Enter Bethanie
When I was playing a lot of singles, as a junior, in college, and beyond, I always despised playing players that got everything back. They call them counter-punchers, defensive specialist, grinders, backboards. Regardless of the name (I preferred "pusher"), I hated them. Sure, some of it had to do with me not being able to get everything back, but it just wasn't my game. Who wants to stand back at the baseline, retrieve every ball, and just get it back? I certainly didn't. It was so boring and frustrating to play against; I couldn't imagine playing that way every time I took the court. I'd rather flame out big than ploop it back and hope for the best. What would people rather watch? And, really, what would I rather play? I realized early that I wanted a game with some entertainment value. I grew up watching tennis on TV and there was nothing worse than long baseline rallies. Pop, turn head, pop, turn head. On and on. That's probably why I was so attr...