Why I love to... play tennis

For reader Michelle Walshe, tennis is a technical sport that has beauty and elegance


Reader Michelle Walshe shared her story: My lifelong love affair with tennis began when I was a child. We spent summers in Rosslare, and it was there that I learned to pass the lazy afternoons on the tennis courts.

Back in Dublin, my mum took me for lessons in Churchtown and I began to play singles in various clubs. Today, I play doubles in Riverview with my tennis partner Samantha Joseph, and we're getting ready to compete in the Club Championships this week.

Tennis is a deeply satisfying sport. It can seem prissy and frilly, with fussy etiquette and dodgy fashion. It can appear elitist. But it is a primal feeling, the thwack of the ball on your racquet as it hits the sweet spot in the middle and flies in a perfect arc, high over the net, with a force you didn’t know you possessed, grazing the line and winning the point.

It is a technical sport that has beauty and elegance when played with fluidity and grace. If you’re having a bad day, there is nothing better than picking up a racquet and whacking a ball, letting the frustration leave your body in one fell swoop.Tennis is mindfulness in motion. I play three to four times a week. It keeps me fit, sane and healthy and in a good mood, especially when I win!

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Tell us about a sport or activity that you love. Email 300 words or less to magazine@irishtimes.com with “Why I Love To” in the subject line