When I was younger (not that long ago *grin*), I dreamt of becoming the next Martina Hingis. I fell in love with tennis when I saw Martina played and won one championship after another. I followed her career for a time until the Williams sister entered the scene. Then I got bored and opted out. I hated that the sisters were  defeating my tennis idol.

My love for the sport had me begging my dad to enroll me in a tennis sports clinic. Every summer there’s this program from a particular brand (Milo) which offers summer training for all types of sports. So I registered and bought my tennis racquet. Watching a lot of tennis games, I basically knew the play rules. I just wanted to get down to the skill part. But that summer clinic was a disappointment. The coach didn’t show us anything but had us dribbling the tennis balls with our rackets, running around the court and basically learning nothing about tennis skills.

When I came to the US, I was excited to see that our community offers tennis lessons at a very affordable price. Now that I have saved up some money, I am able to enroll in one of the tennis courses they offer. And summer is the best time to learn the sport since it wouldn’t be too cold outside. The community tennis lessons have 3 levels: novice, low-intermediate, and high-intermediate. I have registered in the novice course. Armed with my tennis racket and spanking new tennis shoes, I was excited to begin my lessons.

This time I have learned a lot. There were 8 of us in the class. Except for me and another girl, all of them were couples. I could say that I’m the poorest or second to the poorest student there. I don’t learn quickly enough unlike the other members and I commit the same mistakes again and again. And sometimes I have problem with my eyes because I will complete miss hitting the ball. But I have enjoyed learning the skills needed to play tennis. At first I have had trouble locking my wrists. I thought that this sport will be hazardous for my professional career as a dentist. However as I hit the balls more frequently, I developed a stronger arm. I’m still flabby in other parts though, lol.

Every session the coach taught us different skills: forehand, backhand, serve, lobby, etc. I’m proud to say that I can serve – only 1 out of ten though the ball will get in the service box. Hehe. I’m so happy that I know how to play! According to the USTA standing, I have a 2-2.5 skill level.  Next week will be the last week for our class. I have decided not to continue to the next course level. My problem is not that I’m not learning fast but I’m just not practicing enough to improve my skills. Recently I have looked up tennis social meet-up groups in my area and hopefully I can start practicing what I’ve learned  and losing that flab soon!

Wimbledon here I come! :)

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