jennifer Capriati
96. “Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people.” – John McEnroe
97. “Played tennis for years. But you can’t improve at tennis after you’re 50. You get to be in your 40s, and suddenly you’re a doubles player.” – Jack Nicholson.
98. “Tennis is a young man’s game… I won’t tell you exactly how old I am, but when I played, there were 28 men on the court – just on my side of the net.” – George Burns.
99. “Life is like tennis. Those who serve best usually win.”- David Foster Wallace.
100. “I call tennis the McDonald’s of sport – you go in, they make a quick buck out of you, and you’re out.” – Pat Cash.
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Best Tennis Quotes
101. “… is only a tennis match. At the end, that’s life. There is much more important things.” – Rafael Nadal.
102. “When I was 40, my doctor advised me that a man in his 40s shouldn’t play tennis. I heeded his advice carefully and could hardly wait until I reached 50 to start again.” – Hugo Black.
103. “Tennis is an addiction that once it has truly hooked a man will not let him go.”- Russell Lynes.
104. “Tennis belongs to the individualistic past – a hero, or at most a pair of friends or lovers, against the world.” – Jacques Barzun.
105. “In tennis, it is not the opponent you fear, it is the failure itself, knowing how near you were but just out of reach.” – Andy Murray.
106. “In tennis, you’re on an island. Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement.”- Andre Agassi
107. “There is a syndrome in sports called paralysis by analysis. The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.”- Arthur Ashe.
108. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.”- Billie Jean King.
109. “It’s no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life.”- Andre Agassi.
110. “You have to find it. No one else can find it for you.”- Bjorn Borg.
111. “If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that’s a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there’s going to be a life after tennis that’s a lot longer than your tennis life.”- Chris Evert.
112. The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall.- Mitch Hedberg
113. Why has slamming a ball with a racquet become so obsessive a pleasure for so many of us? It seems clear to me that a primary attraction of the sport is the opportunity it gives to release aggression physically without being arrested for felonious assault.-Nat Hentoff
114. Tennis and golf are best played, not watched.- Roger Kahn
115. A perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.- Billie Jean King
116. I just hated to lose.- Bjorn Borg
117. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.- Vitas Gerulaitis
118. Tennis is mostly mental. Of course, you must have a lot of physical skill, but you can’t play tennis well and not be a good thinker. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.―Venus Williams
119. The thing about tennis is if you stay off for two weeks, or just for three days, you can lose your rhythm quickly. So it’s just a question of constant diligence and vigilance. ―Venus Williams
120. I just try to stay positive and focused on the tennis, not let anything get to me, like crazy questions. But I’m tough, let me tell you, tough as nails.―Venus Williams
121. It is very important not to think about losing.―Venus Williams
122. Tennis is mostly mental. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.―Venus Williams
123. A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.―Billie Jean King
124. “Your personal life is much more important than your sporting one and your personal life, god willing, is much longer than your sporting one. It’s more important to be a person than a sportsperson.” – Rafael Nadal
125. “My tennis career have been a priority during all my life but never have been a priority over my happiness of my life.” – Rafael Nadal
Famous Tennis Sayings
126. “There’s always trials and tribulations that you go through, but it’s for a reason. And sooner or later, everything will be great. You can’t go through life without some ups and downs.” – Alexandra Stevenson
127. “When I lose a match, I know that I lose on the court and not in life.” – Gabriela Sabatini
128. “There’s a lot of things in life that we don’t know why they’re coming exactly at this moment.” – Marat Safin
129. “Tennis is a lifelong sport that can be enjoyed by people of almost any age. It’s also something you never forget once you learn.” – Samantha Stosur
130. “Never give up. Take what life throws at you and throw it right back. If life keeps throwing then you have a tennis match going. Learn to like tennis.” – Glenn Ford
131. “All you need are a pair of tennis shoes and motivation to change the course of your life.” – Heidi Bond
132. “Dust yourself down and take it from the top, life is a journey and this is mine.” – Emma Raducanu
133. “Sport always teaches you that no matter how many odds are against you, you can come through them.” – Sania Mirza
134. “Life is full of speed bumps, but I’ll be back even stronger.” – Jack Sock
135. “Live the best story of your life does not shift what you do, it shifts who you are.” – Bob Litwin
136. “Tennis is a part of my life, very important part of my life. But I don’t know, I think in this life you can do more things than just play tennis, no? I like to try to take [in] more culture and to study and to read and to learn, no? I think every day you can learn a lot of things.” – Félix Mantilla
137. “I do believe in balance. For me, it would not be worth for me to be the No. 1 ranked player and have no life outside. I would never want to do that. Or the other way around.” – Monica Seles
138. “Wheelchair tennis brought so much to my life. The challenge to work on my tennis game, I just love to practice and see if all you work for will reveal in the matches. That’s so exciting and gives so much satisfaction when you succeed.” – Chantal Vandierendonck
139. “Tennis: the most perfect combination of athleticism, artistry, power, style, and wit. A beautiful game, but one so remorselessly travestied by the passage of time.” – Martin Amis.
140. “The Williams sisters had something else: each other, and their absolute dominance.” – Anne Helen Petersen.
141. “It is never too late to get into tennis!”- Sam Stosur.
142. “I am the best tennis player who cannot play tennis.”- Ion Tiriac.
143. “In tennis, there is the forehand, the backhand, the overhead smash, and the drop volley, all with a different grip.” – John Updike.
144. “When I play, I feel like in a theatre, why should I look ugly then, because I’m a tennis player?”- Anna Kournikova.
145. “I must be the only player in the world who ever injured himself for a tournament by stepping on a shell on the beach.”- Goran Ivanisevic.
146. “Tennis is like marrying for money. Love means nothing.”- Phyllis Diller.
147. “No matter what you study, the thing that you know best is what you grew up with.”- Maria Sharapova.
148. I told myself to play free. You play the ball. You don’t play the opponent. Be free in your head. Be free in your shots. Go for it. The brave will be rewarded here.-Roger Federer
149. You have to believe in the long-term plan you have, but you need the short-term goals to motivate and inspire you.-Roger Federer
150. I didn’t have the same fitness or ability as the other girls, so I had to beat them with my mind.-Martina Hingis
