They call him the "Rocket Man." Tennis pro Andy Roddick holds the world's record for fast serves: 155 mph. By the time opponents realize where the ball is going, very often, it's already gone. Ace! Roddick's serve is much-feared around the US Open, which began this week in New York.
His groundstrokes are like rockets, too. And, believe it or not, that can be a problem. Balls hit so hard want to go long, flying straight out the back of the court. Out! It's hard to win a game that way.
So what do you do when you're so powerful? Roddick has a trick up his sleeve: topspin. By hitting the ball obliquely (at a slant), he causes it to spin. Topspin makes the ball curve downward. Instead of going out, it drops neatly into play on the other side of the net.
Now the Rocket Man is wondering, "What if the US Open were played on the Moon? Would topspin do me any good?"
It's a perfectly reasonable question. In 2004 when President Bush set out the nation's Vision for Space Exploration, he declared "human beings are headed into the cosmos." He never said, except for the tennis players. Where people go, sport follows. Decades from now, tennis might be a popular pastime on the Moon.
Picture this: Two space-suited athletes stare at each other across the net of a tennis court drawn in moondust. Their own reflections stare back from the faceplate of the opponent. Overhead, the sun is bright, the sky is black and Earth looks absolutely beautiful; it's a crescent today.
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