Tennis sets us up for the day
Anna Melville-James, 48, never imagined herself as a tennis player. She hadn’t played as a child and was sure she’d be no good as an adult – but after a chance conversation at her daughter’s school gates, she became a founder member of the slightly ironically named Tennis Amazons group, meeting for regular knock-ups in a local London park.
‘It started with my friend Rachael, 51, and I wanting to get fitter but thinking we didn’t have the time because we were both working,’ says Anna, who’s a podcaster. ‘Neither of us had played tennis – so we
decided to try and fit in weekly sessions with a coach, straight after our school drop-off.
‘That was three years ago, and we no longer have the coach now. Instead, over time, three more women have joined us, Emma, 47, Camilla, 46, and Annie, 47, and, although five is an odd number for tennis, it’s unusual for us all to turn up on the same day.
‘That’s what I like so much about it – there’s no pressure. We all understand what it’s like to be busy women and I know nobody is going to hate me if I have to cancel. That element of flexibility is what makes it enjoyable and
‘We always go home feeling invigorated by all that fresh air and fun’
doable. If I felt I had to turn up every week, I probably wouldn’t want to!
‘We chat as much as we play, and in winter we’ll be wrapped up in coats and scarves – and I always have a coffee with me. It’s just great fun to be outdoors in whatever the weather has in store for us. Somehow, exercising in a studio would feel a bit artificial, as if we weren’t really doing it properly.
‘And even though none of us is especially brilliant at tennis, we always go home feeling invigorated by all that fresh air and fun.’