Famous Quotes about Tennis | Short Quotes about Tennis

Famous quotes about tennis: Mental toughness is one of the most important traits that a tennis player can possess. It’s what separates the good from the great, and the champions from the also-rans.

Tennis is a popular sport that has inspired many athletes, fans, and thinkers throughout history. From the likes of legends such as Billie Jean King and Roger Federer to the wisdom of philosophers like Arthur Ashe and Ana Ivanovic, there are a wealth of famous quotes about tennis that capture the essence of the game.

These quotes celebrate the dedication, passion, and perseverance that are required to succeed in tennis, as well as the many life lessons that can be learned through playing the sport. Whether you are a tennis enthusiast or simply looking for some inspiration, these quotes offer a glimpse into the rich history and culture of this beloved sport.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best quotes about mental toughness in tennis, and see how they can help us to become better players.

At this time some of the famous tennis quotes about tennis are mentioned below in rememberence of old golden days.

Tennis Quotes

The serve was invented so that the net could play. ―Bill Cosby

You don’t have to hate your opponents to beat them. ―Kim Clijsters

What rivalry? I win all the matches. ―Martina Hingis

Spectacular performances are preceded by spectacular preparation. ―Frank Giampaolo

Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down. ―Robert Frost

I am the best tennis player who cannot play tennis. ―Ion Tiriac

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

Tennis belongs to the individualistic past – a hero, or at most a pair of friends or lovers, against the world. ―Jacques Barzun

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

Tennis is an addiction that once it has truly hooked a man will not let him go. ―Russell Lynes

Tennis Quotes about Mental Toughness

“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 

“I think luck falls on not just the brave but also the ones who believe they belong there.” – NOVAK DJOKOVIC  

I just try to play tennis and don’t find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore. ―Goran Ivanišević

I’m not afraid of anyone, but sometimes I’m afraid of myself. ―Justine Henin

The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall. ―Mitch Hedberg 

Most players who play tennis love the game. But I think you also have to respect it. You want to do everything you can in your power to do your best. 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. If I knew I could have done something better, I have this uneasy feeling. ―Andy Roddick

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

As a tennis player, you have to get used to losing every week. Unless you win the tournament, you always go home as a loser. But you have to take the positive out of a defeat and go back to work. Improve to fail better. ―Stanislas Wawrinka 

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

Tennis Quotes Short

“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.” – Billie Jean King

“You don’t have to be good to start, but you have to start to be good.” – Arthur Ashe

“The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.” – Author Unknown

“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.” – Billie Jean King

“The fifth set is not about tennis, it’s about nerves.’ – Boris Becker

“The ability to focus on and control what is happening in the present moment is the key to success in any area of life.” – Pete Sampras

Every time I hit the ball on the wall I used to pretend I was there (Wimbledon). When I went to sleep I used to pretend I was there. ―Evonne Goolagong 

Tennis players we’re always playing in center courts that feel like arenas. And when we get on the court and the crowd cheers your name or salutes you – it’s like you’re a gladiator in the arena. And everyone is cheering – and you’re fighting, you’re screaming, during your strokes – it feels like you’re an animal, fighting for your life. ―Novak Djokovic

Famous Quotes about Tennis Being a Mental Game

“Tennis is not a sport, it’s a way of life.” – Roger Federer

Tennis and golf are best played, not watched. ― Roger Kahn

Tennis lets you talk while you’re playing. ―Jane Kaczmarek

As tennis players, you are never satisfied. We are greedy as players, always want better results. ―Sania Mirza  

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

If I was the type of person who had tennis, tennis, tennis all the time and I went to bed and ended up dreaming about tennis, I would go nuts. ―Marat Safin

Tennis is a mental game. Everyone is fit, everyone hits great forehands and backhands. ―Novak Djokovic

“Mental toughness is believing in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams

John McEnroe Quotes

What is the single most important quality in a tennis championship? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well. ― John McEnroe

But these guys learn so fast now, they sort of soak up the information, they’re fearless. Those are the guys who learn from their mistakes and come back strong the next time. ―John McEnroe

What is the single most important quality in a tennis championship? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well. ―John McEnroe

No one cares about the Davis Cup. How many people know I won five Davis Cups and seven majors, but that I rarely played the Australian Open? ―John McEnroe

The greatest compliment I ever got was when people called me an artist, and I understand that solo aspect of being an artist, when you’re in there by yourself, trying to do something great, and people who don’t even know you can come up and just dump on you. ―John McEnroe

What is the single most important quality in a tennis championship? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well. ―John McEnroe

I’d like to be the commissioner of tennis, but do I want to get into politics? Sometimes I have delusions of grandeur that that would be an interesting, good thing. I’m talking about actual politics, like being a congressman, but then I see how unbelievably nasty it really is, and maybe I’m not quite knowledgeable enough to actually do it. ―John McEnroe

I believe there’s only one autobiography you can do. ―John McEnroe

No one cares about the Davis Cup. How many people know I won five Davis Cups and seven majors, but that I rarely played the Australian Open? ―John McEnroe

