‘Too Hot for Me to Play’- American Actress Dakota Fanning Narrates How Parents Forced Tennis to Instill the Value of Hard Work

Tennis has been an unfulfilled dream for many who have now switched to various other careers. Dakota Fanning, an American actress is one such example of this. The 28-year-old actress shot to prominence with ‘I Am Sam’ at the age of 7.

She talked about how her short-lived career in the sport came to an end and how she switched her career to a different sport. But even that did not work out and she finally switched to acting where she thrived and did well.

Dakota Fanning on her unfulfilled dream of becoming a tennis player

The American actress was at the US Open witnessing the match on the second day. But her interest does not only lie in watching the sport. She played the sport when she was young and also lovd it. She talked about the unfulfilled career of tennis and her switch to another sport. The actress was motivated to pursue it because of her mother.

She said, “My mom played tennis for, like, six hours a day and went to college on a tennis scholarship because that was the way she could go to school.” She learned the values she picked up from that. She said, “So they instilled in me the idea that you have to work hard for the things you want in life and never complain.”

Moreover, Fanning herself liked the sport when she was young. Though her interest was in different aspects of tennis. She said, “I came to my mom one day, and I was like, I really like the outfits, the outfits I get to wear, but it’s just too hot for me to play tennis, and I didn’t want to play anymore.”

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After that, she explored the field of soccer but there she could not thrive well. She also uploaded a picture of her younger self with a racquet on the court.

It stated, “my days as a tennis pro”. However, now the actress has entered the film industry and is thriving well there.

Crossover of the two spheres

There have been many instances where there has been a crossover of interest in the two spheres. Pop star Britney Spears is a huge tennis enthusiast. She loves to play the sport and makes sure to keep it a part of her fitness regime.

Her trainer had once compared her to the 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams too. Apart from that, Serena Williams has acted in TV shows and a lot of pop artists have given references to the player in their songs.

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