New Balls Please! 

We played the last game of the season on Monday and while we lost overall to Thistleworth we won 4 of our 9 games and it was closer than the score suggests.

Zoe and Alison had 3 set points at 5:4 and love 40 and annoyingly went on to lose the set 7:5 🙈.  Maybe a combination of hunger (it was nearly 10pm), the worry of a burnt quiche and the general fatigue of end of termitous robbed us of this final match that should have been ours, having won the previous 2, including against the number 1 pair.

Isabelle and Amy had a couple of resounding wins while we welcomed Rachel and Clare to the team for the first time. Having not played together or for the team before they put up a valiant fight but ultimately lost their matches.

Our penultimate game of the season the preceding week against Gunnersbury Triangle however was a triumph and we finished with a resounding 16 points to 8 points.

This first summer season for the Chiswick ladies’ team has been full of fun with many valuable lessons learnt. Here are just a few:

• Be strategic about the pairing numbers, against a strong team it’s not always best to field your best pair in the number 1 position- we were slow to work this out! 🤔
• Team coaching pays off. Thank you to Love Tennis for top tips on strategy and how to own the court in our pairs.
• Playing in regular pairs is best, but in real life (work commitments, travel, holidays), this is not always possible, so don’t stress too much but do always communicate.
• Be assertive and gracious in equal measure (line calls, encouraging with congrats where due etc.)
• Keep supper simple to avoid over worrying about what’s in the oven when you’re at sudden death deuce to take the match!
• A generous provision of snacks is essential to sustain energy levels over what is generally 4 hours. We chose flapjacks, Alcaraz’s on court snack of choice - hoping it might propel us to similarly inspired play. 😉
• And finally, make sure the away team is fully up to speed with pernicious access restrictions. Being told you’ve most likely picked up a fine en route is not the best way to welcome your opponents.

So, we finished our Middlesex summer league debut season not at the bottom, but 4th overall.

It’s a big commitment setting aside the time not just for the matches,  but for the team training too. Big shout out to Zoe our team captain who tirelessly worked through the logistics of scheduling the matches, organising the catering and liaising with the opposing teams over 100s of emails. 👏👏 And to all this season’s dedicated players:

Katie Evans, Lisa Woods, Sue Perse, Isabelle Leduc, Eva Jeffrey, Clare Parish, Amy Miller, Rachel Smith, Anette Mathers, Fiona Porter, Joss Cripps, Giorgia McNeill, Céline Haddad and Alison Rust.

‘Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.’ - Arthur Ashe

We’re on a journey!