Seeds of success

The moment when a lad half my age sent his second consecutive ace flying past my racket was probably the moment I wondered if it had been a mistake to rekindle my tennis career for the first time in a decade.

- Tom Garry

Before anyone starts wondering whether you're reading words written by the Guardian's answer to Goran Ivanisevic, I should make it very clear that, despite being a keen player as a child, I was never particularly good.

Admittedly, I worked as a coach to help pay my way through university but I rarely taught anything more technical than showing beginners how to hold a racket. Not unlike the Tottenham men's football team, 2008 was the last time I had lifted any kind of "trophy". A weak backhand, lazy footwork and an enthusiasm for food were among my downfalls. But it's the taking part that counts, right? And it was in that spirit that, this year, I joined our nearest club, High Legh Tennis Club in Cheshire, near where the M6 meets the M56, and fell back in love with all the quirks of club-level tennis.