On The Court

I get out of the shower and thank him for his hospitality. In fact, I didn't expect less from him.

"Last thing Clara." he says just before I open the door.

He gives me a metro ticket. I've never took metro before, I just sleep there.

"Thank you. That's very nice." I say before going.

I know where the station is, and I think I'm going to go try to have a court at the fabulous place I wanted to train in. I try to keep my wet long brown hair in my vest, not to bother anyone. I can't wait to show those people what I am capable of. I get out of the first train and find my station on the plan. I take the good direction and I will arrive sooner than I thought. I embark the train and wait for my station. It took a while but when the robotic voice finally announces it, I get off fast, because I don't want to be stuck in such a traffic. I was right, I regard the train and people are so stressed they're struggling to get out of the metro. I see the complex and enter it. It's an incredible place. The wall is made of windows to see all what's happening on the courts. Paul sees me at the same time I see him. He advances in my direction and has a racket in his hands.

"Hi! I knew you would come after I talked to you about here." he says, as we handshake.

"Hi. How can I not come if I can play? That would be crazy!" I laugh.

"Is it the first time you play this spring?" he asks.

"It is. I might be a little rusty, winter was long this year." I tell him.

"Okay, well let's go! I already have a court ready." he says.

I follow him in the long access corridor to the courts and we start playing. I don't play too hard for the warm up. He asks me to serve and gives me a special ball calculating the speed of my serve. I serve a couple balls before he asks me to come and see him.

"I have to see, this is pretty impressive. Your best serve was 116 miles per hour. The strongest serve anybody could ever hit was made in 2012 and it was from 131 miles per hour. Clara, there's a difference between the serve in 2012 and yours. You're tall. You should be able to use your corpulence as a weight for the ball. Let's retry it, but use all of your body when you jump in the ball." he says.

I hit another few balls, letting myself fall in the ball for more strength. When Paul asks me to come, he shows me that I was able to serve at 119 miles per hour, which is the best I have done. After the service training, we hit attacking forehands, which is my best shot. Backhands, though, is a little more difficult for me.

"Almost everything in your game is complete except one thing. The backhand." he says, as I shook my head in agreement.

"Yes, people say that a lot when they see me play. I'm capable of installing an easy point in my favor, but one ball on my backhand might ruin everything I planned for that point." I explain to him.

"Exactly. Meet me here tomorrow for a backhand training. It was nice to play with you. I think you have lots of potential to go far in a career." Paul says, which makes me happy.

We shake hands again before I get out of the center with smile. He said I had great potential. I might have more chances than I thought.