Danielle Bouchard

University of Manitoba kinesiology and recreation management professor

"I recently read the biography of tennis great Andre Agassiz, Open. He opens up, that's for sure. He sure had a stressful career. I was a tennis player when I was younger and I thought he had the greatest life ever. This book was an eye-opener. His dad decided that his son was going to be a tennis player, and that was that. Andre had no choice. When he about six, he had to hit a million tennis balls a year; his father counted them. When his father was buying a new house, all he cared about was whether there was enough property for a tennis court. I was shocked by the whole thing."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 2, 2013 J10