Grand Prairie

“The Battle of the Sexes” between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was an iconic re-enactment of one of the world’s oldest conflicts in history: the battle of man verses woman, played out on a simple green and white painted concrete court. Yet the spectacle surrounding the match was anything but simple; hosted in the futuristic Astrodome with a crowd of 30,492 present, this match became the most watched tennis match in the US. This landmark match was televised to over 90 million people around…

In tennis, there are a few movements that are key to winning the match. When someone plays tennis they are looking for the other player to make a mistake, or to make a shot too hard for the other player to hit. The basic movements of a tennis match are serves and rallies. How a player hits the ball with their racket determines what speed, spin, and trajectory of the ball. These actions can be analyzed through the lens of a physicist to find out what exactly happens. Let’s begin with the serve.…

under the training of his uncle, Rafa turned pro when he was fifteen. At the age of seventeen he beat Roger Federer to become the youngest player to ever reach the third round of Wimbledon, which is one of the four grand slams. Then two years later he played in the French Open, another grand slam, for the first time and won the tournament. He won the same tournament every year for the next three years and at the end of his run, he was named ATP newcomer of the…

years later she completed her career grand slam in 1999. Then in 2002 she received her first ranking of world number one. But it took a lot to get there. Serena finished porley in three event, ending she and her sisters 16 event win streak. She and her sister had to pull out of wimbleton's double event because of injury. But she came back strong winning a few events and tournaments in a row then finally beating the former world number one to win her first grand slam in 1999. After that she was…

The professional athlete I chose to research is Serena Williams. Serena is an American professional tennis player who is ranked number 1 in women's singles tennis. I choose to research Serena because she has always been an important role model in my life. Ever since I have started to play tennis, I loved watching Serena on TV and going to the US Open to watch her in person. Every unique swing she does I like to recreate myself to become a better athlete like her. She has a determined and kind…

I’m a competitive tennis player and I am preparing to play one high school teams this spring(even though I am only an 8th grader). I constantly want to improve, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. I train three times a week and matches every Saturday, but I didn’t do anything else. I know that tennis is a very mentally demanding game, same goes for physically.The best players in the world win because they are in great shape and because they break their opponents mentally. I also know that anything…

On September 20th, 1973 Women’s tennis champion Billie Jean King took on Men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs in Houston, Texas in a winner take all $100,000 tennis match. The match was nationally televised and was named the “Battle of the Sexes”. King would defeat Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, and become the first women to defeat a man in any sport. After the match, it is reported that Riggs “was devastated and isolated himself in his hotel room for four hours.” The match had an estimated 90 million…

The idea of sports has been around since humankind. Ancient Greece introduced the Olympic Games in 776 BC which still to this very day encourages athletes to train for early on in their lives (“’History’”). Cristiano Ronaldo for example was only ten when he was deemed “A phenomenon—a kid who ate, slept and drank the game” (Christiano). George Jr, or better known as “Babe Ruth”, was only seven when he was introduced into baseball (Babe). How do children grow up to be talented in a sport? The…

Tennis-“The Omaha Special” Former grand slam champion Billie Jean King was once quoted that, “Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it has taught me is that every ball that comes to me, I have to make a decision. I have to accept responsibility for the consequences every time I hit the ball.” Similar to a competitive tennis match, life is full of calculated yet complicated choices. Every decision that one makes has a consequence. Whether this consequence is examined within…

Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening is primarily about the limitations and struggles of women in the 1800’s, however; it seems conceivable that Edna suffered from psychological issues (Ryan). She had the same limitations and struggles that all women had at the time, but her coping skills seem to be debilitated. It is common knowledge that early childhood experiences shape adult lives. Considering that Edna lost her mother at an early age and was raised solely by a cold and strict father, her…