Tennis, Aussie Style

I have been waiting to post on tennis until I had a grasp of the differences between US and Aussie tennis. I have played about 6 times and I think I can talk with experience now, well maybe not, but I'll give it a try.

The first time on the court was about 2 weeks ago and it was a morning group of women, senior women. It was very casual, they call it SOCIAL (I will capitalize all the different ways the game is different) tennis, you show up and play a set with a group of gals and then rotate around. But before you go out again they stop for a CUP OF TEA, hot tea. It was close to 90 degrees that first day and I was sipping on my ice water and the ladies were drinking hot tea. After they finished their tea, we went out again to play another set. Let me define senior ladies here, I was the youngest on the court by 20 years, at least. That's not to say they weren't good players, as any seasoned tennis player knows, start sweating when you see a older player because they know where to put it, they are good players. And good for them to be out there playing, in the heat, drinking hot tea. God love 'em!

The next time I played was with John, a mixed doubles group in the middle of the day, again, we were the youngest by years. It was fun doubles and this was John's first time out so we played our first set together and then we split up to play with the other players. I had warned him about the score keeping, they don't say the score often but when they do they way "FIF DOUBS" for 15 all, or "FIF 3" for 15-30, in other words, keep the score in you head because you have no idea what the score is otherwise. The other differences are, they ROLL THE BALL UNDER THE NET to return it to the server. We usually bounce the ball over the net, and announce that the ball is coming. I was trying to take this all in so I could report to John and he'd not be as lost as I was the first time out, but it was useless, I couldn't remember all the stuff and he was lost.

Now for the surfaces. The first time we played was on astroturf with a light sand covering. You can slide on this stuff, if you know how, and it's quite easy on the joints. The second time we played was with John, and it started to rain whilst on the court. We NEVER STOPPED PLAYING. It was really coming down and no one stopped or even paused. The ball got heavier and heavier, the court wasn't really slippery, and we just played until the set was over. Go figure.

We then played at the Bundaberg Tennis Center, which was the picture and place in one of my first blogs.  It is a clay surface with either tile or chalk lines. This is a place where you collect the net from a store room and attatch it to the posts before playing. We are in a group on Wednesday nights with rated players, A or B. Somehow John was placed in the B group and me in the A. This was a mistake.
John also had a bye the first night but showed up anyway and played with the B group. After he said,
"If I have to stay in this group I'll loose my mind." I had a go with the top female player and a male player who was quite good and got waxed all 3 sets. I suggested we switch spots. Let's see how it goes. Oh, and it rained and rained on Wednesday night, and we kept playing. No one is bothered by the rain here.

                                             

Between the two sides of courts


I played again on Thursday morning, a women's group, but I had no idea of the skill level. It was back at the Bundaberg Tennis Center, on the clay, but the median age was 80 and I'm not kidding.

This was like Interclub where we stay for a luncheon. The only hitch is that all my sets were 6-0 and not that close, and then we waited and waited to get back on, and it dragged on until 12 (we started at 9), then there was lunch. Again, it was lovely, like a high tea, with hot tea, china plates and cups, and very British. Well, maybe not exactly like Interclub. Where the hell I am??????

I'm sure I'm looked at like some crazy American, who shouts, "Good shot!" and the score, like 15-love, and tries to "high 5" them when a shot is good. I just can't change who I am.

Today was social tennis again. I was there alone as John was working. There were 8 of us, very good number for doubles. It was really fun tennis with a great skill level, and I am getting used the surfaces. But as we lost one player late in the afternoon, it was suggested that one court play "AMERICAN DOUBLES" which is, you guessed it, what we call "AUSTRALIAN DOUBLES".
They had a good chuckle over that, and they all love MY ACCENT!

As I had hoped, tennis is my safe place, where even though we say the score differently, and play in the rain, it's a great respite. We love playing and old or young (yes, I feel young in these groups) it's fun and great exercise.

The oldest player I've played with so far is "Bert" who is 94 years young. The head lady here, is 80 years young, and also a very good player. She runs everything. She'd be like my dear friend, Nan, she connects people and gets you into a group. So you see it's the same on this side of the world, people who love tennis, and love to play, are wonderful, no matter where you are.