As a child, it seemed as though everyone in my world played tennis. I grew up in a small outer suburb where sport had currency and tennis was at the heart of our community. The clubhouse and red clay en-tout-cas courts sat in the centre of town, surrounded by a local hall, a kindergarten and a plot of land for the mobile library to park each Tuesday afternoon.
Those courts were always in use. Juniors on a Saturday, lessons after school and adult competitions on weekdays. I played as much sport as I could when I was young and tennis dominated for years. When I wasn’t playing I was watching, hanging around competitions and waiting to pounce on famous players to ask for their autographs in my little red book.
