Some of the most frequently told stories involve tennis parents and overcoming adversity.

Athletes in all fields have parents who are involved (or not) in their children’s sports development. But they are mostly in the background. A professional football player may give an interview about how much his mother or father made it possible for him to become the player he is. Sometimes those parents even have a brief moment in the camera lens as their child acknowledges them at banquets and trophy presentations. But game day is for the players and coaches. In other sports, parents are involved in a hands-on way, as in figure skating. But they pretty much stay behind the scenes, letting the camera hone in on the skater and the coach. Once in a while they become a story of their own. Brenda Kerrigan was legally blind and so had to put her eye right up to the television to see her daughter Nancy skate. That was a story in itself, as was the tragic death of Joannie Rochette’s mother Therese at the Vancouver Olympics. But these are exceptions.

Tennis is different. While some parents like Pete Sampras’ stay out of the spotlight, many do not. And because they’re front and center in the player’s box or section, we get to know them, their good points, their bad points, and how they are part of their kid’s stories. Gloria Connors fought for Jimmy. Karoly Seles drew cartoons on Monica’s tennis balls to make it fun for her. Mary Pierce’s father Jim and Jelena Dokic’s father Damir were, in my opinion, parents who should have been barred from ever coaching their children. Judy Murray is a constant presence and even gets quoted for calling Feliciano Lopez “Deliciano” before he played her son Andy in a match. Dr Walter Bartoli has some crazy training methods, but daughter Marion remains close to him.

Overcoming adversity takes many forms. Tennis players from all over the world have moved away from home and family to find good training and facilities. Whether that counts as a story usually depends on the age at which the move took place, the homesickness expressed and the success enjoyed as a result of that move. Adversity can be relative. I laughed at a commentator’s story many years ago about how David Ferrer just wanted to get into the top 100 so he could get health insurance. That he would eventually move into the Top Ten was probably beyond his comprehension at that time. His modesty was attractive and has remained so. Not a laughing matter was the home invasion Anna Chakvetadze lived through. It was horrifying and took its toll on her tennis for a long time. That’s one reason we root so hard for her as she tries to come back.

In women’s Grand Slam tennis, we have often been invited into the drama of the Champion’s story. Here are some examples:

In 2004 Maria Sharapova wins Wimbledon at the age of 17 and we already know she is from Siberia in Russia and came to American to train at the tender age of nine. And no matter how homesick she was, she never cried.

Venus Williams wins Wimbledon in 2000 and we already know she started tennis in the crumbling public tennis courts of Compton, California. She is coached by her somewhat inscrutable father, Richard, who refused to allow her or her sister Serena to compete at the Junior level.

Justine Henin of Belgium wins the 2003 French Open and we already know that her mother took her to Roland Garros several times as a child. When Justine was 13 her mother died and she was subsequently estranged from the rest of her family.

By the time Ana Ivanovic wins the French Open in 2008, we have been told ad infinitum the story about her learning to play tennis in a swimming pool in Serbia while war raged around her. (This story has been repeated so often that it has become for many an annoyance rather than an inspiration.)

Jennifer Capriati wins the Australian Open in 2001 and we already know that she had burst on the scene in 1990 at the tender age of 14. We also know about her potential, her meteoric rise, her fall from grace, her shoplifting, and her triumphant return to the top of the game.

When Martina Navratilova wins the U.S. Open in 1983, we have long known her story about defecting to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia in 1975 at the age of 18 and being forced to give up contact with her family in order to do so.

It is now twenty-eight years later, Czechoslovakia is no more. But there are still plenty of players from the Czech Republic. And one of them, Petra Kvitova, wins the 2011 Wimbleldon Women’s Singles Championship. And her story is…..? Well, I think somebody said Kvitova was shy. And her father was barely holding back tears in the Player’s Box when she won. Beyond that….? What’s her story? Does she have one? I know a little about her tennis, but I discover that I can’t quite relate to a player based solely on tennis strengths. I can admire that person, but something is missing. I want an “Up Close and Personal” feature like ABC used to provide for their Olympic coverage years ago. It doesn’t even have to be dramatic. Just help me to know something about who this person is and then I’m sure I’ll appreciate her tennis even more. And who knows, maybe her story will reel in a new tennis fan who is just learning about the game and wants to know more about these exceptional players.