“To err is human, to blame it on someone else is doubles” – anonymous internet quote. This past spring, from April 15th to May 27th, Tennis Nashville and USTA-TN paired up to bring “Thursdays at Centennial” to area tennis lovers. The league consisted of three divisions, 2.5/3.0, 3.5, and 4.0/4.5 and brought together fifty of Nashville’s most awesome players for five weeks of play. The league was both social and competitive and hosted some of the best doubles matches Centennial Sportsplex has ever seen. Tennis Nashville president, Helen Neuhoff, explained “one of our goals at Tennis Nashville is to get more people playing tennis. ‘Social League Tennis’ offers a way for players to meet in a relaxed yet competitive setting.”
The goals of social and competitive were clearly met during this venture. “We couldn’t control the rain, but we had a back-up plan to keep everyone connected and built-in make up sessions,” Neuhoff shared. On those rainy Thursdays, all players were invited out to mingle, chatting about tennis or just getting to know their fellow players. After the matches that weren’t rained out, participants of all divisions also met up for drinks, snacks and fun! In keeping with the competitive goal, all divisions were separated based on skill to keep challenges fun but provide a level of competition that tennis players thrive on. Each division had a different format and boasted an ultimate winner at the end of the five-week session.
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Division winners:
For the 2.5/3.0 division, congrats to Marci Wayman!
For the 3.5 division, congrats to Renee Stewart!
For the 4.0/4.5 division, congrats to Diego Salinas!
What did the participants think about it?
Division 3.5 captain, Gabriel Lopez, loves playing social doubles because “I enjoy being part of a team. Strategizing, working together and learning your partner is what makes it fun! Also, giving yourself a high-five in singles just looks weird.”
