“Bloody Good Shot, Darling”

In the taxi ride home after my first tennis clinic last year, I messaged a friend saying that I may as well have been wearing cut off jeans and knee high tube socks.

Such is how completely out of place I felt among women kitted out in proper attire and smart visors. I was also nursing a pulled muscle from a tumble I took, in front of everyone, adding to my feelings of defeat.

She wrote back saying that tennis – especially the expat women’s scene – was a thing here and to stay the course. This is the same friend who gently suggested that if I just worked on my technique, I might actually return more balls over the net and become a decent player.

Since then I have bought tennis shoes, wristbands, and cute skirt, re-gripped my racket, and nearly completed three six-week intermediate tennis clinics through Savitar Tennis Centre. Today would have been the last day of the third clinic. But because Singapore recently tightened COVID19 restrictions limiting social interactions to two people, I am writing about tennis instead of working on my net game.

I understand that a post about tennis may seem frivolous in light of a global pandemic and in comparison to everything else I’m learning and experiencing. The truth is, I spend a good deal of time on the courts. And when I’m not, I’m often thinking about it.

So I did a little reading up on the sport. Tennis is thought to have originated in France in the 12th or 13th century, with a handball game called jeu de paume or “game of the palm.” Some say that the word “tennis” is derived from the French word tenez, which means something like “take this” or “here you go,” as in one player serving to the other.

Lawn tennis gained popularity in Great Britain in the mid-1800s, and with it came an air of privilege. When my folks were members of the Ikoyi Club in the mid-80’s in Lagos, Nigeria, tennis whites (or all white attire) and light-soled court shoes were required, as was the requisite post-game refreshment, a Pimm’s Cup or Shandy.

Some of the best father-daughter bonding occurred with my dad, rackets in hand. Ours was more of the “whack the ball” variety versus playing for points. Dad was merciless as he angled and drove shots across the net, like a cat playing with a mouse. I can still hear his chuckle as I struggled to keep up, before he finished me off with a perfect topspin.

Similarly, my first outing ever with Tom was playing tennis. In our mid-twenties and barely knowing one another, we decided for some reason to head to a neighbourhood court. He beat me handily game after game, stoking my competitive ire. He has held this winning streak for thirty years…until last Sunday. We played after he had already clocked in a 15 km run and during misting rain. I beat him in one set, square if not exactly fair.

I’ve learned that if you just-want-to-play-more-tennis, it’s best to do so through organised play, like social doubles with the American Women’s Association (AWA) or by joining a team through Women’s International Tennis Singapore (WITS) or Ladies Tennis Singapore (LTS). These require an official nerve-racking assessment and tryouts. My AWA assessment is 3.0+ on a rating scale of 2.0 – 4.0+ (solid intermediate level, thank you very much); my WITS assessment and team tryouts are postponed until after the restrictions lift.

I have come to appreciate doubles more than singles, although I’ll happily play either. Singles relies on technique and physical fitness, while doubles, as one source said, is more like a physical chess match “in which players attack and defend, exploiting angles and technical weaknesses with strokes of widely diverse pace and speed.” It’s also about trusting your partner, playing to their strengths, and covering them when needed. Analogous to marriage, perhaps?

Like many learned skills, there is that sweet moment when it all comes together – the shot, placement, power, finesse, and winning the point. There’s also nothing quite like the satisfaction when your partner pays the ultimate compliment, “Bloody good shot, darling.”

I look forward to things calming down, here and across our delicate, ravaged planet. And I look forward to the frivolity of carefree, friendly match play once again. “Tenez!“

Terms and player placement in doubles, with A serving, B receiving, C and D at the net.

Smattering of photos from the past few months

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