July 22nd, 2008
Tennis with Tonia
I have a new hobby. Tennis. My best friend Tonia asked me quite awhile ago if I would be interested in taking tennis lessons with her. Her daughter had been taking lessons for a bit, and her husband played (quite well) in high school, so she figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to learn the game. And what better way to learn it than with a friend - right? Well, about a week before our class started I learned about my impending foot surgery, and tennis was on hold. Six weeks later when the next round started, I knew it was too soon. So we waited another six weeks. It was probably too soon for me (not probably- definitely) but my spirit really needed a lift and this sounded like fun.
We began our lessons at the racquet club on Thursday nights. There were only 4 or 5 of us in class usually, which was fine by us. Less people to look stupid in front of. It’s called USA Tennis, an introductory or re-entry class for adults - i.e. first timers or those who haven’t played in a really long time.
We were pretty much both hooked since day one. I think we both went home and emailed each other saying how much fun we had had that night. So we continued our lessons, and pretty soon the six-week class was over. We both decided to take another round without hesitation. Our instructor suggested an outdoor class on Wednesday night. He said it was a big class with a lot of outgoing people who played well and really liked to have a good time. He said we would fit in quite well.
So we started our new class. We loved it right away. Although we are definitely are all there to learn the sport, it was clear that having a good time was a priority as well.
After awhile Tonia and I decided we knew enough about the game to go ahead and play out in the real world on our own. Learning all of the ins and outs of the game is confusing at first - especially scoring. It may sound weird but there actually is a lot to learn before you can play an actual set.
Monday nights became our ritual. It’s a lot of fun. And it’s a great workout too. Both of us are highly competitive, and both of us are pretty much at the exact same level. That makes it so much more enjoyable. It’s not the same if you are way better or worse than someone. I have played with someone WAY better than me an you could tell she slightly annoyed.
Tonia and I get really competitive when we play. However, we have also known each other for a really long time, 15 years, so we are more than comfortable to just be ourselves. When you play with someone you don’t know well, you have a tendency to be more serious and really just play the game. This isn’t always the case with us. Usually, after a few points we start talking about something else and then completely forget the score. Sometimes we even forget who served the last game. We forget which side to stand on, how many games we each have won, sometimes we even forget how to hit the ball entirely (I did that tonight). Oh well. We never forget how to have a really good time. Tonight we were laughing so hard I couldn’t serve the ball. Luckily a couple came to play at the courts we were on and then we had to behave and that probably made it a little easier to focus and just play.
Also, tonight we made a new rule that all conversations must be held until the end of the game. Remember, a game is a mere 4 points. We ALMOST stuck to it…almost.
In addition to being fun, singles Tennis is extremely tiring. Or maybe I’m just really out of shape. Maybe both. We decided tonight after playing a full set (if you don’t know you must win 6 games to win a set - the score was 6 to 4 thus we had played 10 games) that we would need the following to play a full match (3 sets) like they do in the big time: a red bull, and sandwich, a massage, a cup of coffee, a shower, and a really good pep talk. But then we decided it might not be so hard to keep going if there were truckloads of money riding on it like there are for the pros. Maybe someday….