Week 5 has definitely felt like a proper tennis week—five different sessions, my first ever league match, coaching, cardio tennis, and plenty of moments where I felt like things are slowly starting to click.
The biggest moment of the week was undoubtedly my first league match. We played doubles against Chelmsfordians and, considering it was my first competitive match, with a new partner and a completely new experience, I came away feeling really positive—even though we lost overall,it didn’t really feel like losing.
We won games throughout the match and even took the second set in our final game with a nail-biting 12–10 tie-break. Safe to say my nerves were fully involved by that point. It was one of those matches where you suddenly realise just how important every single point is. I also learnt very quickly that understanding tie-break rules while trying to play tennis under pressure is… an experience.
What really stood out was how important it is to assess the people you’re playing against. Not just technically, but how they move, where they place shots, and what patterns they rely on. Tennis really is like physical chess at times.
The funny thing is, by the end of the match, we felt stronger and stronger. We had momentum, confidence was building, and I genuinely believe if there had been another set, we’d probably have gone on to win it. That’s the encouraging part—I can already see areas improving, and I’m actually excited for the next league game in a few weeks’ time.
This week also included two coaching sessions, including ladies doubles where we focused on cross-court and down-the-line shots. The challenge? We had to shout out where we intended to hit the ball before playing the shot.
Turns out that’s much harder than it sounds.
Not all my shots went where I intended—or where I announced with confidence they were about to go—but overall, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it would have been a few weeks ago. I’m starting to understand how the direction the ball comes towards you can massively affect what shot feels natural coming back. A cross-court shot to my forehand feels completely different to one arriving on my backhand side, and some down-the-line shots definitely feel easier than others.
Then came more practice on serves. Serves, serves, and more serves.
This week I took my serve right back to basics, and honestly, it’s had a really positive impact. It might take me a little while before my serve resembles anywhere near Aryna Sabalenka but rebuilding it properly feels like the right thing to do. Sometimes slowing things down actually helps you move forward faster.
Saturday saw the return of tennis cardio—still one of my absolute favourite sessions of the week. This week’s challenge involved playing Connect 4 alongside tennis drills, which tested both fitness and brain power at the same time.
Apparently, according to my son, we could have won twice if only we had actually noticed the four-in-a-row sitting right in front of us.
Safe to say, tennis continues to challenge me, frustrate me, surprise me—and somehow keep me wanting more every single week.