(no subject)

There’s a reblog game going around Tumblr asking: “what’s the happiest you’ve ever felt while watching a sporting event?” and I’ve been thinking about it all evening.

Of course there’s the obvious joy of watching your favourite players win. Seeing Jannik Siner lift trophies makes me ridiculously happy every single time. But some of my happiest moments in tennis aren’t even attached to a result.

They’re moments.

Walking into Wimbledon and seeing the courts for the first time that year. Sitting in stadiums in different countries just before play starts, when the whole place is buzzing with anticipation. Watching a match suddenly turn because momentum in tennis is such a strange, beautiful thing. Realising you’re watching a player you’ll still remember thirty years later.

I’ve loved tennis for so long that my memories of it are layered through my life now. From watching John McEnroe as a kid to following players and coaches across decades, surfaces, eras, countries. Tennis has been the constant soundtrack underneath everything.

So I think maybe the happiest feeling isn’t one single sporting moment.

It’s that feeling when a match completely pulls you in and, for a few hours, the rest of the world disappears.