By Eric Schuster

The world of sports is not foreign to Robert De Niro. After all, the 65-year-old actor, director and producer has portrayed a variety of athletes during his 40-year career, including baseball catcher Bruce Pearson in Bang the Drum Slowly and boxer Jake La Motta in Raging Bull.

But who knew that one of his favorite roles off screen was that of a tennis player? That’s right, when he’s not working on his cinematic craft, he escapes to the court to sharpen his tennis game.

“I practice four, five hours a day, just so I can demolish the opponent!” jokes De Niro, describing his current tennis regimen and motivation to compete. And while that might be a slight exaggeration, De Niro is not kidding around when he says he enjoys the sport.

“I’ve played [for as long as] 20 years, but never really seriously,” he says. “Many friends of mine are really into tennis—they watch it and follow it and play it. I’ve started getting serious with it over the past couple years, trying to catch up to them little by little. Now, I just try to play as much as I can.”

It makes it particularly easy for De Niro to find a match since his wife, Grace Hightower De Niro, is herself a big fan of the game. An accomplished singer and contributor to many charitable causes in and around New York, Hightower De Niro has been having a tough time putting down the racquet after receiving encouragement from her husband to play more tennis.

“I’m hooked. I now play all year round—winter and summer,” she says. “When I have a zillion things on my mind, it turns out to be a better day if I get on the court. The game makes you focus on the present.”

The De Niros have become such fans of the sport and enjoy playing so much that they recently had a tennis court installed at their upstate New York home.

“It’s great time spent together as a couple,” says Hightower De Niro. “We play together for two, sometimes three hours, and it can get very competitive! But it’s a wonderful social piece to our relationship.”

Family and friends gathered last year to celebrate their son’s birthday with a tennis party, and Hightower De Niro says the party was a perfect example of why the two of them have fallen so in love with the sport.

“The kids and the adults played for two hours—it was amazing,” she says. “Tennis is something that a whole family can enjoy together. And it’s a great way to help kids keep focus, to help them learn to follow instructions.”

De Niro, who visited his first US Open with his wife in 2007 to take in Finals Weekend, thoroughly enjoys the energy and atmosphere of a New York sporting event when a lot is at stake. “I like to follow a pivotal game or match, when the tension is higher,” he says.

The native New Yorker is co-founder of the annual Tribeca Film Festival in the city, which was established following the attacks on the World Trade Center to help spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan. As for the big screen, De Niro is coming off a role as a Hollywood producer in What Just Happened? and is currently in production on a handful of films. He will next be seen in Everybody’s Fine, due to be released later this year.

But despite the busy schedule, he’s appearing frequently on a tennis court.

“I just try to enjoy it and work on everything,” De Niro says. “It’s great exercise—and that’s the bottom line for me.”