Pearl played a little tennis last year. Just a smidge. And then over the summer, she took some private lessons with friends and was getting much better.
This fall, she joined the school team. The junior high team is open to anyone from 7-9th grade. Pearl is in 7th, so she is pretty new (and kinda small) compared to the other girls, but for many girls this was their first year, so plenty of people were at the same skill level.
In fact, with the extra practice over the summer, Brooklyn, Pearl's bestie, and Pearl were comparable to most of the other girls.
They had a team competition first to see who was towards the top, and the ladder (placements in Varsity and JV) would be made off those standings. However, if you didn't like where you ended up, you could ask for a rematch and try to move up.
You have to understand how fast everything moved in the first place. Tennis started on a Monday. There was a second practice on Wednesday and then they had their first match (team match at least) on Friday. So some of these girls probably only had two days of practice before competing.
Pearl seemed to do well. She wanted to play doubles but the team match was singles. Pearl won all three matches.
Even so, I was still super surprised when the ladder came out and Pearl and Brooklyn were playing Doubles Varsity. They are both tiny and inexperienced. But this was going to be a great trial-by-fire for them. They were going to be playing other varsity girls, who presumably had more training. V for Varsity!
Sure enough, some of the matches ended with no wins for the girls. But they always came away happy and smiling.
Sometimes they would win a set here or there. It was really fun to watch them.
I actually missed their last tournament since I was in the Caribbean, but I think they were satisfied with how it all turned out. And I think they will play again next year. Why not? They are only getting better.
In fact, I went out to play with Pearl and she beat me. There was a moment halfway through when I was winning, so I let Pearl have a few points. That was a mistake. Because at the end, I was trying to win and she got the best of me. :) She was super happy and I've learned...no mercy.
I'm sorry I don't have more pictures. I went to almost all her matches, but I sat and watched instead of taking photos. I'll do better next time.
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