Keeping It Up at Ramapo College!
One of the recent USTA tournaments I played was at Ramapo College. My opponent was named Katie, and she was very sweet and nice to me. But once we got on the court, we both gave it our all to win! We played an 8-game pro set, which is shorter than a regular match, but longer than a single set. I ended up winning the match and earning my first trophy from Ramapo College! I had played there before, but I came up short and got runner-up trophies the last time I competed. Nonetheless, I didn't get completely discouraged by that; I decided to appreciate my improvements over time, and I gave it another try this year.
What I didn't know was that Katie is becoming a very experienced college player! She is a part of the Ramapo College's women's tennis team, which did extremely well in college tournaments. It was exciting to play someone who had that experience level and skill, but I didn't realize she was part of the college tennis team until after the match! In a way, that might have been a good thing, because maybe I would have been more nervous.
I think the main thing I learned from playing this match was that conditions aren't always perfect, but you have to try to stay persistent, even if you're facing tough circumstances. The weather was very, very hot, and because we were playing on an altitude (Ramapo College is near the mountains!), the balls had a different feeling to them. I was happy to see the courts themselves were in better shape than when I played at Ramapo before, but I still found the outside conditions were difficult. There were times when I had to accept I wouldn't serve well, because the sunlight was in my eyes and I couldn't see the ball (another side effect of playing at such a high altitude!).
But accepting those difficulties helped me to keep my emotions in check. One good habit I'm developing through competitive play is that I tend to laugh after I make a mistake, instead of being hard on myself. I'm not sure why, but I've noticed that laughing instead of banging my racket or getting angry helps me relax and take things less seriously. Ironically, the less angry I am, the better I tend to play!
Right now, I'm doing better so far than I did in 2024, which really amazes me. 2024 was probably my best competitive year, but 2025 may be even stronger. We're not at the end of the season yet, so we'll see if things change, but I'm very grateful with how far I've come.
Sometimes I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have taken such a long break from competitive tennis (I didn't really play much in 2022 or 2023, due to COVID-19 and other reasons, such as my disappointment with my tennis at that time). But when I really reflect on the break, I realize it was what I needed to truly recover and achieve the good outcomes I am having now. If I'd pushed through my disappointment and frustration before I was ready, maybe I would have dealt with more burnout. I think now, I'm trusting there's a timing to the choices I make in my life, and I need to be grateful for where I am now instead of comparing "what ifs" and hypothetical futures.
I'm going to play one more UTR event this week, so when I have the time, I'll also write a bit about the UTR matches I've played. I hope you enjoyed this reflection on what I learned at Ramapo College, and what I've discovered through my changing tennis journey. I'm looking forward to the new tennis adventures that will hopefully come my way!
Here's a great photo that my Dad took of me and Katie together after the match. We both gave our best effort!
