Climbing the walls: Reconnecting with old friend tennis

If anything good has come out of this time in lockdown, it is a new-found appreciation for things that had fallen by the wayside – namely, the outdoors.

Seeing the number of families at the park is like something from 20 years ago or more when the cool thing to do was still have a kickabout, rather than hide away on your phone, tablet or games console.

I am as bad as anyone when it comes to that, which is why the sport I played mainly growing up – tennis – has taken a backseat in recent years.

Marriage and kids quickly persuaded me it was better to spend an evening with Netflix on the TV, a beer in one hand and my phone in the other – occasionally looking up to speak to my wife, who is doing the same thing.

I had not thought about playing tennis for at least three years, not had a hit for at least four and not given it any sort of meaningful time for closer to 10.

My rackets were not just packed away in the back of a cupboard somewhere, they were in a box, under a whole pile of other boxes at the back of the garage.

And what is that smell? Yes, that will be the mummified banana skin – mixed with some melted jelly beans – that I forgot to take out of my bag the last time I played.... Delicious.

However, a need to get out – and a bit more time on my hands than usual – persuaded me to hit the courts for some singles action against a friend yesterday, while maintaining the new social distance protocols obviously!

It turns out I still quite like tennis.

I’m nowhere near as good at it as I was in my ‘pomp’ – but it was great to reacquaint myself with an old friend.

Maybe this will be the resurrection of my mediocre tennis career because it’s a damn sight better than burpees.

Speaking of which, the burpee challenge is still going (I’m as shocked as you).

As you read this, I am enjoying a rest day between two days of 80 burpees – with the final five-day stretch of 80, 85, 90, 95 and 100 ahead of me.

Some days are easier than others, but where before I was dead on my feet after 20, I can get to 40 (in sets of 10) without feeling like my lungs are going to explode and my legs fall off.

However, I have had to give up doing them with my wife – I cannot handle the pace!

She goes off ahead and has usually reached 50 by the time I’ve methodically completed 30.

But I will get through this week, get to the end and report back.

I’ve come this far, there is no way I’m giving up now (I really want to give up).