Personal story

I came for the tennis.
I stayed for the unreasonable ambitions.

My tennis story began with a few drinks at a bar and Rafael Nadal refusing to lose. My own results would later provide a useful contrast.

First, I was watching

I already watched English Premier League football and Formula 1 regularly. I knew tennis, too: my parents played when I was a kid, and I had dabbled. But I hadn’t taken playing seriously, or followed the professional tours.

Then came the 2022 Australian Open final. I was at a bar when I ended up watching Nadal come back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev. His determination caught my attention. I wanted to watch more.

Later that year, I watched him win his 14th Roland-Garros title and 22nd Grand Slam singles title. By then, tennis had firmly joined my viewing habits.

Then came the snacks. And the racquet.

Later in 2022, a friend invited a group of us to hang out on a tennis court. There were snacks, beers and our best attempts at swinging racquets. The emphasis was very much on the hangout.

Those gatherings became weekly or fortnightly sessions, and I started taking an active interest in playing. Around me in Jakarta, tennis seemed to be enjoying a wave of enthusiasm during the pandemic years, alongside running and cycling. Now I was joining in.

My first racquet was a Babolat Pure Aero Rafa, the 285-gram version I chose for recreational play. I had found my inspiration and purchased the appropriate racquet. There remained a small matter of learning how to use it.

The league supplied some feedback

I started taking lessons because I wanted to learn to play properly. I tried several coaches and found a couple who suited me. While I was still very much a beginner, I also decided to enter a league.

It was run through a start-up’s web app, with a leaderboard and a challenge system: challenge someone above you, win, and swap positions. The top eight at the end of the season went into a playoff. It sounded like a good way to find out where my game stood.

My opponents were generous with the feedback.

In that first men’s singles season, I remember losing my first four matches, three of them in particularly sobering straight sets. If memory serves, the first win came on my fifth attempt. I had taken on more than I was ready for.

The losses hurt. They also made me want to keep training. Winning felt good, of course, but losing had made the things I wanted to improve considerably less theoretical.

One title. Lifetime bragging rights.

The following season, I entered both singles and doubles in the beginner categories. My doubles partner was much better than me. Together, we won the doubles title in April 2023.

A beginner doubles title, and I fully intend to exercise the bragging rights for the rest of my life.

I’ve kept playing in the league since then, with occasional playoff appearances. I haven’t won another title. But I keep coming back for the game and the adrenaline of competing: the chance to test what I’ve been working on, with a score attached.

Some assembly required. Every other point.

The biggest mismatch between my ambitions and my game is consistency. In a tournament, I can play a service game where everything works, then get broken to love in the same set.

I can construct a point, play the approach shot I intended and finish with a volley. On the next point, I can put a basic forehand straight into the net.

The ambition is to play intelligent, consistent tennis. At the moment, I sometimes manage the intelligent part.

To me, the mental side feels like a big part of that challenge. That’s how I experience it, rather than a claim that I’ve worked out every cause. Finding consistency between points, games, sets and matches is still work in progress.

I’ve seen glimpses of the tennis I want to play. I would quite like to arrange for it to stay longer.

Still in the rally

Approaching 40, I do wish I had taken tennis seriously earlier. My parents played; the opportunity was there. I simply didn’t feel then what I feel now.

I can’t replay those years. I can work on my skills, take my physical preparation seriously and see how good a recreational player I can become. Apparently, “playing for fun” leaves plenty of room for ambition.

That’s what this site is about: the matches, the learning, and the people and resources that support the journey. When I write about something I’ve used, I’ll say so. When I’m researching something, I’ll make that clear too.

I came to the court for a hangout. Somewhere along the way, I started caring rather a lot. I’m still here, trying to make the next good point a little less of a surprise.

Match references: Nadal’s 2022 Australian Open comeback and his 2022 Roland-Garros title. League results are my personal recollections.