A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

Wallace recounts watching the qualifying rounds for the Canadian Open, a major tennis tournament. He focuses the essay on Michael Joyce, a young player who is (at the time) the “79th best player on planet earth” (214). Wallace concedes that a general audience may not have heard of Joyce, at least in comparison to more famous players such as Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi. Wallace, however, is a self-confessed tennis diehard and uses Joyce as an example to illustrate the demands on young players who strive to be among the best at a sport. Wallace describes the various sponsorship deals at the event. In addition to the title sponsor, du Marier cigarettes, many brands attached their names and logos to the Canadian Open. These advertisements are everywhere. Tournaments such as the Canadian Open are international events, attracting players from all over the world who mostly compete for the privilege of being knocked out by one of the more famous players in the later rounds. Wallace describes the complex organizational structure of the tournament, the extensive list of exotic names, and the bias given to Canadian players who might not have qualified on sporting merit.