There’s too much money and too many nice guys around. ―John McEnroe 

Best Rafael Nadal Quotes

I’m not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I’m amongst the best. That’s true. That’s enough for me. ―Rafael Nadal

It’s only a tennis match. At the end, that’s life. There are many more important things. ―Rafael Nadal

Losing is not my enemy, fear of losing is my enemy. ―Rafael Nadal

I’m only superstitious on the tennis court. ―Rafael Nadal

Tennis is a hard sport. There is a lot of competition all year and you play alone. ―Rafael Nadal

“Losing is not my enemy, fear of losing is my enemy.” – Rafael Nadal  

Chris Evert Quotes

If you’re a champion, you have to have it in your heart. ―Chris Evert

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 

Famous Tennis Quotes – Andre Agassi Quotes About Tennis and Life

“Tennis uses the language of life. Advantages, service, fault, break, love – the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.” – Andre Agassi

“The great part about tennis is you can’t run out the clock…. As long as we were still playing, I had a chance.” – Andre Agassi

Being number two sucks. ―Andre Agassi

The great part about tennis is you can’t run out the clock…. As long as we were still playing, I had a chance. ―Andre Agassi

Freed from the thought of winning, I instantly play better. I stop thinking, start feeling. My shots become a half-second quicker, my decisions becoming the product of instinct rather than logic. ―Andre Agassi

Tennis uses the language of life. Advantages, service, fault, break, love – the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. ―Andre Agassi

You’ll hear a lot of applause in your life, but none will mean more to you than that applause from your peers. I hope each of you hears that at the end. ―Andre Agassi

What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose. ―Andre Agassi 

Top Martina Navratilova Quotes

Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,” probably lost. ―Martina Navratilova

The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are at their worst. ―Martina Navratilova

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

Just go out there and do what you have to do. ―Martina Navratilova

Tennis has given me a soul. ―Martina Navratilova

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

“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.” – Martina Navratilova 

Famous Quotes about Tennis in the Seventies

“Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.” – Martina Navratilova 

I had plenty of interviews that I did on big channels in Greece for big media centers. It got people’s attention… It makes me motivated to do even better in the future, and become even more popular… I hope to inspire more people to play tennis in Greece. – Stefanos Tsitsipas 

I feel like some of them have preferences when they are on the court. – Stefanos Tsitsipas 

That’s a really difficult task to do for players, for us, for the young guys, it’s all about time. I don’t know. We will have to beat them or wait for them. – Stefanos Tsitsipas

I think I deserved the match at the end. I was playing really well, feeling really comfortable on the court, when you feel like this, you can do miracles. – Stefanos Tsitsipas 

It’s not very pleasant when you have the umpire give you warnings and time violations and coaching violations during a match. It can affect your thinking. It can affect your decision making, i don’t know what this chair umpire has in specific against my team but he’s been complaining and telling me that my team talks all the time when I’m out on the court playing. – Stefanos Tsitsipas 

Famous Quotes about Tennis – Serena Williams Quotes

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

I’m a perfectionist. I’m pretty much insatiable. I feel there’s so many things I can improve on. ―Serena Williams

I am here to play women’s tennis. I’m a lady. Predominantly, most of the time I always like to play with ladies. ―Serena Williams

If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that’s concentration. ―Serena Williams 

Famous Tennis Quotes – Tennis Player Arthur Ashe Quotes

Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. ―Arthur Ashe

Success is a journey not a destination. Doing this is usually more important than the outcome. ―Arthur Ashe

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

You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing. ―Arthur Ashe

“Success is a journey, not a destination. Doing this is often more important than the outcome.” – ARTHUR ASHE  

Bjorn Borg Quotes

You have to find it. No one else can find it for you. ―Bjorn Borg

The ball is round, the game is long. ―Bjorn Borg

As tennis players, we work and we sacrifice many things. To lose, that’s not a happy thing – I mean sure, I was disappointed. You have to come back strong. But to win the last point in a grand slam tournament, that’s the most beautiful and most satisfying feeling you can get as a tennis player. It’s worth it. ―Bjorn Borg

Boris Becker Famous Quotes

Girls have 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

Winning is a way of expressing yourself. ―Boris Becker

Steffi Graf Inspirational Quotes

I want to reach absolute perfection. And I think I can reach it. – ―Steffi Graf

I never look back, I look forward. – ―Steffi Graf

Sometimes I wish I could have been a bit more relaxed, but then I wouldn’t have been the same player. – ―Steffi Graf

Pete Sampras Quotes

“It’s one-on-one out there, man. There ain’t no hiding. I can’t pass the ball.” – PETE SAMPRAS

It’s one-on-one out there, man. There ain’t no hiding. I can’t pass the ball. – ―Pete Sampras

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

I want my tennis to speak for everything. ―Maria Sharapova

I’ve been playing against older and stronger competition my whole life. It has made me a better tennis player and able to play against this kind of level despite their strength and experience. ―Maria Sharapova

When you start from nothing, when you come from nothing, it makes you hungry. I am proud of where I came from and I know what I want. I want to win. ―Maria Sharapova