The next best thing

I have enjoyed watching tennis matches for as long as I could remember, back then my favorite player was Marat Safin, he ranked 2nd and boy was he on top of his game. Most often than not, I would try to follow all the major leagues (Wimbledon, French Open and US Open) during the year. Nowadays, however, I would often go for Roger Federer. Too bad he lost to Rafa Nadal on the recently concluded Wimbledon Championship, but it was a game very well played and one of the best, if not the best, championship match I have ever seen.

My sheer enjoyment of watching tennis is what made me bug Junfer for so long to teach me how to play tennis. I really want to learn how to play, it looks so challenging and intense, coupled with my (hidden) longing to try and wear that cutsie little women’s tennis outfit. Junfer got as far as buying a set of cutsie tennis outfit that is slowly decomposing in our closet but never got to teach me how to play. There are just too few tennis courts here in the Netherlands and usage of the court means you have to be a member of a club. Too steep for something that I don’t even know I would wanna do for a long time.

when I was about to give up my ambitions of playing tennis, Junfer was invited by some of his colleagues to play squash. Squash?!? I never knew anyone who plays squash. Well being the all around athlete that he is, Junfer cave and went with his colleagues and gave squash a try. Turns out, it was really fun and if I may say so belongs in the same family as tennis, hehe, or to be overly simplistic, both are racquet games. We found out that there is also a squash court close to our place and so when Junfer and his colleague decided to play in that court, I joined them. Right after we played squash, I immediately asked Junfer to inquire about the membership in the sports center and we decided to join the club (that way our games would come out cheaper than just renting the court by the hour). We also marched right on to the sports house and bought racquets, balls and a bag to carry all the stuff in, basic stuff really for beginners like us.


It’s been a couple of months since we started playing. Finally, I am starting to learn how to hit the ball right after it bounces back from the wall behind me. I find squash as one of the “Honey and me” time where we bond and laugh and try to be healthy, albeit all the sweets and calorific stuff we gobble up. I realize now, more than ever, that its vital for a couple to have a hobby that both of them truly enjoys. Squash is something that we really look forward to at the end of a busy and hectic day. I do hope that we’ll be able to continue playing this game coz for me it’s the next best thing to tennis.

(Wimbledon photo from popsugar)