I began to appreciate time. There is nothing more wonderful to have in one’s life, than time. I don’t believe people get enough of it nowadays. I was excessively fortunate in my childhood and youth, just because I had so much time. You wake up in the morning, and even before vou are properly awake vou are saying to vourself: “Now, what shall I do with today?” You have the choice, it is there, in front of you, and you can plan as you please. I don’t mean that there were not a lot of things (duties, we called them) I had to do-of course there were. There were jobs to be done in the house: days when you cleaned silver photograph frames, days when you darned your stockings, days when you learnt a chapter of Great Events in History, a day when you had to go down the town and pay all the tradesmen’s bills. Letters and notes to write, scales and exercises, embroidery—but they were all things that lay in my choice, to arrange as I pleased. I could plan my day, I could say, “I think I’ll leave my stockings until this afternoon: I will go down town in the morning and I will come back by the other road and see whether that tree had come into blossom yet.” Always when I woke up, I had the feeling which I am sure must be natural to all of us, a joy in being alive. I don’t say you feel it consciously-you don’t—but there you are, you are alive, and you open your eyes, and here is another day; another step, as it were, on your journey to an unknown place. That very exciting journey which is your life. Not that it is necessarily going to be exciting as a life, but it will be exciting to you because it is your life. That is one of the great secrets of existence, enjoying the gift of life that has been given to you.

—Agatha Christie

How beautifully put! Wish we’d written this. From her autobiography.

It’s no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. Even the structure of tennis, the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls, mimics the structure of our days. Points become games become sets become tournaments, and it’s all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point. It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours, and any hour can be our finest. Or darkest. It’s our choice. —Andre Agassi

In his captivating autobiography Open, tennis legend Andre Agassi serves us more than just a glimpse into his world. He hits the court of life with profound observations that resonate with us all. Agassi beautifully points out that tennis speaks a universal language – one that mirrors the twists and turns of everyday existence. It’s a language of advantage and faults, of breaks and love, much like the ebb and flow of our own lives.

Agassi’s analogy of tennis to life isn’t just metaphorical; it’s a deep dive into the way every match is like a microcosm of life itself. Just as our days are a series of interconnected moments, every point in a tennis match has the potential to be a turning point. It’s a reminder of how our own choices and actions can sway the course of our journey, be it on the court or in our daily lives.

The structure of tennis, Agassi points out, resembles the way time unfolds – seconds into minutes into hours. Similarly, points turn into games, which become sets, and eventually build into tournaments. This structure echoes the way every decision we make accumulates, leading us to our personal victories or challenges.

Agassi’s words aren’t just inspiring; they’re a mirror reflecting the power of choice. Every hour can indeed be our finest or darkest – much like every point in a tennis match. His memoir is a testament to resilience, a journey of self-discovery where triumphs and struggles interweave to create a mosaic of a life lived to its fullest.

Read it if you haven’t yet. We are planning to read it again 🙂