Games of the Gods: Tennis and Bridge, Anyone?

Valley View by Fereva

If someone had told me a dozen years ago that I’d be chasing a little, fuzzy yellow ball around various La Cañada Flintridge tennis courts in So Cal’s summer heat, my response would have been a polite snicker. (Which begs the question, is it ever polite to snicker? Only Miss Manners knows for sure.)

But then approximately a dozen years ago, I discovered the Joy of Tennis through coach Joanne La Rocca, a terrific instructor and good friend. Formerly an East Coast pro, Joanne’s moves are like those of a dancer: She covers the court with easy grace that can only be achieved through years of hard work and discipline.

Joanne is currently director of the parks and rec tennis program in Woodland Hills. Last week, she invited me to become the fourth in an advanced ladies doubles’ class where the temps had soared to 100 degrees + in the shade by 9:30 a.m.

“And we’ll have fun, fun, fun till-” everyone passes out from the heat.

The good news is that after a lengthy absence from the game, I was able to hold my own in a group of heavy hitters. The sticky news is that we all looked like lobsters thrashing around in a boiling pot by 10 a.m. Except Joanne, who appeared cool and tireless as she put us through our paces.

Must have been that freezer-gel-pack scarf thing she wore.

Back when I initially began lessons, I once attended an evening pro match at UCLA where two momentous (for me) things occurred: First, Pancho Gonzales was publicly acknowledged during a set break. He rose from the stands, magnificent as ever, to much adulation. What a guy, sigh.

Second, I saw the sweater.

As an audience member approached while exiting our row, I noticed the front of her sweater (stitched against a tennis white background, of course) depicted a racket with the legend “Tennis” beneath. As she walked away, I saw a queen of spades on her sweater back with the legend, “Bridge.”

“How cool is that?” I thought, awestruck. “Tennis and bridge. What a perfect combination!” Epiphanies happen in the oddest places.

Fast forward to LCF circa the early ‘90s: I had just signed up for a bridge class at what was then known as the Youth House, then dubbed the LCF Community Center, subsequently designated the Roger Barkley Community Center. So began my long apprenticeship in a game whose complexity rivals chess.

Back again to tennis, which is a bona fide Olympic game. What’s up with Serena Williams and Jen-Jen Caprioti bailing out of the U.S. team? Both have cited injuries which require rest... so they can go on to play in upcoming big money matches, instead of clutching some goofy olive branch and a medal in Athens.

Okay, so much for tennis. But how might a card (!) game fit into this column’s Olympics wrap up? According to a recent press article which reviewed the plethora of newer sports officially sanctioned by the International Olympics Committee, apparently several other additions are being discussed.

(Perhaps only among their grass roots proponents, but then, I have my doubts about synchronized diving. Not to be confused with in sync swimming, which is great fun.)

And one of the new additions being suggested is- you guessed it, bridge! Advocates claim it requires the stamina of a marathon runner, the focus of an archer and, uh... some other really important factor. When I recall exactly what that factor is, maybe my bridge game will pump up a notch.

Fereva may be reached at: fereva@earthlink.net