Are you golf or tennis?  

When you hear golf fans, you hear about the tranquility, the variety of courses, the “good nature of the other players” and the chance to chat over the 5 hours it typically takes to play 18 holes. Listening to the same people, tennis on the other hand is short, brusque and leaves no time to “chat.” Tennis has long been a passion of mine and I think it’s like comparing oranges and apples or, should I say, a walk in the park with sports. Since moving back to Paris, I have been managing to play tennis about once a week and, for the last four months, my regular partner is Philippe. We are about the same age (42)… and we get to play for an hour each time which means that we barely finish a set. The deal is that over the 16 or so times we have played, my record is 1-15. A little lopsided (memories of the long losing streak of Gerulaitis vs McEnroe?) and brings up the question of how to keep it motivating for my good pal Philippe. I guess somehow, despite the long rallies, faces pouring with sweat and the drink shared afterward, we manage to find it entertaining. Anyway, today, we teamed for a doubles with a couple of “spring chickens” (one in his late 20s, the other mid 30s) and pulled out a 7-6 victory in 1h15. What a delight to move from sparring partner to doubles partner. Now those are high fives worth sharing! It seems like being able to share a victory like that does wonders for the soul. Hopefully I will continue to be able to play tennis through the ages.

Pin It on Pinterest