Opening essay

I was never a confident kid. I never felt comfortable in gym class, and I would have never predicted that 20 years later I would be obsessed with a sport. I moved across the country, built a great career, found a life partner, taught myself how to snowboard, and yet my community was still missing.

“prepare early, stay sideways, follow through, keep your strings closed”

I live in a transient city. Friends came and went but the moment I arrived at my first group tennis class, I thought to myself "I like these people." The moment I picked up a racquet and hit a ball, I thought "Ok now this — I love." The thoughts that followed were... prepare early, stay sideways, follow through, keep your strings closed.

Five months of drills, hours on the ball machine, weekly private lessons and next thing I know I'm signed up for a tennis tournament. I needed to know how I would respond when every moment counted and there was nobody to rely on except myself.

I lost two matches, but I only double faulted twice. That felt like a win.