A Tennis Symphony

To round out this weekend’s “Unplugged” series of posts, I went searching for one last quirky story that involves tennis balls. In the process I discovered the existence of a four movement tennis inspired symphony. Even better, none other than Billie Jean King participated in the performance. She played the tympani drums by bouncing tennis balls on them. In other words, I found exactly what I was looking for.

The symphony is “Match Point” by Gwyneth Walker that is a dramatization of a tennis point. The four movements are “Tuning Up,” “Anticipation,” “The Point,” and “Marche Triomphante.” The composers performance notes are absolutely sublime. It is suggested that the conductor and the band members wear tennis clothes, wristbands, headbands, tennis hats, and sneakers. Additionally, the director is supposed to conduct the last two movements with a tennis racquet.

The score is marked with suggestions of where tennis elements can be added as performance flourishes. For example, the percussionists are asked to play using forehand and backhand strokes. The score also calls for tennis balls, which are used to mute the brass instruments and of course to play the drums.

Sadly, I cannot locate a recording of the full symphony. The composition won some awards including first prize in the Composer’s Guild national competition in 1985. Happily, there is a video with excerpts from the performance that featured Billie Jean King. It is truly awesome!

1. Four Movements For Orchestra And Tennis Balls, Gregory Jaynes, The New York Times, January 23, 1988.
2. Match Point Composition Notes, Gwyneth Walker website, viewed October 25, 2022.