At 36 years old, John Isner still feels as if he can win a tennis tournament.
Isner, a former Georgia Bulldog, is now a husband and father of two with one more on the way later this year, but he said that he’s enjoying the sport of tennis and competing for titles more now than he has in a long time.
“I think the most important thing is I’m really enjoying it,” said Isner at the Truist Atlanta Open media day Tuesday. “I’m having a lot of fun on the court. I’m eager to get out there and compete. There have been some times in my career where maybe I haven’t had as much fun competing, whether because of pressure and getting the match over with.”
Part of this renewed love for the game has come from having nearly an entire year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the shutdown in March 2020, Isner has played in only seven tournaments.
Part of the renewal is related to seeing how he’s able to be competitive at his age. Isner made a comparison with another pro athlete who is still near the top of his sport, despite being older than a lot of his competitors.
“My shoulder feels healthy, and I am in no way comparing myself to Tom Brady because he’s like the greatest of all time, but his arm is still strong which is why he’s still going,” Isner said. “My arm definitely still feels strong. I might have slowed down a bit, but with that I might have gotten a little bit wiser, too.”
The biggest factor is a new perspective that being a father and a husband has given him. The decision to play fewer tournaments and spend time off the court was made with his family in mind.
“I now know that a tennis match isn’t the most important thing in the world,” Isner said. “The environment that we’ve been playing in, in Europe with bubbles and no fans, it is what it is. It’s how it has to be, but it’s something I didn’t want to be a part of with two young kids and my wife at home.”
Isner will compete in Wimbledon this month, but he’s more so looking forward to returning to Atlanta at the end of July to once again play in the Atlanta Open, an event he’s been a part of since its inception. In the 10 years the tournament has been held, Isner has won it five times and made the finals three times.
Something about the stands being filled with “Georgia fans barking” and supporting him, even when he’s not playing particularly well, is something that Isner loves about the tournament at Atlantic Station.
“Playing here, the setting is more intimate, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a worse atmosphere,” Isner said. “A lot of times it will be a much better atmosphere. When you have those people packed into a stadium, it creates a fantastic atmosphere.”
Ahead of Wimbledon, Isner is ranked No. 34 in the world, but he likely will be seeded in London next week, as many players ranked ahead of him won’t enter the field. In addition to his fitness and reps improving over the next month, he believes that just playing in more tournaments will be incredibly beneficial to his overall ranking.
His family always will be behind him, and recreational tennis will be there when he stops playing in tournaments, but Isner knows he can’t compete forever. So he’s going to make the most of these last few years, doing everything he can to win what he hopes is a sixth Atlanta Open trophy.
“I know how to train and what my body needs,” Isner said. “How I’ve felt this year and how I’ve played this year, I played extremely well, and my body has held up. To be completely honest, I don’t see any reason why I can’t play for a few more years.”
