Welcome To A World Where Love Means Nothing
I saw the above line at a tennis tournament many years ago. And it’s stayed with me.
In tennis, the word ‘love’ means ‘nothing.’ It is a word that represents a score of zero. For example, if you see a score of 40–0, that would read as ‘forty-love.’
And so, love means nothing.
I’ve written about tennis a few times.
I fell in love with the sport as a teenager. At the same time, decided I would only take it in as a spectator. At the time, I was playing volleyball. And for some reason, I thought I only had space to love AND play one sport—no idea why. Ask my 13-year-old self. She probably knows.
Fast forward 30+ years, and I finally made space to play tennis.
Seems I let love in. And this ‘love’ means something.
I bought the racquet, the sneakers, and the visor (Makarska is hot!). And since February, I’ve been taking lessons once, sometimes twice weekly.
I’m noticing improvements in my technique. The forehand. The backhand. The volley. The serve. Each move requires multiple steps. Each move requires hours of practice.
I’m noticing my errors. I’m catching the errors milliseconds after they happen. A little too late, but I am seeing them.
I’m noticing my wins. I take note of my successful plays, I play them back and tell myself to repeat, repeat, repeat.
My instructor makes sure I catch the wins and the errors. She’s a great instructor.
Today, as I was reflecting on the morning’s tennis lesson and preparing to get into ‘work mode’ — I had a moment. A moment where I said to myself: how do I do more of THIS? More tennis. In any capacity.
I am aware that my days of playing professionally are way behind me. But a girl can dream.
I’m starting to dream up ideas of how tennis can play a bigger part in my daily life.
Last week I volunteereed at the Makarska Tennis Open. A week long WTA 125 tennis tournament, minutes from my home. I was introduced to another aspect of tennis and I loved it!
I am starting to dream and it feels good. It feels good to make space for what I love and to let love in.
I don’t think I dreamt much as a kid. Again, go ask my 13 year old self. She probably knows why. But this big kid (me), has started dreaming and I am excited to see what happens in a world where love means something.
It’s the little things…
