Looking back now it was quite funny thinking that when I saw people playing tennis I would try and pick out how people were hitting the ball subconsciously. Back then though I thought that Badminton was the best racket sport.
Gradually after many times at lunch looking over the tennis courts at my local sports centre I decided I wanted to learn a little bit more about the sport. The first time I really watched Tennis was the Australian Open in 2008. Ever since that tournament I have been a tennis addict and a huge enthusiast for the sport.
I started having tennis lessons in September 2009 after managing to persuade my parents to let me give it a go. At first I was a poor player I could hardly get a point off the other people in my lesson, I felt down. I was stroppy and disappointed. Even though I was a bad player this just gave me more determination to become better.
I kept at it and seeing that I was being forced to get better at it to stay in competition with the others in my group I quite quickly improved my game. I already had a bit of an advantage with good stamina, speed and hand-eye co-ordination. The easiest part for me to get very confident with was my forehand. The forehand has always been the strongest shot for me, then my backhand and then my serve.
My first competition was after a year of playing tennis once a week. I went into the competition without much expectation but came out with 2 wins and reached the semis.
Over the past couple of years of playing tennis I have learnt a lot about myself, my mental abilities along with my physical. Today I am one of the best players in my group. When I watch tennis, the older I have become the more interested I have become in the way tennis is played and that Tennis is played in the mind as well as on the court, also in how the game has evolved since wooden rackets.
For my birthday this year we were on holiday in Mallorca and I was lucky enough to have a private lesson with a great coach. She has completely transformed my game. The way I hit all of my shots have changed. My backhand has changed from a two-handed continental grip to a grip close to a Semi-Western grip, a bit like Nadal’s; my serve is now hit with more topspin.
Thanks to the change in my technique my backhand and serve have had huge benefits and my game is far more imposing. I can actually hold my serve!
In recent times I have been watching old tennis matches and the thing that gets me is that in the past players were at the net to finish the points but now it is rare to see a player that consistently serves and volleys. An example of this is was the difference between the Wimbledon tennis courts of 1981 and 2001 whereas the courts of 1981 had worn out grass near the net but in 2011 all the grass at the net was completely untouched.
Because of this I would like to do more serving and volleying because I feel it’s a shame that it has almost been wiped out of the game.
