“M or W?” asks a girl on the opposing team, smacking her gum as she impatiently drums her long acrylic nails on the frame of her tennis racket. It’s a sweltering 90-degree day and you just got off the bus after a 45-minute drive to the valley for an away game for the girls’ tennis team. You pick W, and she spins her racket to decide who will serve first. It falls to the floor.
“It’s M,” she announces, as her bubble of gum pops. “I’ll receive first,” she eyes you up and down, deeming your serve too weak just by your appearance. She thinks it’ll be an easy match.
You grab the familiar fuzzy yellow tennis balls out of the can and head to one side of the court, mentally preparing to play in the blazing heat of the valley for the next two or three hours. You take a deep breath, throw the ball up, and quickly accelerate through the motion of the serve. The game begins.
I’ve been a part of the girls’ tennis team since my sophomore year of high school. Now, as a senior, I’ve just faced my last week of high school tennis. A busy one, no less– we had three matches. To commemorate my time on the girls’ tennis team, it only felt right to document my final three matches of high school tennis.
Match one: Le Lycée versus Buckley. For the sake of our pride, I won't include the scores.
"We may not have served figuratively, but we sure served literally..."
It was a hot day in the valley, and the sun was excruciatingly strong. Completely ideal conditions for playing tennis. After a few hours, we returned to Le Lycée after a glorious battle that we unfortunately lost.
Match two: Le Lycée versus Pacifica Christian. The other team didn’t show up… A win is a win!
Match three: Le Lycée versus Buckley again. Once again, for our pride, I won’t include the scores. Just know we fought bravely. This time, thankfully, it wasn’t stifling hot since we played in the evening. My favorite moment of the match was the horrified looks of the Buckley girls’ faces when I told them that our school days sometimes go from 8-7.
Despite our rather unsuccessful week, I enjoyed playing. Even though our coaches may not have been too pleased with the results, I asked them a few questions. Here’s the insider scoop.
“Did you have a favorite moment of the season?” I asked Mr. Rogala.
“Le meilleur moment de la saison, c’est lorsque Eva m’annonce qu’elle ne veut pas quitter l’école et surtout l’équipe de tennis, et qu’elle veut redoubler pour faire une autre saison. C’est un peu ironique, elle rigole, mais ça serait ça le meilleur: beaucoup d’humour, voilà,” he announced, chuckling.
Between me and you, reader, I was only partially joking. I wouldn’t be opposed to playing another season of high school tennis. But I’m not entirely sure yet if it’s worth flunking senior year. Anyway, I also asked the team’s second coach, Mr. Belga, about his favorite aspects of the team and our season this year.
Girls' tennis team with Coach Belga (Left) and Rogala (Right).
“First, seeing the players improve after last year is satisfying and good to see. Second thing, having Mia win her last match against Buckley when she was by herself facing one girl with the entire Buckley team watching and cheering her opponent on. It was rather heroic that she won that match by herself since the rest of us had to head back to school so some players could make it to soccer practice,” he said.
I’ll confirm, our teammate Mia’s actions were heroic that day. Winning a match against a division one team like Buckley is rare for us, but she did it!
I also asked Chloe Belga, my fellow co-captain of the team, about her favorite moments.
“I think I have a couple moments from this year that really stuck with me. One moment was when Zofia Rosciszewski was at our match, and she told me that I could have a sip of her strawberry kombucha lemonade if I won my game. As I was playing, I kept the thought of the kombucha in the back of my mind, and I won! I got a sip of the kombucha, which was a beautiful moment. Then, I also liked when we faced Buckley, where I had an intense match that went to tiebreak. Aside from that, I just love the people,” she stated.
My favorite part, you ask? Mia’s green grapes that were ever so kindly provided by her father, who’s usually at our games encouraging us on. These grapes are quite simply the best I’ve ever tasted. They’re just the right mix of sweet and crunchy. My strategy to win a match is to eat exactly two of these grapes before playing. But only two– no more, no less. It’s a foolproof method with almost 100% guaranteed success.
"Aside from the grapes, I just love playing the sport itself..."
There’s something so satisfying about the simple swing through of your racket as you hit a forehand or backhand, hit a volley with a good angle, or ace your serve. When I play tennis, everything else in my life gets put on hold. I can just be there, in the moment, focusing on where my opponent is hitting the ball and how I can hit it back. When I’m playing in a match, that’s all that matters.
I will acknowledge though that sometimes playing on the team isn’t all that glorious. Most of the time, the only crowd present at the matches is composed of parents of the players from the opposing team. They have the tendency to forget that our matches are not last year’s intense final at Wimbledon between Djkovic and Alcaraz, entailing the ability to applaud between every single point. I especially appreciate it when they cheer on their child – my opponent – if my serve is out. Your kid didn’t do anything and I was the one who messed up, but thanks!
So yeah, maybe tennis isn’t the sport with the most extensive school spirit supporting you at your matches. But it’s fun nonetheless. If you’re interested, try out for the team next year. You’ll bond with a bunch of other girls over how exhausted you are after playing for three hours straight and how the other team kept calling your shots out when they were most definitely in. Believe me. If that doesn’t sound like fun to you, at least you’ll be well fed by Mia’s delicious green grapes.
Girls' tennis team after a match.
Let’s return to the match: it's your game point, and your turn to serve. By now, it’s been a while, and the heat is getting to both you and your opponent. One last inhale. One last serve. You throw the ball up, swing through– boom. You ace, winning the match. Miss bubble gum from earlier mumbles ‘good game.’ You leave the court, victorious, and join your teammates before finally heading home.
I sure won’t miss the long, hot matches. But I will miss being able to play tennis for the school. And that's where my final match ends, with one last serve.
Girls' tennis team practicing.
Love this