Amateur Tennis

So I've blogged about professional tennis fairly frequently. But is this where the real spirit of tennis lies? I think no. I think that the real spirit of tennis lives in amateurs who go out and hack at the ball as they have time and ability to find others to play with. When you are paid to play, it is hard not to become a mercenary. Those who play for the love of it are the ones who truly have the spirit of tennis (and perhaps a few of them are also paid to do so). As the Bible says, you can't serve God and Mammon, as you can't serve two masters, and "you can't say fairer than that.*" No wonder so many pros find it hard to continue to love the game.

I played on high school tennis team for four years, and the team won the state title each year. But then dropped off completely in college. I think some of the politics of the team aspect had bummed me out about it (younger players selected over older players because it would be more beneficial to the team in later years). And I also knew that I wasn't really going to be a superstar tennis player, which was disorienting and disappointing. A guy who lived across the street from me was much better than me, yet he was getting down on himself because he didn't think he had a shot at division I college tennis. Who then was I?

So I didn't play much in college and tried to play some since, but never with much gusto. It is hard to find someone about the same ability level, and without that it's not that much fun. But I have somewhat recently recaught this amateur love of tennis, thanks in part to finding someone who plays a similar style and ability. So we've dusted off the racquets and play once a week, indoors since our climate is predictably cold and rainy in the winter.

Maybe I'm being vain (again) in thinking that we are among the heart and spirit of the sport. But I wake up at 5:30am, get dressed in the dark so as not to wake my wife, then make coffee, eat some granola and yogurt, stumble out the door with my racquet bag (with my shoes inside it, as otherwise they'll get wet before I play). I pick up my friend, Marty, who lives a few doors down at 6:15, and we drive across town to the tennis centre to start play at 7. We park 15 minute's walk away to get free parking.

This week, the guy who was supposed to open up at 7 didn't show, so along with another regular (the only other 7am Monday morning regular), we snuck into the building through a hole in the tarp-like building. The guy who works there wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't show until 7:45, so what were we to do? Sit out in the rain for 45 minutes? No, we played, and we played well, perhaps pushed by our adrenaline at sneaking in. Perhaps because we play a game called "8 Canadians and an American" where we hit eight shots "nicely" (the Canadians), then get aggressive after that (we're both Americans living in Canada, so we see it both ways). It's a fun game because it forces you to stay consistent and then switch gears.

What is your tennis routine, if you are an amateur player? (OK, any professionals can chime in too, if you're reading this).



*Jack Aubrey, Aubrey-Maturin novels, by Patrick O'Brian.