Tennis with a touch of Milanese style
Alessandra Galtrucco Mark
Meet the new champ of Group 2 in the High Wycombe & Hazlemere Tennis League. Alessandra, who is Italian, was a complete beginner when she took up tennis in 2009. Now she has definitely got the tennis bug!
"I used to play tennis in my home town in Milan when I was young but then stopped playing for many, many years. Then I came to live in Penn, a small village in Buckinghamshire and we bought a house which already had a tennis court, so I thought I would get a few lessons to see how it went - I literally couldn’t hit a ball. That was back in 2009 ... I am now obsessed and if I could I would spend all my days on court.
I heard about the league through a friend at my local club, Penn & Tyler’s Green. I don’t mind the fact that it’s mixed sex at all. I really enjoy it! I’ve always met only very lovely, pleasant and well mannered people in my matches.
This year I felt very pleased to have got to quite a few evil drop shots, running from the back of the court and actually getting there on time to then win the point! Last year I had a very funny incident when the wind was blowing quite hard and my opponent did a really high lob. I was perfectly in position and moving in little steps to get the ball only for the ball to land on the top of my head! ... we definitely had a very good laugh!
I get a lot out of my singles as you understand what you can do by yourself and it gives you then a lot confidence for your doubles. I always play much better in my doubles after having played the singles league. I only wish I could play more. And you guys are amazing at organising it and keeping it fun, so a big thank you for that!"
Many thanks Alessandra, and hope your group win is the first of many!