Tennis outdoors is always an adventure, but there’s always that summer day where it’s simply perfect.
By Mitch Rustad
When you live in any part of the country that gets cold and/or snowy for much of the year, time spent outside, especially in the heat of summer, is always precious. And one of my all-time favorite outdoor delights is playing tennis (I haven’t embraced pickleball just yet), especially on the courts at public parks, when you get a real feel for the vibe of your community.
What I’ve always loved (and at times, loathed) about playing tennis outdoors is the incredible variety of potential conditions you might contend with. Certain times of day, the sun might be in your eyes as you toss the ball to serve. Adjust. Or on windy days, the whole match becomes one of battling not just your opponent, but the wind at your back (take pace off the ball) or blowing directly in your face (add pace) or even across the court— which adds completely impossible-to-predict elements to an already challenging sport that forces you to adapt, adjust and think fast. Granted, I’ve played a lot of tennis indoors, through sheer climate-related necessity. In comparison, it’s perfect, of course, but, truthfully, rather joyless.
Battling the elements is what makes tennis outdoors so unique, so joyful and special. There’s something about the big sky above (cloudy or sunny) when you’re looking up to try to smash a high lob that’s wildly unique. I’ve played tennis in the rain, even amidst snow flurries on occasion. I had to stop a match once while a hail storm hurried by, which left the court temporarily buried in pea-sized white pellets! But one of life’s great joys for me remains that perfect, sunny day, maybe 80 degrees, no wind, a great opponent across the net, and nothing but time to hit balls, take a break and start up all over again. Heaven.
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