So, I found myself thinking about Nicolás Almagro the other day. Remember him? That Spanish guy on the tennis circuit. What really stuck in my mind was his backhand. That big, looping one-hander he had. Looked awesome when it worked.
Naturally, me being me, I thought, “I could try that.” So, I grabbed my old racket and headed down to the local courts. Nobody else was there, thankfully. Good thing too, because what happened next wasn’t pretty.
I started feeding myself balls, trying to get that Almagro swing going. Big mistake. First few balls? Sailed clean over the fence. Like, way over. Then I tried to control it more. Thwack! Straight into the bottom of the net. Every single time. I spent more time picking up balls than hitting them.
My Attempt at Glory
Okay, maybe “glory” is pushing it. My attempt at not looking like a complete beginner. I watched some clips of him on my phone right there on the court. Tried to copy the footwork, the swing path. Nothing worked. It felt so unnatural.
- Ballshank one: Hit the frame, nearly took my own eye out.
- Ballshank two: Went sideways, almost hit the net post.
- Ballshank three: A pathetic dribbler that didn’t even make it halfway to the net.
It was frustrating, you know? You see these pros do it, looks effortless. Then you try, and it’s just… chaos. Made me think about this time years ago, I tried learning guitar from online videos. Saw some guy playing lightning-fast solos. Thought, “Easy enough.” Spent weeks trying to play just one riff. My fingers just wouldn’t cooperate. Ended up giving up on the fancy stuff and just learned basic chords. Actually managed to play a few songs that way.
It’s funny how that happens. You get drawn to the spectacular, the flashy move, the Almagro backhand. But the real progress, the stuff that actually works for regular folks like me? It’s usually the boring stuff. The simple forehand. The basic serve. Just getting the ball back in play.
I spent about an hour out there, trying to imitate Almagro. By the end, my arm felt weird, and my backhand was arguably worse than when I started. I packed up my stuff, feeling a bit defeated. But also, kinda reflective.
Maybe the goal isn’t to hit like Almagro. Maybe it’s just to get a bit better than I was yesterday, using the tools I actually have. Simpler thought, but probably more useful. Still, gotta admire that backhand when it was on song.
