9 November 2018

The Invincible

Josh Foster

Josh first picked up a racket at a very young age and has loved competing ever since, with his most recent achievement a 3 year winning streak in both league and club tennis. We caught up with the serial table topper to find out how he's kept this unbeaten run going. 

I started playing tennis aged 3or 4 and apparently was so in love with the game I used to go to bed with a tennis ball!  I have always loved playing ever since and competed at a good level at both school and university.

I was looking to find competitive singles players in the local area to test myself and improve my ability/fitness. Singles is not as well supported by clubs as doubles is and therefore opportunities to play competitively were infrequent and limited to my club’s annual tournament. A Google search did the trick to help me discover LTL!

Everything about singles is great... the competition of course, but also the unique dependency on your own ability and mentality within each and every point. Personally, I have found that by being mentally strong, I often defeat players with a greater level of ability/fitness.

I am currently unbeaten for the last 3 years in both singles and doubles club tournaments and LTL matches so I am determined to keep that run going! I have played a few people in the leagues who could/should have beaten me (on paper). For example Zak, in the Chelmsford league, tends to dominate the points against me, but I have edged the matches through making him hit one more shot... but it’s always a great game. Alejandro also ran me close in one marathon set in the London Docklands league where some of our points went on forever as we got gradually more knackered! I have also made many friends through tennis over the years. More recently a few of the guys I have met through LTLs now play with me at club level.

My confidence in my ability and my enjoyment from the competitive side of the game has grown through playing in the leagues. They’re also a great way to improve your game, keep fit, meet new friends and get away from the stresses of life and work!

Looking to get back into tennis in the New Year? The next rounds in Chelmsford and Docklands get underway in January 2019.