A Journey From 3.5 to 5.0 in Three Years (Part Two)

What does it take to rise quickly in the ranks? Join us as we sit down with Gin, a remarkable tennis player who skyrocketed from a 3.5 to a 5.0 player in just three years.

Her journey isn't just about the climb but also the hurdles she faces at the higher levels, particularly the lack of local weekday teams for players like her.

We also hear Gin's craziest story and most memorable moments. Don’t miss this episode!

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Transcript

Carolyn 0:07

Hi, this is Carolyn, and I'm here with Erin, and this is part two of our episode with Jen, who went from level 3.0 to 5.0 in three years. If you'd like to hear more about her background, please check out part one, but here is part two.

Gin 0:22

Both when I bumped to four or five and then this year Erin knows, because I called her that morning I'm a coach at my club and so I did the safe play thing through USTA. So I got the email early and I sobbed when I got this most recent bump and I know that maybe sounds silly because I know I, you know I am, I do, I'm aware that it's a privilege to even talk about being at that level and you know, really a special thing, but it changes your life. You know, it has changed my um. Something that I've come to really love, and that's something that has given me a lot in my life, is, you know, tennis and I and I started it as a daytime when my kids were at school activity and and it has, I mean, given me friendships and health and just I mean so much and that is now gone and so I'm having a hard time. Even right now I could sort of cry like kind of come into terms with that.

Erin 1:16

So yeah, because we've talked about there's a pathway from 2.5 and up, but not once you hit that 5.0 level, right.

Carolyn 1:23

Yeah, so do you not have a team at 5.0 right now? So in our area, or are there teams Right? Are there teams? I guess there are teams.

Gin 1:30

In our area and I'm sure this is very different depending on where you are, but in our area there are not teams, like you all know that. You know a lot of us play in the different local you know I mean we call them Eno and Cary and in our area you can kind of travel not far and play. So a lot of our friends play on. You know two teams in Raleigh, two teams in Cary and an Eno team, and you know, so you kind of can build all these teams that you're playing on, and so for 5-0, there is not Durham Cary, there's none there, and so there's only one Raleigh team. And also in the other brackets you can play 18 and 40, because I am well over 40. But in 5-0, there is not a 40. So it is one league and it plays on Sunday afternoons and I had already made the decision. I did not want to play on weekends because that's when I'm. I did not start tennis to be another thing on the weekends, when my kids.

Gin 2:25

I started tennis to be what I did during the day.

Carolyn 2:28

So yeah.

Gin 2:29

Did you appeal? I did. I took my time with it. I did not hit it right away because I just wanted to make sure, because you know USDA is very clear about you can't undo an appeal. So I just thought you know, I want to make sure this is what I want. I mean it is maybe something I would never achieve again, I just want to make sure. But the more I thought about it and talked to friends that week I was like no, what am I thinking? And so I did hit appeal and it was denied.

Carolyn 2:52

I hit appeal this year too, at 4-0, and it was denied. I know, I think that's you know.

Gin 2:56

I heard Erin say the thing on the podcast last podcast about that, and I'm the one that said that. I think if you battle cancer you should be able to say I want to be this level I know the USTA should make that happen, carolyn's, like I'm coming back as a 2.5.

Erin 3:09

Yeah, I know right.

Carolyn 3:11

You can come with me, jen, we'll do it again, I know.

Erin 3:25

I mean, I really, I mean this maybe y see her play shouldn't look like a four.

Carolyn 3:26

Oh yeah, I'm sure that is kind of a you, because you don't hear these stories that often of somebody making it to five, oh, and then not having opportunity to play opportunities.

Erin 3:36

Yeah it really does. So, like I said, there's a really good pathway and USTA has done an amazing job of getting people who have never touched a racket.

Carolyn 3:44

You know there's a five, three, five, four.

Erin 3:47

There's all those programs for, like, just jump on a court and for 40 bucks we'll give you a racket and a coach and six weeks of training, and you know. So they have all this. And then there's a, you know, learn to play and then learn to play in a league. You know this whole. Really they've done a good job of that pathway. No-transcript. We could have like three guys and a woman on the court just because they just don't have the opportunity to play. And here we are. Like Jen said, we've got 18 over, 40 over. In our area, I mean in our club, we've got 55, 65, 75 year olds. They've got all those leagues plus all the different areas that we could travel to. So Jen, unfortunately, at 5.0, is just out of those options.

