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Rising American star J.J. Wolf says growing up he played multiple sports and it all affected positively his body and helped him develop as a tennis player. The 21-year-old American played soccer, basketball, baseball and tennis until he was 16 and then decided to solely focus on tennis.
"I play more like an athlete than a tennis player,” Wolf told tennis.com. “I wouldn't call myself a tennis genius. "Soccer helped develop my footwork and quickness, playing basketball was good for my lateral movement and jumping ability, and baseball was great for keeping a live arm while serving and also strong hip rotation." Playing multiple sports while growing up in most cases positively impacts the body and in Wolf case that was absolutely the case.
"Soccer helped develop my footwork and quickness, playing basketball was good for my lateral movement and jumping ability, and baseball was great for keeping a live arm while serving and also strong hip rotation," Wolf claimed.
Wolf comes from a sports family as his grandfather Charley played football, baseball, and basketball at Notre Dame, before he became a coach in the NBA. All of six of Charley's son played college basketball. Wolf, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.
144 in the world, was coached by his father Jeff until he was 17. The 21-year-old says limiting to only one sport would have led to negative consequences. "I probably would have burned out if I played only tennis growing up,” Wolf says.
“My family never pressured me to pick a sport. I chose tennis because it came down to what I could control. On the court it’s all about you every point”.
'Wolf has the game to beat good names'
Wolf has never played at the ATP level but he is a four-time Challenger champion and he has won 19 of his last 21 matches.
Wolf would have likely received a wildcard for either the Indian Wells Masters or Miami Masters if the season wasn't suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak. "J. J. hits as big as anyone I’ve seen coming out of college in a long, long time,” USTA Pro Circuit commentator Mike Cation said.
“At this stage, playing guys outside of the Top 50, he can overpower just about anyone at any time. To use a golf reference from another era, he is John Daly, grip it and rip it, except with a fitness level that is off the charts”.
