The Love Match

When I moved to another state, I didn’t realize at the time that I had two advantages which netted results in my love life – tennis and new friendships.

In Missouri, I played on the college tennis team, local tournaments, and leagues, where I developed lasting friendships. When I moved to southern Indiana, tennis helped me meet new people, and one of them just happened to live near the tennis courts.

From her house, she could see the tennis players coming and going, especially the male ones. She kept me informed at which times I should casually show up in my tennis attire with all my gear. One evening, I got the call at my apartment.

“Grab your tennis racket. He’s here,” my friend said.

“Who?”  I said.

“Tim. Tim is here,” she said.

“Who’s Tim?” I said.

“Come on, I’ve talked to you about him before. He’s the one that drives the black Camaro. You two would make a great match.”

“Who is he with?” I said.

“Let me ask.”

At that point, I was wondering Who is she asking? Turns out, my friend also had her two daughters staking out the tennis courts. When she passed on the information that Tim was playing doubles with three other guys, I decided to do a drive-by and check him out. From my friend’s description, I picked him out – dark hair, glasses, and about average height.  I was interested.

A year went by with no other encounters with Tim, tennis or otherwise. I started going out with someone else, and, according to my friend and her daughters, Tim now had a girlfriend.

During the following summer, I entered a tennis tournament, with my neighbor as my women’s doubles partner. That Saturday, the rain was coming down in buckets. The tournament was moved to the indoor courts at the local hotel and resort. But my partner never showed up!

I found the tournament director to ask him what to do.

“Let me ask my co-director,” he said.

That’s when Tim approached us. After the introductions and explanation of my predicament, Tim said, “Do you still want to play if we find you another partner?” After I assured him I would, Tim found Nancy, a resort guest from Missouri, who agreed to be my tennis partner for the day.

Nancy and I kept winning our matches, which meant we were in the women’s finals, the last one of the day. We won second place in the tournament. Tim and his partner won second in the men’s doubles.

At the end of the tournament, Tim, a few players, and I agreed to celebrate at a nearby restaurant. As we walked out to the parking lot, Tim got quiet. He said, “Where’s my car? I parked it right here.” I knew he was talking about his Camaro, but the car was not where he had parked it. Every parking spot was filled at this time of the day.

One of the players was a police officer and said, “Let’s check with the security guard who patrols the parking lot.”

When Tim returned to our group, he was calm, but we could tell he was worried. His Camaro had been parked in a space that was out of bounds, so the local towing operation was served a notice and hauled it to a nearby gas station. Tim got his car back (no charge), and at the restaurant, we celebrated the end of the tournament.

What impressed me about Tim was that he was so calm about the entire situation. In fact, he was joking about it and did not harbor any bad feelings toward the guard or the tow truck driver who was just performing his job. That kind of guy, who was cool under pressure, was difficult to come by. I was definitely interested.

During the next few months, I broke up with my boyfriend, and Tim broke up with his girlfriend. My friendship with Tim grew by playing tennis, planning tournaments, and casual outings with groups. Our courtship, engagement, and marriage took place within the following year. Tennis can have the advantage in matchmaking, just so long as it is a love match.