‘I hope my son doesn’t play’ - Fognini Opens Up About Less Glamorous Side Of Tennis

A lot of fans think that the life of a tennis player is a superb life that includes a lot of travelling and fun activities but it's not like that.

Players do indeed travel a lot and visit some amazing places however most of their time is spent on tennis courts and in hotels. There is very little time to actually go out and explore the place where you are and it's something that gets overlooked when a tennis player's life gets glamorized.

Fabio Fognini talked about his experience as a tennis player recently admitting that he would not want his son to follow him into the sport.

It's a beautiful life, but it's also difficult. I've always said it, even though it may sound bad: I hope my son doesn't play tennis. Because I know what I did, the sacrifices my dad made... not that I'm not willing to make them for my children, God forbid, but at the same time it's hard, because if you want to try to excel, in our sport you have to put a lot of dedication.

There is a lot of work required to be a tennis player and most days aren't happy days. We've all seen the best of the best dominating and winning but for the average tennis player, it's jut not like that. There are only a handful of days when you feel like you're Federer.

The good games, the days when you feel like the Federer of the situation, in a year, you can count them on the fingers of one hand. And for me it is a very, very important value, always trying, finding the best way to stay on the field even when you are not as you would like.

Fognini hasn't been having that much fun lately. It's been a lot of injuries and a lot of losses which do weigh on you with time. He admitted to feeling sick due to all these losses because he wants to win.

Especially in this period, which is the final part of my career, I am suffering a lot from not winning games. It makes me sick. I want to win as much as possible, it's part of my job. Improve the ranking, earn money, find more self-esteem and conviction....it's a bit like at school, when you feel ready for a history, geography, or math task, and you want to do it in the best possible way.