Two artists capture finest details of changeovers

It can be silent in an arena full of thousands of spectators or it can be deafening with no one in sight. The 90-second changeover is an opportunity for a player to find stillness and keep their focus on the task at hand—or it can be bustling with negative thoughts.

Recently graphic designer Adil Dara created a video piece that showcased the crucial, yet overlooked, portion of any tennis match: the changeover.

"We were watching old matches and noticed how players act between points and games seemed to be just as important as the next rally," Dara told Baseline. "As spectators, it's fascinating to see what professional tennis players do when they're not playing tennis."

Changeovers aren't consistent, they vary from player to player. Roger Federer reaches for water and his focus never seems to waiver as he looks out at the court in front of him. Nick Kyrgios sometimes spends the entire time ranting out loud, and Rafael Nadal checks his strings and fidgets, a lot.

No serves or backhands are hit, no scores called, no momentum swings are made; a changeover somewhat resembles the state in which the world currently sits in.

"Each player seemed to have their own way of dealing with the downtime of the changeover. Some talked to themselves, meditated, read notes, broke racquets, and so on," Dara said. "Similarly, on social media we're seeing how people are getting through quarantine with puzzles, baking, workouts, making art, zooming, anything and everything. We're resilient and tough that way."

Dara and Leah Goren, who are the owners of The Courts, a dreamy desert tennis oasis 70 miles southwest of Indian Wells, are certainly resilient. With no tennis being served the two are spending time at home creating art and finding productive ways to fill their time.

From brainstorm to final product, the 27-second video piece took a few days to bring to life. "Stuck inside, seems like lots of people are naturally finding comfort in slowing down and getting lost in time-consuming projects," Dara said.

A changeover doesn't last forever, it comes and it goes. The present moment is what we make of it, because soon "time" will be called and the action will commence yet again.