As one of
the newest members on Tennis-Orlando.com,
only joining in June 2014, Jherson Baylon still vividly remembers the
butterflies in his stomach before his first match: “While I was on my way to
the tennis court, I felt so excited to play. But when I got there and saw my
opponent, my legs felt stiff, and I started sweating profusely. Suddenly my
excitement went away, replaced by a feeling of seriousness. I tried to reduce
my anxiety by joking around with my opponent. I could tell that he was a really
nice person, but also that he was determined and ready to play. I felt scared
and intimidated. We then started playing, and I lost the first set. I told
myself to just have fun and enjoy each rally. My
opponent was giving everything, so I should too.”
It turns
out the story has a satisfying ending: Despite losing the first set, Jherson
won the match 4-6, 7-6, 14-12 (tie-break). In fact, Jherson is actually still
unbeaten this season—he has a 4-0 record so far (as of July 9th).
Jherson
considers himself an athletic person. He loves to play other sports besides
tennis, such as basketball and volleyball. He is quite serious about maintaining
his skills in all of his sports, making sure to allocate enough time to
practice in each. Nevertheless, he does have a special fondness for tennis,
“Tennis stands out among all the sports I know. It looks so classy and
professional—definitely a gentleman’s game. I also like the fact that there’s
no contact with the opponent, so there’s less of an injury risk. Plus, tennis makes
for great socializing. You could easily start good friendships with your
opponents.”
Jherson has
his dad to thank for introducing him to tennis while growing up in the
Philippines, and his dad is apparently very good! As Jherson says, “He is the
best example of a man who has great fundamentals in his game. A lot of what he
does is actually very basic, but those things have brought him many
championship titles. He let me start by just being a ball boy at first, and
then he started training me when I was seven years old. Unfortunately though, I
had to stop at age nine due to some financial problems in our family.”
Thankfully,
Jherson was able to pick up the racquet again in college. It wasn’t easy to get
back into it, “I had to learn everything again pretty much from zero. It felt
as if I had never played tennis in my life before. I struggled a lot with
proper form and positioning, but I kept on going, and I kept on playing because
I knew someday it would all pay off. I was driven by the belief that I’d end up
playing better than everybody else.”
Evidently,
Jherson is not shy about setting ambitious goals. After all, his motto is
“Always strive for the goals that you never thought were possible.” This year,
he hopes to win the championship and get promoted to a higher division. Jherson
is not just being dreamy, mind you. He actively takes the steps to reach those
goals not just on the court but also off it: He carefully watches his weight,
maintains a pescetarian diet, eats lots of fruits and vegetables, and does
fitness training—all in the name of improving his game. This concerted effort
is partly inspired by his new realization, “My recent games opened my eyes that
in order to become a champion, I need to conquer my fear. I need to improve
every day because there are many very good players out there who are not just
going to let me be the champion. I need to earn and deserve it.”
Jherson’s inspirational goals don’t just end there. His ultimate wish is to play as beautifully as
his favorite player, Roger Federer, whom he considers the best example of a gentleman
on the tennis court: “I want to have good form all the time like him.” Hmm,
Jherson, we love your passion and tenacity, but wanting to be the Maestro
himself might be a little out of reach! ;)
2 comments:
Cool story! Hope to see you in Miami this year. :)
It can't run without me there. :) I'm starting to get excited for it.
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