[Last modified: November, 24 2024 10:17 PM]
One of the most important social events I attend weekly is playing tennis at Finsbury Park’s outdoor tennis court. As the winter approaches, doing any sports outdoors will make my body stiffer. The path leading into the park is now coated in damp, fallen leaves, creating a thick, comforting carpet beneath my feet. However, this softness is deceptive, as my shoes quickly become soaked with rainwater and mud.
The day was windy, and a light rain had ended just an hour earlier —- not ideal weather for doing outdoor sports. The wind howled from my back as I reluctantly pulled my right hand out of the pocket and entered the door code on the steel pin pad. As the final digit clicked, the door opened automatically and I saw my playmate waiting for me in our reserved court.
The wind intensified as I stepped onto the court, whipping my hair across my face until I tied it back tightly I dropped my backpack onto the wet ground and took out my racket. The soft rubber grip, usually reassuring in my palm, felt like a frozen stick in the bitter cold. By the time I reached midcourt, my fingers were so numb that I couldn’t feel them at all.
Playing tennis in this weather became a surreal experience. I could sense the motion of my arm as I moved closer to the ball, and when the racket finally struck the ball, I felt the impact of hitting my arm rather than my hand. At that moment, it was like the racket became an extension of my arm, fused to my wrist. I can no longer have a clear sense of the racket angle. At this point, the controlling of the racket is done completely mentally as I imagine the correct way to hit a ball with my forehand while not letting it go out-of-bounds.
Surprisingly, the balls I hit under this condition followed the path I imagined. With each swing, I pictured the angle, force, and spin I needed, and the ball traveled within bounds, almost as if my mind directed it. The cold had dulled my physical connection to the racket, but my body adapted, turning the unfamiliar into a unique rhythm that carried me through the game.