If you have been following along with my adventures this year, you would have read about my love for sports. Perhaps you came across a story about baseball, car racing, downhill skiing, golf, hiking, kayaking, riflery, sailing, snorkeling, swimming, water-skiing or windsurfing. There is a critical one missing, and I could not close out my 65 adventures without experiencing one focused on my favorite sport, tennis.
I love tennis because it is an all-encompassing game. It is physically challenging, stressing technique, lateral movement, footwork, core strength, reaction time and endurance. It is mentally challenging in maintaining focus and intensity, stroke by stroke strategy and (my personal favorite) learning to let go of mistakes. I love doubles the most of all because it is all of those things, plus it is a team sport, adding in a layer of constant communication, situational awareness, covering for each other and social connection.
This adventure is actually a two-for one. One as a player and one as a fan.
How do you get those eight great tomatoes into that itty bitty court?
My Thursday night tennis group has been around a long time. We’ve been playing together for more than 20 years (that’s more than 500 matches). In all that time, we have never taken a lesson together. So I arranged to get an instructor at our usual time at Sportime, Harbor Island and invited the whole team to join. Our adventure together would be to see if as a group we could be capable of learning… anything, at all? Can these old dogs learn even a single new trick?
Our instructor Liza, played for Alabama State and was a two-time finalist in doubles at the HBCU Nationals. When she first found out there would be seven of us she looked concerned. Eight people on a court is double the normal amount! Liza quickly adapted and challenged us to a ninety minute drill that not only got us revved up, but also tested us, exposing our weaknesses and improving our teamwork.
She warmed us up by firing balls at us. Forehands, backhands, drop shots, volleys, overheads. We then broke into groups of two and played staged points, each focusing on a different element of the doubles game. Cross-court control, creating winners at the net, lobbing and covering, consistency, and critical points.
It was a great fun! And, yes, I can safely say that we even learned a little bit!
Tennis Night Out at Madison Square Garden
MSG has been running an annual tennis night all the way back to 1968. The most recent version of this, the “Garden Cup” started last year featuring a small number of tennis stars playing exhibition matches. The Cup is produced by Adam, a friend of my sister and my brother-in-law, so we had an “in” on purchasing good seats. Scott, my brother in-law who is also a very good player, Ali and I, attended on Monday. This was Ali’s first time seeing professional tennis in person, so it was a new experience for her.
The first match we saw was a Juniors event, pitting two fourteen year old boys – who hit the ball with great pace and pretty good accuracy. I am pretty sure either of them could beat me, resoundingly.
The main event started with men’s singles, pitting Tommy Paul (US, Olympic medalist) vs. Nick Kyrgios (Australia, 2022 Wimbledon Finalist). This was a fun match in the intimate arena in which Paul’s consistency edged out Kyrgios athleticism and blistering serve. Woman (and a few men) kept shouting out “we love you Nick” and he responded with loving words in kind.
The second match featured Aryna Sabalenka (World No. 1) vs. Naomi Osaka (4x Grand Slam Champ). Sabalenka’s blistering pace was mostly offset by Osaka’s great defense and consistency. In the end Sabalenka took the prize via some deadly drop shots. Aryna seemed to be having a great time and even had a fan from the stands take her serve on an important point.
Mixed Doubles was the Highlight
Both of those matches were fun, but they were nothing compared to the mixed doubles match that followed. Nick and Naomi took on Aryna and Tommy in what was a back and forth smash-fest of fast work, long rallies and good humor from chair umpire Brad Gilbert. At first, Aryna dominated and seemed to have it in for Nick, poaching to win points at his feet, and threatening him at the net with her high-paced forehands. In the second set, Nick turned the tables and seemed to be everywhere, using his agility and reflexes to cover for Naomi who wanted to be anywhere but at the net. The match came down to a single, very fun point at the end of tiebreaker, in which Nick and Naomi took the prize.
Tennis is a player’s sport and being in the stadium gave us the opportunity to comment on the play, the strategy and the exceptional skill of the players. I loved sharing my favorite sport in person with Ali & Scott.
