tennis racquets

I restring my tennis racquets two or three times a year, and Robert volunteered to take one of my racquets in for me this time.  It dawned on me I hadn't had a new racquet in several years.  I've had four racquets since I started playing tennis when I was thirteen.  I have been taking my racquets to Tennis Set for many years to have them restrung and to change the grips.  The gentleman who does it has always done a fantastic job.  As Robert was leaving, I wondered out loud if the gentleman would tell me when I needed a new racquet, or if I would need to eventually figure it out on my own.  Each time I've needed a new racquet, there's been a reason.

That night Robert had a giddy look on his face.  Anyone who knows him well knows about the smile he gets on his face when he's up to something.  He told me he didn't say anything at all to the gentleman who restrings my racquets, and he told Robert it was time for me to get new ones.  What are the odds?  Robert also ordered the new racquet, which was an updated version of my last racquet, but the little fart wouldn't tell me what the color was.  Thus the giddy look on his face.  

I imagine the feelings I have when I get a new racquet are a little bit like how a wizard feels when they receive their wand.  Seriously.  There's some kind of muggle magic to it.

My first racquet was a wooden Chris Evert racquet that I used for less than a year.  Sadly, I do not have a picture of it.  Its sweet spot was about the size of a pea.  I remember my dad, who was the one who introduced me to and taught me the game of tennis, lamenting about how big racquet heads had gotten.  I think he said something about how all you had to do with the new racquets was hold your racquet out with your eyes closed, and you were guaranteed to make contact with the ball.    

My second racquet was expensive.  I was thirteen at the time, and it was the most expensive thing I had ever saved for.  It was so expensive, I needed a job.  When I knew I was serious about tennis (which was immediately), I decided to save up for a nice racquet.  I was thirteen so getting a job was tough.  Thankfully, the couple who owned the bar next door to my grandma and grandpa's house offered to pay me under the table to clean the bar restrooms.  It was one of the best and worst decisions of my life.  The smells, images, and bizarre messes from a job like that stay with you for the rest of your life.

But it was worth it!  When I finally bought the racquet, which was a red and silver Head, the man who helped my grandma and grandpa with their trailer park carved my initials into the throat of the racquet.  Can you imagine someone doing this?  Oh yes, you are thinking.  A hillbilly.  

As you can see in the picture, I had the wrong grip for my backhand.  It was a bad habit I was able to unlearn.  Both hands are now on the grip!  Unfortunately, I've never been able to learn how to go back and forth from forehand grip to backhand grip.  And someone only told me I was doing it wrong about ten years into playing tennis!  I've also been working on pretending there's a wall behind me when I'm at the net.  I had a lot of help learning to play singles.  I am a mostly self-taught doubles player, but I can't take all the credit.  There was a lot of exasperation, yelling, and pointing from doubles partners over the years, which helped me learn. 😆

I used my first Head racquet for several years.  Only when I started to play a lot during college did I decide to look at a more comfortable racquet.  The first racquet's grip had always been too large.  I tried about ten racquets before I landed on a Head racquet the color of macaroni and cheese.  

Something I've been working on is making sure I'm in position each time I hit.  As you can see in the picture, I'm not in position!  One of the things I love about tennis is that I'm always working on something or learning something new.  

I would have kept my macaroni and cheese racquet forever, but I developed tennis elbow and couldn't kick it.  So while talking to the same gentleman at Tennis Set, he suggested a different racquet that was easier on the ol' elbow.  That is how I made the switch from Head to Volkl.  The tennis elbow was gone in less than a month, and it was by far the best racquet I ever hit with.  I also made the decision to buy two identical racquets, which was a game changer (pun totally intended), because it guaranteed I always had one to play with when something happened or one was being restrung.  

One of the best things about playing on the backboard is that I can listen to audiobooks or music.  Who knew a strenuous activity could be so calming?

I'm sad to let my first Volkls go but thrilled to get something so similar.  Robert picked up my new racquet the day we left for our trip, so I could try it out immediately.  The racquet and I are growing into fast friends.  I moved the dampener to my new racquet, so it's officially a keeper.  It was a small ceremony that involved the dogs snoozing and me cursing after about 20 attempts to squeeze it onto the strings.

As I held my newest racquet, I realized I've been playing tennis two thirds of my life.  There was a rocky patch 2019-2020 when I had my back injury, and I wasn't sure I would ever play again.  Thankfully that concern was wrong!  I play about 2-3 times a week in the winter and 3-5 times a week the rest of the year.  Every time I step onto the courts I am overjoyed I get to play again.  I mostly play on the backboard now due to not wanting to make the time commitment to set up tennis with others.  I no longer play at a club, which was a tough decision, but a good one. 

I belonged to a handful of tennis clubs from 2004-2019.  It's a ton of money to join, their adult drills are often in the middle of the day or late at night and cost at least $20 extra per drill.  Plus, I was often on teams and leagues with players who weren't very friendly.  I got so much grief for hitting too hard, being too big, and not wearing the right things.  I couldn't fit in to save my life.  I sometimes had seasons where I struggled to find people to play games with due to the fact that most leagues were for players 40 and over.  Some nights I played until 9:30 PM, because that was the only time the clubs had any adult drills.  And then the next morning I would be back at 6 AM to hit with someone before we had to be at work.  Sometimes this kind of arrangement would be the only tennis I could make happen in a week due to the club's limiting hours of play for adults.  I would scramble to line up more tennis with people/leagues from other clubs.  It was SO much scheduling.   

Occasionally I still play with others, as long as it's spontaneous and someone is looking for a sub when I'm already at the courts.  Someday I will make more time to schedule and play with others, but for now I've been enjoying playing as long and as hard as I want to when I have gaps in my schedule.  I hope I can keep playing as long as I'm alive, and when I retire I hope to be one of the old timers who bring a lawn chair to tennis, so they can sit between games and stay the entire day.