Gin 4:57

You're just too good, jen, you've gotten too good too quickly is that? I don't really feel like it? So you know? But I, you know I did have the win, so I guess I've got to accept it. And you know I would also be remiss. I left out, I kind of glossed through my 4.0 year and I did. I will also say you know we're talking about what I did. I did take a lot of lessons that year and so I can't, you know, leave out. I mean, some phenomenal coaches really taught me a lot and so you know that was a big part. I did that mostly during the year that I was a 4.0. It was blessed to be able to do that almost weekly and that was incredible. In fact, erin and I and our other friend who's also been on the podcast, did a group lesson and then I did some private, so that was also incredibly helpful.

Erin 5:40

Yeah, and I know we've said it, but it's not just natural ability. She worked really really, really hard at working out constantly. You know, like she said nutrition, I mean she kind of did it all and she just did it so quick. A lot of people say they're going to commit to doing that and maybe they do it, maybe it takes some years, maybe they dabble in it. Jen really went full force into it and she's just very, very quick. She has amazing footwork from her other sports and that, like you said, that competitiveness and you know it's. I hate to say that it's a bummer that you got bumped to 5-0. It feels like that. But you know people listening might be like oh you know how lucky, but it was a lot of hard work, but now she's just out of options.

Carolyn 6:23

I mean there's professional athletes that play tennis and they, you know 3-5, 4-0. They're not getting bumped to 5-0. So that shows how much you worked, how hard you worked, how much you've done, Even though you are a phenomenal athlete. There's other professional athletes that play tennis now and they're not getting bumped to 5-0.

Gin 6:42

Well, thank you, I appreciate that.

Erin 6:44

Yeah, there's a few in our area. We interviewed a baseball player. I know a hockey player. They're playing tennis. Very, very good, Very good yeah 4-4 to 4-5, but not getting bumped to 5-0.

Gin 6:56

It's really fun for me to watch the different sports that people come out of and watch how it appears on the tennis court. You know you've got the volleyball players who are just like crazy net people who look like they. You know they look like they're they. I mean they love being up there at that net and putting that ball away. And then you've got, I mean, we have at our club when you just said hockey, that's what made me think of this and I played her this morning, so maybe that's why it's fresh on my mind but we have somebody who played hockey ice hockey and she was a keeper, a goalie and whatever.

Gin 7:25

I mean her. The way that she slaps at the ball in these crazy arm movements looks like a hockey goalie, but it comes back at you in the craziest spin that you ever will see and it's very effective. She's a very, very good player and you know, just fun to watch. You know a soccer player and people will say what sport did you play? You know, cause they can tell there's something there, um, and I think that is the, maybe the running and the footwork, um, yeah, and so, yeah, it's fun to watch the different the, to see the different sport, the different athletes and um how it looks on the tennis court. That is fun.

Erin 7:57

Yeah, carolyn gets in trouble, cause she was a basketball player and she was like just run up to the net at any point, like when I should like anytime, so she's like time to get to the net.

Carolyn 8:10

I'd rather be at the net than at the baseline. So yeah, I just run to the net.

Erin 8:16

Willy nilly whenever.

Gin 8:17

And I run. I do the opposite. I get you know. The coaches yell at me all the time especially in singles.

Erin 8:28

But you know I'll go to midway up and hit a ball and then backtrack, you know. But I want to be on the baseline. I get as far away from the net as possible. Me too.

Gin 8:32

It's like there's a magnet on the baseline. It just pulls me back.

Erin 8:35

Okay, so since you have now played USTA leagues and a zillion matches in the last three years, is that all you've been playing 2020.

Gin 8:45

Yeah, 2020.

Carolyn 8:45

Yeah.

Erin 8:46

Okay, one, almost all of them too. Yeah, um, do you have a craziest story that you can tell our listeners? People love to hear about the crazy. Yeah, you know, I have a lot of.

Emotional Moments in Tennis

Gin 8:55

I think what I have is like a lot of crazy stories. I mean, you know, erin and I are texting and telling each other about crazy stories, but then it's like when you try to think of like the one crazy story to share, that's when it gets hard. You know, one that comes to mind for me is that I was playing. I had lots of things happen that first year that were funny to me. Like you know, a player that and we're this is three, five, you know adult recreational tennis and a woman came out and was switching rackets every changeover and she had like 20 bag tags from all her championships and was just very undone over that. She was losing to me and yelled at me you are not a 3-5.

