The Deuce Club, 12.11

By Jackie Roe, TW Social Director

How is the TWibe doing this evening? I'm trying my best to stay warm - and dry. We've already had a few snowfalls here in Illinois; at your right is the view from my kitchen - gorgeous, no? I'm also having a whale of a time hunting for holiday gifts for my loved ones. Any innovative gift suggestions are more than welcome.

As Pete reminded you in his Watercooler post earlier today, please continue to e-mail me your TW Awards nominations. There are no predetermined categories for awards, aside from poster-of-the-year (one male, one female) and TW Poet Laureate. You can nominate whomever you want for whatever you want - the more creative, the better.

Also, keep those requests to join our Facebook group, TennisWorld > Real World, coming. Facebook has been a bit surly of late (has anyone else noticed?), so I've had some problems with requests. If you don't hear from me within a few days of requesting to join, send me an e-mail or a private message in Facebook with your TW comment-posting moniker and I'll make sure to grant you access to the group.

When I first sat down to write this post, I was at a loss for topic ideas. I stewed in my thoughts, not thinking to ask anyone for a little assistance, a little push. Ordinarily, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out for help; what was stopping me now? And then it hit me - because this had to do with tennis.

Voila, **my topic was born.

For many of us, our "tennis lives" are far removed from the rest of lives. Perhaps the name of our Facebook group's name says it all - TennisWorldis greater than the real world. Our real world, anyway. Tennis seems to occupy its own space in our minds, not at all related to our jobs, activities, or even our relationships with friends and family. I'm reminded of the "How far will you go to watch tennis?" discussion topic in the Facebook group, where a number of you came forward with stories of the lengths you've gone to avoid revealing your tennis obsession to those around you. Or of the lies you've told in order to weasel out of plans so you'd be able to catch an important tennis match.

Not that we'd have it any other way. It seems the more our interest in tennis grows, the harder we work to ensure others aren't privy to it.

I enjoy having tennis to myself. That sounds a bit oxymoronic considering I'm so active on this very blog, but it reflects my complete lack of desire to involve my "real life" friends/family in whatever tennis-related activity I'm engaged in. Okay, so I'm more flexible with family members, but in general, sharing a tennis experience - whether it's watching a match, recounting a story, or showing off photos - with others outside of the TWibe feels somewhat ... hollow. It's as if they can't fully appreciate the experience because, well, they don't fully appreciate tennis. Not the way I do, at least.

Beyond that, letting others into my tennis life just makes me uncomfortable. It literally feels like my worlds are colliding. Tennis and work, or tennis and friends, aren't supposed to mix, right?

And yet sometimes they do mix - and quite well. For example, it was through my job that I met my only non-TWibe tennis buddy, Dominick. A co-worker overheard him talking about having tickets to the Indian Wells Masters and rushed to tell me the news (she's one of the few at work who knows about my outside interests). Dominick and I hit it off immediately and were soon talking about tennis at every free moment. We even attended the Cincinnati Masters together, my first live tournament experience ... and a trip I'll never forget. I still can't believe my luck that I actually work with someone who understands tennis the way I do.

So, strangely enough, work - well, a co-worker - brought me closer to tennis ... and tennis also brought me closer to a co-worker.

But the work-tennis connection doesn't end there. Another co-worker who became aware of my preoccupation with tennis informed me that one of our company's vice presidents (who's based in our New York office) is quite the avid tennis fan herself. I learned that she supervises the ball kids at the U.S. Open and is a ballperson herself.

The one time she visited my office, we were introduced and had a long chat. She told me she's been a ballperson since 1990 and even worked the gold medal matches at the 1996 Olympics. She regaled me with stories about Steffi, Rafa, Roger, Jelena, and Andy R. (who makes her nervous because after his matches she's always left with dozens of Wilson tattoos on her legs!).

Once again, I discovered that allowing tennis to play a part in my work life wasn't a bad thing; in fact, it was anything but.

And what about mixing tennis and friends? Well, that hasn't been so terrible, either. It's no use trying to downplay my love for tennis around my friends - they can see right through me, after all. But they've been nothing but supportive of this passion. One even tries to keep up with these Deuce Club posts. Some seem to be paying more attention to tennis, too ... and instead of being bothered or annoyed by this development, I feel somewhat gratified that I'm opening their eyes to the wonders of this oft-ignored sport.

I'm realizing that tennis doesn't have to be this entity unto itself in my head, something that needs to be kept hidden from the rest of my world. Why can't we make it known that we love tennis? Why can't we introduce others to the sport and show them how exciting it is? If they get into it through us, isn't it only right that we throw our discomfort out the window and welcome them into our tennis lives with open arms? Shouldn't we delight in having another person with whom to freak out over wins and losses? And if they don't get into it and steadfastly believe we're losing our minds for caring so much about, ick, tennis, why should we let that bother us - aren't we used to it by now?

I'm fatigued from all that introspection. Now it's time for you to offer your two cents. What does your interest in tennis mean to you and what role has it played in your life? Has it interfered with work or your social life? Are your family, friends, and co-workers aware of how important tennis is to you? Discuss!

(Remember that this is your OT space for the evening.)