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I've been playing racket games; however I love lawn tennis the most. This is not only because of the lovely players around but more than anything else, the beauty of making friends, spectacular shots, and good health.
Interestingly, lawn tennis played a very significant role in the history of France especially during the French Revolution. Lawn tennis also was remarkable in the transformation of diplomatic history of the English people as can be seen in their diplomatic ties with “the Celestial Empire”--China--especially during the reign of her last emperor.
In the late 20th century up to the turn of the 21st century, major tennis opens (Wimbledon, French, U.S., etc.) dominate sports TV screens during their seasons. This is aside from the commercials of tennis enthusiasts in the likes of Borris Becker, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Williams sisters, Anna Kournikova, and Maria Sharapova who are often covered in all forms of media.
In the local front, many business transactions in the Philippines are held in the tennis courts. And almost all provincial, city, and municipal centers in the countryside have tennis clubs. This entices Filipino tennis enthusiasts and tourists to bring with them tennis equipments wherever they go in the country. Despite all these, the country wasn’t able to produce a player of international stature. Why?
In the University of the Philippines, lawn tennis has been part of her being, in line with its vision of total human development. The tennis courts in the heart of the Diliman campus serve as conducive venue for socialization of the various members of the UP academic community and their visitors. An environment was created to foster camaraderie and sportsmanship among the diverse and pluralistic members of the Philippine society.
The proliferation of lawn tennis and its wide acceptance in the Philippines is three-fold: firstly, media influence of presenting the beauties of this sport activity [aesthetics, tennis ethics, etc.]; secondly, its health benefits according to the testimonies of tennis players and scholars; and finally, its becoming affordable nowadays unlike before the badminton phenomenon.
Of course, there are many reasons behind the transformation of tennis, from an elite sport to a lower middle class sport in the Philippines, which need to be verified and scientifically studied by our scholars.
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Writer Profile
Teng Catong
ESNAEN M. CATONG is finishing his Ph.D. in History, Cognate in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, where he also earned his master's degree. He teaches political science and history at the Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City, where he graduated a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and a B.A. in Political Science.
Teng, as his friends call him, won in a research competition from the Southeast Asia Research Fellowship Program for Young Muslim Scholars under the auspices of AMAN and the Rockefeller Foundation. He has presented papers in international conferences and has published articles in journals. His major works include Philippines-Saudi Arabia Relations: A Socio-Cultural, Political, Labor and Economic Relations (forthcoming, 2007); Balik Islam and Its Socio-Political Implications (forthcoming, 2007); Active ‘Three-O’ Diplomacy: An Indispensable Alternative for Philippine Survival (forthcoming, 2007); and Energy Crisis: The Philippine Experience (forthcoming, 2008).
His research interests include diplomatic history, geopolitics, migration, energy and the environment, Islamic studies, international relations, and peace and conflict resolution.
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