Gin 9:36

And a lot of things like that happened over the years, but the one that I guess I was going to tell you about is that I had a player we were playing very competitive singles match and she was doing well, she was ahead, and then I kind of had a little comeback and she cried. She came to the net at one of the changeovers and literally had tears rolling down her cheeks and said you know, I would really like to go back to the way that we were playing at the beginning. You know, I really do not.

Carolyn 10:04

When I was beating you yeah.

Gin 10:06

Yeah, can we?

Carolyn 10:06

play that way instead. Yeah.

Gin 10:08

And I really do not, and it was very sincere, and I really do not like this anymore, and I kind of just thought to myself, like you know what, do you want me to do Like?

Gin 10:18

you know, that's all I need to know. Like, I mean, this is a the way I am. So, um, and I think it was being just crazy obnoxiously consistent, hitting balls, you know, maybe even with less pace to the middle of the court, kind of thing and, um, I beat her, but that was. That was bizarre to me, that she thought that would be an effective strategy to cry and to ask someone.

Erin 10:39

you know, I'm going to try that next time, when I'm winning and then I fall behind, maybe, like I get broken, I'm going to go up and ask my opponent hey, could you like do all the stuff you were just doing when I was beating you instead? That's so. That's crazy, that's pretty nutty. I wonder if she remembers that she did that.

Carolyn 10:54

Erin, have you ever made someone cry? I've never made anybody cry. Oh, I've made.

Gin 10:58

I've made back to me. I interrupted Erin. No there've been several other. I've made a lot of people cry.

Carolyn 11:03

I think I'm just very frustrating to play against. Does that make you feel awkward at all? Oh yeah, because to me it would make me feel awkward.

Erin 11:10

Yes, why would people do that? Do you think they do that in men's tennis? Never.

Gin 11:15

I think I'm frustrating. I think that you know, I think it's very frustrating to play a type of player who just gets things back a lot. And and I think I've I mean I've had people say you know, I hit it, I'm hitting them out because I feel like I've got to get it on the line or you're going to get to it, and so I think it's just. I mean, you know, I think I'm just I'm frustrating, so I do, I do. People do cry, people do cry. I've cried too.

Carolyn 11:46

We're women, you know, Jen.

Gin 11:52

so can you also tell us your most memorable moment on the court? Yes, I'm a huge fan of this podcast and so I knew that question was coming and so I think probably I have to say I mean, there have been so many, as I'm sure everybody you know would say, and absolutely you know our state championships and, um, those have been incredibly special and I've gotten to be you know part of several at this point, but, um, I'd say there have to be two, and one is that, um, I actually won a state championship in high school. Um, our tennis team won the two a which, if you're from North Carolina, you know what that means it's a little school, right.

Gin 12:24

But if you're not, it means that it's a small school, we're from a small town. State championship, and as a whatever I was 16-year-old that was just so exciting, and to have all the parents there, I mean it was just really, really special and we had tried we'd made it to the final for three straight years and um, so to win that match was, um, you know, it has to be among my top tennis moments, even though it was a long time ago. And the other one was, I guess, planet nationals. Um, you know that, that, I'm sure, is something I'll never experience again. And um, even though we didn't win, I believe we finished fifth. That was also still, you know, just a highlight, you know, to say I did it and it's really fun, yeah.

Erin 13:07

I've never made it to regionals.

Gin 13:09

It's hard, it's really hard we would have made it several times if they had regionals.

Erin 13:16

True, we did win the state championship in singles several times, and but Jen was also like so amazing at nationals Cause she was kind of our marketing girl and pushing our podcast and wearing.

Carolyn 13:27

So much for doing that.

Erin 13:29

She was wearing our sticker on her shirt while she was playing. So she was giving us some, you know, giving us some love all the way at nationals.

Carolyn 13:36

Should we have had Jen doing that, cause she's making people cry, true?

Gin 13:40

I did not make anybody cry at nationals. I think it was okay. I played against lovely people.

Carolyn 13:46

We really appreciate Jen coming on the podcast. If you're aware of any other person like Jen who climbed the rankings really quickly, please let us know. You can message us on our website, which is SecondServePodcastcom. Thanks so much for listening and hope to see you on the courts soon.