I have never played tennis before, I don’t even recall ever holding a tennis racket before, but it was always something I wanted to try.

My friend Senaya invited me to come and play tennis with her on Saturday. We met at the tennis club around 9:30 in the morning.

There was a coach who introduced me to the sport and showed me some of the movements essential for the game. Although it took some time and many tries, I finally got the hang of it (well, not quite). I kept sending the ball in all directions but straight, which seemed to put the coach’s patience to a limit.

When he found out, the coach couldn’t believe that I was from the same country as Djokovic (the disappointment in his eyes was clear as day 😂).

Finally he let us two (Senaya and I) play on our own. After many fails of trying to pass the ball properly, I arrived at a point where we could finally play. Our first goal was to make 10 passes (this took a while to achieve). However, after achieving that goal, we moved to 15 passes. The more we played, the more passes we were able to make and the longer we went on without making mistakes.

Watching tennis never gave me an idea that it could be as exhausting as I experienced it that day. A lot of energy is required, such as running and arm and leg strength.

I am glad that I have finally tried tennis. I found it enjoyable, and completely different from what I imagined it to be. All I thought was necessary was to hit the ball, regardless of the technique and special movements. But, I learned that it’s not that simple and it requires lots of skill and practice.

I would like to learn enough to feel confident with the basics which will allow me to play in the future.

At the Tennis Club – Picture by: author

Learning Outcome: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process – Trying a completely new sport allowed me to extend my knowledge on this sport and also helped me understand some of the skills that it requires.