A Beautiful Day to Play on Clay

The level of excitement and happiness running through my body still has not fully subsided. Today was just one of those extraordinary days where everything just goes unbelievably perfectly. When I found out I was coming to Rwanda this summer, I was a bit worried that my ultimate desire and sometimes seeming necessity to play tennis would make me homesick for ubiquitous hard-court America. When Google Maps showed me that there were a few locations in Kigali with not only tennis courts, but CLAY COURTS, I was ecstatic. I've been playing on hard courts in the United States for the last 7 years and I've sat and watched both the French Open and Wimbledon (play for the 2011 tournament starts on June 20!!!!) wanting to play on surfaces that aren't as accessible in America (unless you have a club membership somewhere...).

Well, it turns out that the opposite is true in other parts of the world. Kigali has only clay courts throughout the entire city. When I found out about a sports facility known as Cercle Sportif de Kigali I knew I had to go! It turns out that today was the day to do just that...and what a day it was! As soon as I saw these babies...I gasped.

Finally, an accessible clay court for this Cuban boy! The cost to play was only ₣3,000 ($5) for the day, so we went right in. We immediately met this guy named Olivier who tried to sell us his court for ₣1,000 ($1.67) since there was a decent wait line. Not long after, we found out that he was actually pretty drunk (and was pretty well known for being so throughout the tennis facility). Not long after, a tall kid came up to us and told us not to pay attention to Olivier since he tends to get pretty drunk and doesn't really know what he's doing (as we were being told this, Olivier had walked right into the middle of another match going on between two people and tried to tell them to get off...). He introduced himself as Hakim and told us that we could always contact him if we needed to reserve a court.

This is where fate comes into the picture. Zach and I started to make casual conversation with the kid, asking him if played tennis at all. Not only did he play tennis, he turned out to be a Junior player for the COUNTRY of Rwanda! I had just shaken hands with one of the best players in the country...I was speechless. Hakim told us that he could help us get a court and would love to play with us. I was a extremely intimidated. I picked up tennis at the age of 15 after watching Maria Sharapova defeat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon Final (2004). We could never afford to coach me and my high school didn't have a team, so I've basically just kinda taught myself over the years. This guy has undoubtedly put countless hours into perfecting aspects of his game to compete in East African Tournaments. But I wasn't going to turn the chance down...


From the very first shot he hit, I was impressed. I was given a partner named Prince (like the racket brand) and we played doubles against Zach and Hakim. All these guys were great. Solid ground strokes, great serves...everything. They weren't just hitting as hard as they could, they were successfully hitting the ball in 98% of the time. It felt great at times to be told I had hit a great shot, especially by these guys. Right when we were about to start playing a set, we got kicked off because someone else had reserved the court...guess we'd have to wait a bit.


In that time, I was able to make some Rwandan friends. Although they were about half my age, they were all really eager to talk to me. They asked me what I was doing in Rwanda. Where I lived in America. How long I'm here. Whether I was learning Kinyarwanda, etc. I also got the opportunity to watch true African Football (Though Zach and I are looking into going to see a game at the Stadium at some point next week)! (I dedicate this moment to Sam Acquah)


Immediately afterwards, we finally got play our set. I felt good that I could keep up with what these guys were throwing at me (though I know it wasn't what they are truly capable of). I also finally got my taste of African rain. It felt amazing and really helped cool me down when we were playing. I thought it was interesting how much longer you could play on clay courts when it is raining compared to hard court. The clay kinda soaks up a bit of the rain, so you only really have to stop if it REALLY pours....which it did! Ultimately, we had some amazing points and great shots from all sides. The score ultimately ended up being 6-1, 1-6. Guess we were evenly matched! Of course I got a picture with such amazing players before we returned back to the house!The rain fell pretty heavily here in Rwanda tonight, but it felt great! Zach and I walked back to the house in the middle of some heavy rains, but it felt AMAZING. I hope it happens again while I'm here. And in case you've been wondering what my dinners are like, here's a little peek into my food life (which I will make a separate blog post about soon!)


All in all, life is pretty damn good right now....:) ONE MORE DAY TIL WE START TEACHING!