Tennis Toughness

R-O-L-A-N-D G-A-R-R-O-S. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? As I practiced my French before heading to Paris for the first time, this was the phrase I most earnestly recited.

This hallowed cathedral of tennis was what initially drew me to the City of Lights, where my childhood hero swatted away challenger after challenger with her two-handed backhand. Gracious in victory and gracious in defeat, Chrissie Evert showed me what mental toughness was all about. 

"Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far." - Chrissie Evert