- In 2022, I decided to pick up tennis again after 30 years of not playing.
- At first I was intimidated to be around strangers while relearning a sport.
In the summer of 2022, the country club my husband and I joined after moving from New York City to Maine — mostly to make friends, since we didn't know anyone in town — advertised a new beginner tennis clinic starting in August.
Every time we walked past the sign, my husband would nudge me and say, "Maybe you should join?" My answer was always a hard no. But he is stubborn and kept insisting until I finally signed up. It was only six weeks, I thought, and I was aching for more physical activity.
What I thought was a temporary hobby has now become a weekly routine. I play tennis at least once a week, if not more. More importantly, I found a new group of friends that I would've not met otherwise.
I hated the idea of playing a sport I was bad at around strangers
I played tennis when I was a kid and was pretty good at it. I'm also a Gemini, which means I played tons of sports growing up, all of which I eventually quit to try new and exciting things. That included tennis, which I dropped around the age of 10.
When my husband and I started dating back in 2014, he invited me to a tennis camp. Determined to impress him, I joined, knowing that he was going to be my safety net around all the other strangers at the camp.
After I signed up for tennis again in August 2022, I dreaded going to class because I hated the idea of strangers watching me make a fool of myself — or so I thought — every time I missed the ball or hit it out of the court. But I persisted, again determined to prove to my husband that this was not my thing once the six weeks were over.
But slowly, as I learned everyone's names and we all got more comfortable playing, my dread dissipated, and I started looking forward to tennis lessons.
Those strangers turned into friends, and we now text each other every day
The six weeks came and went, we all started getting better, and when the tennis pro asked if we wanted to continue the beginner clinic, we all agreed it would be fun. We weren't friends yet, but we were comfortable enough around each other that we wanted to keep playing together. One night, a woman in the group asked if we wanted to get a drink after the lesson ended, and since then we've gotten dinner and drinks each week.
Thursdays became my tennis day, a time for me to do something for myself after working all week and taking care of the kids after work. I'll say no to anyone who invites me to do anything on Thursday. That's how important tennis has become to me.
But it's not just about the sport — which, granted, allows me to break a sweat and also turn off my brain for a couple of hours. It's about the people I met while playing. We've become real friends and text each other every single day.
At first, our group chat coordinated tennis lessons. Now, we talk about spouses, our kids, work, news — anything and everything. They are the ones I go to first when I have a problem, and I confide in them as if we've known each other forever.
I recently celebrated my 40th birthday and threw a party that included new and old friends. A friend who recently moved and is struggling to make friends asked me how I had met so many new people so quickly. My answer was simple. I put myself out there to play tennis, and in return, I made friends for life.