So, I thought, you know, let’s get back into tennis. Been ages. Went out, bought a new can of balls, felt all sporty. Then I remembered, oh yeah, I wear glasses now. Not just for squinting at my phone, but like, all the time. For actually seeing stuff far away, like a fuzzy yellow ball coming at my face.
First proper hit-around? Absolute disaster. Seriously. My regular glasses, the ones I wear to the grocery store? Useless. Every time I tried to sprint for a shot, whoosh, down my nose they’d slide. I must have pushed them up a thousand times. And sweat! Man, it was a humid day. Instant fog machine on my face. I was trying to peer through a misty window, trying to guess where the ball was.
Then there’s the whole peripheral vision thing. Or lack of it. With frames, you get these blind spots. And if the ball wasn’t dead center in my lens, it would warp a bit. Chasing a wobbly, blurry ball while your glasses are doing a slip-n-slide on your face? Not exactly conducive to a good game. I was getting so mad, nearly threw my racket over the fence. Thought this whole tennis idea was a bust for me.
But then, while I was cooling down, all grumpy, a thought popped into my head. Surely, there have to be professional tennis players who wear glasses, right? I mean, not everyone can or wants to wear contact lenses. How on earth do they manage?
So, I did what any normal, slightly obsessed person would do. I started digging. Watched a bunch of old matches on YouTube, not really for the scores, but to zoom in on players’ faces. Scanned through player profiles, looking for any hint of eyewear.
And guess what? There are some! Not a massive crowd, mind you. I reckon contacts are the go-to for most athletes if they can swing it. But yeah, a few brave souls rock the spectacles on court. I remember seeing Chung Hyeon, that South Korean player, he was pretty well-known for his sports glasses. White frames, usually. He played some amazing tennis with them on.
Then I found out that some of the legends wore them too, at least for parts of their careers. Billie Jean King, an absolute icon, she wore glasses. Martina Navratilova, another great, apparently wore them in her earlier days before switching to contacts. It wasn’t like a super common thing, but it wasn’t unheard of either.
So, What Did I Figure Out From All This?
First thing, the kind of glasses they wear ain’t your everyday specs. No way. These are mostly proper sports glasses or goggles. Wraparound designs, sometimes with a strap to keep ’em glued to their head. Probably made of tougher stuff too, in case of a rogue ball to the face. And special coatings, anti-fog, anti-glare, the works. So, my fashion glasses were definitely not up to the job.
Second thing, it’s clearly a very personal decision. If contacts work, great. But for those who can’t wear them, or just prefer not to, they find these specialized solutions. It’s not like they just give up on their sport because of their eyesight. They adapt. They find the gear that works.
And you know what? It was actually kind of inspiring. Seeing these top-level athletes dealing with something so mundane, something that affects so many of us, and still competing at the highest level. It showed me it’s not an insurmountable barrier. It’s just another challenge to figure out.
My own tennis game? Well, it’s still a bit of a mess, if I’m honest. I haven’t rushed out to buy those high-tech sports goggles just yet. But looking into all this definitely gave me a new perspective. It’s not impossible to play tennis with glasses. It’s just… a bit more complicated than I first thought. Maybe I’ll start with a good sports strap for my current ones and see how that goes. At least now I know I’m not the only one squinting out there on the court!
