Today I have done it again, I do not know how long I had not practiced, without releasing tension, sweating a little and having the joy of ending up exhausted. It lasted just over an hour, but I have enjoyed it as if it had been more. First a good warm-up, the lack of exercise is noticeable and the body suffers with each stretch. Arms, legs, back, all well synchronized and prepared to give my best and not expose myself to my rival.
I take the can, empty it and let the balls roll, I remove the cover and grip the shaft of my racket tightly, I give it several turns on its axis to hold it again. I choose a ball, I bounce it a couple of times and I throw it into the air one meter above my head, at the same time, I quickly move my arm from the waist, running vertically and parallel to my back, until it is stretched above my head. Then the impact occurs and the ball is thrown at high speed. Wham! A forehand … Wham! A backhand … Wham! a volley. I lose the first point.
There has been no lack of intensity, footwork, wrist movements … I have once again felt the tension of the strings and the texture of the ball caressing my fingerprints, running through each of the lines of my palms with its ramifications. I have once again experienced the satisfaction of making a drop hitting the net, a balloon at the back of the court, a volley to the line, a direct serve and an unattainable “smash” that is lost in the neighbor’s garden …
I can see that I am not in shape: I have lost speed, strength, technique … life demands a lot of you, it demands more of you. That’s why the brief moments in which you can do those things that you like, but never have time to do them are appreciated.
I can finally breathe, two days ahead to rest, sleep a bit and regain strength to face another week full of “things to do”, but now I don’t want to think about it …
“Time is a word that begins and ends
when it is drunk and ends as it runs slowly and passes quickly.”
