MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After nearly four years away from competition, a tennis great is back.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: And Serena Williams is back with a bang.
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MARTIN: That's Williams winning a doubles match at the HSBC Championships in London earlier this month alongside Victoria Mboko.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Reporters naturally asked what it's like coming back to the courts at age 44.
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SERENA WILLIAMS: It's riding a bike up a hill. But, yeah, enjoying the ride.
INSKEEP: I love the little subtly there. It's like riding a bike, so you don't forget, but it now feels like you're riding it uphill. Anyway, the ride continues at Wimbledon. She has a wild-card entry to play doubles with her sister, Venus Williams, and another for the singles.
MARTIN: OK. So let's say you're not a superstar athlete. Are there still the benefits of revisiting your playing past? Judy Van Raalte is a sports psychologist based in Arizona.
JUDY VAN RAALTE: Returning to sport is fun, and as an adult, you don't often get the chance to play. You know, a lot of work and parenting and life and all kinds of other things.
INSKEEP: And Van Raalte has some advice for getting the most out of it, like try not to make comparisons to the younger you. Instead, set new goals.
VAN RAALTE: It's not always about winning and losing. It might be about improvement or coming into the net sometimes and hitting a volley or learning a new kind of spin that you weren't able to master before.
MARTIN: Van Raalte also believes reviving the past can help the future.
VAN RAALTE: The ability to come back, to try again, to pick something up, that's a really great personal strength that could apply to your relationships. It could apply to work, where something that was hard might be easier next time around.
INSKEEP: That is Amelia Wilson's experience. She writes a newsletter called Happy on Purpose.
AMELIA WILSON: I began playing tennis at around 12 years old in Brisbane, Australia. And I hated the feeling that people were watching me, especially if I wasn't playing well. It crippled my confidence.
INSKEEP: She quit after high school.
MARTIN: Fast-forward. Wilson was in her mid-30s and living in New York as a mother of two when a friend suggested they take tennis lessons together.
WILSON: And as soon as I set foot back on the court, I remembered how much I loved it. I remembered that I'd actually been pretty good at it.
INSKEEP: And she now sees an opportunity to grow.
WILSON: Being on a tennis court and feeling like you're outmatched is an uncomfortable situation, as is entering a tournament. Those uncomfortable situations and forcing myself into them has been incredibly helpful for my confidence.
INSKEEP: And she's confident enough to write about it in a new newsletter all about tennis.
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