As we unlock the leagues, Tom considers new ways of reaching the courts!

Tom is a newcomer to the leagues, starting his tennis journey just one round before the lockdown became a part of our lives! Ironically, given no one is travelling anywhere now, the only picture we could find of Tom was him playing tennis in Crete with his family. Sounds like a dream now, so enjoy the view of blue skies!

I signed up for the first time in late 2019 to the Highbury Fields league which was great timing before everything kicked off! I just wanted to see how well I'd do in a "proper" game. I'd been taking lessons for a year or so, before then I hadn't really played much at all, except on sunny holidays with my family!

It's been interesting to see how differently people play. I've found most opponents have a couple of things that they do particularly well and they'll be different almost every game, which keeps it challenging in a good way!

During lockdown and even through this relaxing phase, it’s been a shame that I've had more time to play but no matches to arrange. I'm lucky to be able to work from home though, and so this whole process has been working quite well for me. I think I'll do more of that in the future and then hopefully use some of the extra time to play in the league during the week. I've especially missed the outdoor exercise which is not something I do much away from tennis, so I’ve taken up running which I hope helps towards my game later on!

I have noticed some of the courts in my area starting to open up again now and see that Highbury is underway. I just need to decide which league I can get to easily without using public transport, this is my only issue right now! Maybe it’s time to invest in a bike!

Definitely join your local league if you can, especially if you're unsure whether you're good enough to play against other people yet. It won't matter, even the more difficult matches have been fun to play and your opponent won't mind the easy points! 

Tom plays in the Highbury Fields league, which is currently underway again! If you want to play in the next round, see here (new dates will be posted shortly)