“She like, kinda forced me into playing with her,” he says. “Once I started, I loved it and I just kept playing.”
A native of Hedgesville, West Virginia, says the thrill of tennis is its demanding pace.
"It's an agility-based sport," he says. "So it's not like you're running for a long time, but you're running back and forth so rapidly."
Walling says sports dominate his life.
"It's an agility-based sport," he says. "So it's not like you're running for a long time, but you're running back and forth so rapidly."
Walling says sports dominate his life.
“All of my hobbies revolve around sports,” he says. I wake up in the morning and watch sports, I go to sleep—I watch sports before I go to sleep. It's just really consumed my entire life, honestly. It's chosen my career path for me.”
Although his dream is to be a play-by-play commentator, especially covering Grand Slam tennis events, Walling says he is open to all possibilities.
“Honestly, I really want to work for ESPN, the company,” he said. “So any way that I can achieve that goal, I'd be willing to do so.”
Interview Transcript
NS: I'm Norman Seawright; I'm here with Mason Walling. Mason, you mentioned you played tennis. What got you into that?
MW: I guess I would have to say that my sister got me into tennis, originally. Started playing around the fourth or fifth grade. Yeah, she was into tennis at first before I was; she played for about two years—she's two years than me. She played for two years before I even started playing, and I kind of always had the conception that sports like tennis and soccer were a little bit more wimpy, I guess, or girly, so I wasn't interested at all. I was interested in football, baseball, basketball. But, yeah, she like, kinda forced me into playing with her and once I started, I loved it and I just kept playing; and even she stopped playing and I just kept on with it. I just loved it.
NS: How would you characterize the feeling of actually being on the court to play?
MW: A lot of people don't realize tennis is some of the hardest conditions of any sport, not to take anything away from other sports because they're very hard as well, but on average on a tennis court it's like anywhere from twenty to thirty degrees hotter than it actually is outside. It's very intense; it's an agility-based sport, so it's not like you're running for a long time, but you're running back and forth so rapidly. It's definitely like a momentum-based sport and that's like how I just kinda really get into it.
NS: How has playing tennis—or any other sport, for that matter—influenced your life?
MW: Greatly. It's greatly influenced my life. It's been the center of all of my interests; all of my hobbies revolve around sports. I wake up in the morning and watch sports, I go to sleep—I watch sports before I go to sleep. It's just really consumed my entire life, honestly. It's chosen my career path for me.
NS: What went through your mind, watching the way Wimbledon unfolded this year?
MW: Oh, man… I'm a huge Novak Djokovic fan, so I was a little bit disappointed—happy for Andy Murray. Murray went to the Wimbledon final last year and got beat by Roger Federer, and then right after that the Olympics took place on the same court and Murray won the Olympics, which was huge, and then Murray went on to win the 2012 US Open in New York City, too, so Murray has been doing very well. But for him to win Wimbledon, in his country (if you want to say that's his country 'cause he's originally from Scotland, but Great Britain has kinda taken him in as their own—same deal), ending that 77 year drought… last Englishman to win it, Fred Perry, that's just huge. He's got to feel amazing right now, and congratulations to him.
NS: In sports media, what is your ultimate goal as a professional?
MW: Well, if I had a dream, it would be to do play by play for ESPN. I would do any sports that they would allow me to; tennis would be my first choice, to do the Grand Slam tour in the four big cities across the world. But, yeah, I mean play by play is my number one. I'd do TV, radio, I would do radio talk shows. I'm unopposed to being a writer; I was a writer in college for sports, and I would love to do that, too. Honestly, I really want to work for ESPN, the company, so any way that I can achieve that goal, I'd be willing to do so.
NS: Who are your influences?
MW: I have a lot of different influences. One person that I really admire a lot is Chris Fowler. He does ESPN College Gameday every Saturday from town to town, which is college football, and he also does the Grand Slam tennis. I believe he called the Wimbledon final, if I'm not mistaken, this year with Murray and Djokovic, but he's definitely one of my top ones. Chris Berman, another big one, Stuart Scott (I'm a big Stu Scott fan), and Scott Van Pelt is another one of my favorites.
NS: Alright. Is there anything else that I haven't covered that you think I ought to know?
MW: I think you did a pretty good job. I mean, sports has really just, like I said, consumed my life, and everything I do kinda centers around it.
NS: Alright. Well, thank you, Mason.
MW: Thank you, Norman.
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