The company I work for strongly encourages its employees to get a comprehensive annual medical exam. My personal theory is that they want to gauge how hard the workforce can be pushed without actually dropping dead. This year I saw a new doctor who was the first practitioner to inquire about my visual healthcare practices. As it turns out, I regard getting an annual eye exam as a “best practice,” not just for tennis players but for everybody.
I get my eyes checked every year. The simple fact of the matter is that early recognition of incoming tennis shots allows a few extra microseconds to start moving to where the ball is going. In essence, playing with my best possible corrected vision helps me cover more court. I suspect that is also true of other players.
A few years ago, I also learned that macular degeneration runs in my family and that some forms are treatable if detected early. My mom has that condition, but it went undetected and untreated until she was irreversibly blind in one eye. Consequently, I now make sure my eye doctor is aware of my elevated risk for macular degeneration and explicitly checks for that each year.
Recently, one of my close tennis friends was diagnosed with a tear in her retina. She subsequently had successful laser surgery to repair it. Left untreated and unmonitored, a tear can sometimes progress to retinal detachment. Again, this is a risk to be avoided.
My new primary care physician expressed surprise at my assertion that I always get an annual eye exam. Apparently, this is something that many people regard as optional in their overall health care. I suspect that this is particularly true for people who have not previously required corrective lenses.
It is a best practice to get a comprehensive eye exam every year. It could help your tennis and prevent small vision issues from becoming more significant.
A few years ago, during a tournament match in Tyler, my doubles partner slammed a ball from close range that struck my glasses and sent them flying across the court. It was actually somewhat of a lucky break, as the ball otherwise would have hit my temple and eye socket. While I received a small facial cut and contusion, the glasses quite likely shielded me from serious injury.
The force of the blow bent the frame, and the lenses received some minor scratches from hitting the court. We could bend the frame back to some semblance of working order, and I was able to continue the match. If the frames had broken or the lens had been seriously damaged, we would have been disadvantaged. I really do not see the ball well without my glasses.
As a direct result of that experience, I realized that the optimal place to keep my most recent old glasses is in my racquet bag. That way, I have a reasonable fallback option if my frames are rendered unusable during a match.
It is a best practice to carry backup eyeglasses and/or contact lenses in your racquet bag. It could help you maintain your competitive level during a match and be the ultimate difference between winning and losing.
I also carry fallback sunglasses. That started after I observed one of my Metro League teammates crush her Oakleys after they fell off her face while going back for a deep overhead. She then accidentally stepped on them while trying to recover court position for her next shot.
I also require corrective lenses to legally drive an automobile. If I break or lose my glasses when out and about, I keep my “previous-previous” frames in the glove compartment just in case my racquet bag isn’t in my car. In other words, I have prioritized better vision on the court over operating a motor vehicle. I feel like most regular readers of this blog would arrive at the same prioritization.
The previous post, “Tennis and Corrective Lenses: A Low Tech Solution,” provides additional practical advice on how to keep lenses clear and smudge-free when competing. That post also includes a story of how dramatically my performance level improved when I first started wearing glasses as a U12 junior player.
I recommend that tennis players who want to optimize their performance level always carry a backup pair of glasses and sunglasses in their racquet bag. It is also critical for everyone to take the time to get their eyes examined each year to make sure that small issues don’t turn into long-term vision problems. The benefits of that extend well beyond the court.
