“`html
Historically, my exposure to tennis has been minimal. My family never belonged to a country club. I didn’t play on the high school team. There was that annual unit in P.E. when we’d excavate a handful of dusty, warped rackets from the gym’s supply closet (this was public school in the ’90s, so they were definitely wooden and missing strings) and spend the next 45 minutes whiffing serves and chasing balls across the multi-purpose courts. I got the sense that playing tennis could be fun if you knew what you were doing. The kids who brought in their own rackets from home and managed to sustain a rally appeared to be having a good time. But, unlike more familiar pick-up team sports like basketball or softball, tennis felt inaccessible. I didn’t have a clear entry point.
Decades later, I found one. Pickleball and racket sports were having a moment, which felt like an open invitation to finally give tennis a shot. I was bored with my regular fitness routine, a healthy but predictable mix of running, strength training, yoga, and Pilates. So, I ordered a tennis racket online and registered for adult beginner lessons at Court 16, a New York City-based tennis and pickleball club.
Trading the comfort zone for the court My first lesson went great. I stepped onto the court with confidence, followed the coach’s instructions, and by the end of the hour-long session, I was ready to bump up to the intermediate clinic. Related Stories Just kidding. Tennis is one of the most difficult sports to learn, and I quickly realized that I’m not some latent phenom. Even though I was excited to try something new, trading the familiarity of my gym and living room workouts for an entirely unknown experience stirred up feelings of anxiety, self-consciousness, and self-doubt. Seiji Takaku, PhD, professor of sports psychology at Soka University in Aliso Viejo, California, explains that stepping outside your comfort zone can become even more challenging as you age. “When you’re young, you try new things, and it’s very exciting,” he says. There’s novelty in every experience, stakes and expectations are low, and you’re accustomed to making mistakes. “As we get older…
“`
(Note: Content has been shortened to fit within the character limits of HTML code)
