- Elena Rybakina Edges Into Second Miami Open Final
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Thursday, March 28, 2024
- Novak Djokovic Splits with Coach Goran Ivanisevic
- Ricky’s picks for Thursday in Miami, including Alcaraz and Zverev
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
- Alcaraz makes quick work of Musetti, Sinner and Dimitrov also win in Miami
- Victoria Azarenka Advances to Miami Open Semifinals
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
- Andy Murray Out for “Extended Period” with Ankle Injury
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Monday, March 25, 2024
- Ricky’s picks for Monday in Miami, including Alcaraz vs. Monfils
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Sunday, March 24, 2024
- Ankle Injury Forces Tommy Paul to Retire in Miami
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Saturday, March 23, 2024
- Miami Open Draws and Schedule for Friday, March 22, 2024
WTA • Ladies Tennis • Visits Charleston, South Carolina • A City Rich In History
- Updated: March 30, 2018
Photo by Brett Connors Photography
By Craig Cignarelli
The city of Charleston has history in every nook and cranny. Military forts, civil rights battles, plantation homes, and a proximity to Savannah which hosts ghost haunts. People here rarely discuss the past but you get the sense that if you aren’t from here, they treat you differently. They are kind and warm with professional smiles that suggest your dollars and compassion is welcome but don’t call yourself a Charlestonian unless you can trace your roots back a few centuries. The past is silent but important here.
Today I was listening to some coaches having strategic talks with their players. The coaches spoke of patterns and habits and tendencies. In response, the players spoke of unforced errors and missed opportunities. The perspectives were as if two separate matches were being played. The coaches insisted the athletes had to learn better observation techniques and to become aware of what had already transpired in the match.
Charleston’s past matters because it informs today’s society. There is an undercurrent of racial tension and an economic disparity in which certain segments of society cannot cross the tracks. There are tourists and locals and those “from heya.” When you wander around town, you can feel your social status almost as much as the humidity.
The coaches don’t want their players to dwell on their emotions. Letting past mistakes fade into oblivion and letting missed opportunities disappear like dawn’s stars are important mental strategies. But past points can provide information about proper patterns, successful strategies and tactical tempos. What has happened in a match is critical, even if it only gives you “a sense” that something is working. Perhaps they’ve hit three aces down the T, or always passed crosscourt, or twice-missed a backhand down the line off your angle.
Lesson: History is silent but filled with information and events, which give you the sensation that something important took place. That sensation informs the future. Be aware of it!