Meet Joanna and Thomas, who first crossed paths online back in 2011 on a now-defunct dating site. They’d both played a bit of tennis when they were younger but never very regularly. That changed when one of them started taking lessons with the NTA—then came a birthday present with a message: a new tennis racket for Jo, and a not-so-subtle hint that it was time to start playing together.

These days, tennis is their way to move, unwind, and step outside the routine of everyday life—doing some exercise, getting outdoors, and losing themselves in a game that has nothing to do with work or chores.

As they put it, “They say ‘love means zero’ in tennis, but I’d have to disagree. Our games are pretty harmonious, but that’s probably because neither of us is overly competitive.”