My New Happy Place By: Alecxis Villapando

     Unlike other sports I’ve played, tennis is definitely one that stands out to me. It’s definitely surprising, considering I just started playing it within the past 2 to 3 years. I’ve been playing lacrosse for the last seven years which I really loved, but somehow tennis still ended up being my favorite. There’s endless reasons as to why I love it, but honestly, I never thought I would enjoy this sport as much as I do right now. It was the summer before 9th grade when my dad first encouraged me to play tennis. At first, I was unsure if I would even like it because at the time I had never even held a racket or really paid attention to a match. In a few weeks tryouts would’ve begun, so I decided to give the sport a try and immediately started practicing with my dad. He regularly played throughout the summer with his own friends for fun, and luckily his experience with the sport helped me land on the team. 

    Obviously I was super scared for tryouts, but when I did make the team, it ended up being a life changing experience. I’ve learned many lessons through this sport, but the most important takeaway is that I have learned more about my physical strengths and weaknesses along with obtaining a healthy competitive mentality. Just like every sport, you always try to be the best, and although I wasn’t the best in tennis I still pushed myself because I wanted to be better. I pushed myself to hit angles. I pushed myself to have a more consistent serve. I pushed myself to survive heat week (LOL). I pushed myself to have better endurance. I pushed myself to have fun. 

Tennis was always the thing I looked forward to on school days. Not only did I love playing it, but the camaraderie that came from this sport was unforgettable. I have made so many new friends through this sport, and as a relatively small team we have all made tons of memories together. 

My parents almost didn’t allow me to play tennis this year, due to the ongoing pandemic. But I told them that tennis was my escape from the saddening life 2020 had brought upon me, upon all of us actually. Tennis was a time I could finally see my friends which I had been isolated from for months on end. Playing tennis this school year allowed me to feel like my life was “normal” again. It was a time for me to be away from my family, whom I love to death but being with them 24/7 for the last few months was a bit much. 

At the end of the day, tennis is my new happy place.