Chanda Rubin

Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. Quotes It’s a real honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, to be included with a class that includes people like Shaquille O’Neal. The fact that it’s the sports hall of fame – not just tennis – says a lot. As you get further away from your playing days, things like this become nicer. I was on the team and trying to play, You earn your way there. I was hoping to play. It was still a great experience. It was completely different, an interesting connection with other athletes. But it (not playing) was rough, confidence-wise. It was a hit, a definite blow. It was a challenge, but I wanted to play, I knew I had the game. The question was always whether my body would hold up. It was a struggle, confidence-wise. You have to believe in your ability once the match is going on. I had a weapon, that was the big thing – my forehand. If I wanted to win a point, I wanted to get to that shot. I also had speed to get around the court. I loved competing. I always had the will to keep fighting, to not give up. I wanted to be the best I could be, and kept getting better and better, I moved pretty quickly. I kept building and stayed grounded. He gave me my base, Fundamentals are a big part of the game, and he was big on that. You always go back to things you learned when you were 7-8-9. You have to be technically sound. John also helped me with my ability to compete, too stay in the moment. He helped me to understand the need to stay calm in the face of change, to keep doing what you’re doing. He taught me how to play the point and to compete at my best. Off the court, I tend to analyze things, But with tennis, I’m the opposite of that. I like to hit, be aggressive and go after it. Tennis was a release for me. It clashed with my innate tendency to over-think things. You still have to process; the challenge is to balance it. You have to figure out how you want to live, You become a little bit jaded. But you get past it and learn from it. It helped that my parents didn’t coach me on the court. There was that separation of roles, and that helped. Not much, I enjoyed playing and competing. Making the top 10 for the first time was big. My comeback at the French Open (a marathon 9-7, 4-6, 16-14 win over Patricia Hy-Boulais in 1995) that changed my perspective. Things started to work for me. I enjoyed the process. It’s always a journey. She had such a different style, She was a counter-puncher. You couldn’t hit through her. I had power. She was quick around the court and at the net, so that was a great counter to my game. I was quick, too, though. There were no gaps where the opponent could go. We won most of the matches we played together. We’re in a bit of a transitional period, We have young ones coming up, but they haven’t broken through to the top level like Serena and Venus (Williams). I’m not sure about the next couple of years, of players’ ability to sustain a high level of play week-in and week-out. It’s a big country, with so many assets, So many things can undermine focus and concentration. You don’t see the same hardness, that ability to dig in. I think early notoriety is a problem. Players think they’re in a place where they’re really not. You’ve got to be honest. There’s no hiding. Courier, Sampras and Agassi had that competitive spirit. We’ve got to get some of that back. Rubin relied on forehand, fortitudeN.D External links Category:Tennis players from the United States Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Women in sports Category:Women from the United States Category:African Americans Category:People from Louisiana