"I’ve Found MY Sport"

Meet Lee, a player of many sports over the years, BEFORE recently discoverING tennis and realisING he was meant to be on court all along.

Confession. I’m a newly converted tennis fanatic!

I’ve lived my life playing every type of sport but finding tennis has been a special moment for me.

Before tennis, I played football, golf and badminton, I also skateboard, and over the last decade have had an amazing time with running, cycling and triathlon.

But I genuinely feel that with tennis, I’ve found MY sport. I’ve always loved watching tennis, who doesn’t love watching Wimbledon or the US Open! I’d also played a couple of times on holiday in La Manga, and loved it, each time vowing to learn to play properly when I returned home, but never getting around to it.

Then, six months ago I joined David Lloyd in Gidea Park, which has great tennis courts and a buzzing tennis schedule. One morning I watched a group doubles tennis social session and it looked like so much fun! So, I booked on to see if I could keep up. My badminton background and fitness helped a lot, but to my surprise I found I could play tennis. It all felt so natural, and I knew straight away I was in love with it.

I signed up for some tennis lessons and have been playing as much as I can; singles and doubles, social groups, and league matches. My wife Steph even got me a brand-new Slinger Bag for my birthday so I can practice whenever I want!

I now spend hours watching tennis stars like Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams on TV to get tips on shots and footwork. Steph isn’t so happy about this!

Then I discovered Local Tennis Leagues. I was really nervous signing up as I knew I was still very new to the game, but it’s been brilliant. I’ve played lots of new players and have been excitedly visiting great new tennis clubs each week to play fixtures. I loved the sign-up process for Local Tennis Leagues because you’re able to go into detail about your tennis experience and get matched with players at a similar standard. Playing league games really sharpens your game and you learn so much playing players with different styles.

What I love about tennis is the friendliness of everyone you meet. Every tennis player I’ve met plays the game in the right spirit. Sportsmanship is essential when you play tennis and everyone I’ve met goes above and beyond to ensure fairness.

My tennis is flying. I’ve won my first LTL fixtures and I’ve been asked to captain my tennis club’s division 2 men’s doubles team! My phone buzzes all day with fixture requests and social session arrangements.

My only regret? I wish I’d started playing this wonderful sport twenty years ago. But now I’ve found tennis I’m really going to make the most of it.

If you’re reading this and you’ve always wanted to play tennis, don’t hesitate. Go for it! Anyone can play the sport, and with a few lessons and bit of regular practice you’ll soon be loving it out on court. And if you’re someone who loves the game of tennis already, come and join your Local Tennis League. It’s the best way to get involved in competitive tennis with different players and to discover great local tennis venues.

@leehealey_

Time to give tennis a go! Find your Local Tennis League here.