Chapter 3 — My First A-Team Trip 🎾✨ I still remember the feeling of finding out that I had made the A team. I was in Grade 4, and to me, being chosen for the A team felt like the biggest achievement in the world. I had worked so hard for it. I had spent hours on the court, practising, trying again when I got something wrong, and pushing myself even when I was tired. But I don’t think I fully understood what being on the A team meant yet. I thought it meant playing better tennis. I didn’t know that it was about to give me some of the best memories of my childhood. Then came the news that we were going on a school tennis trip. My first ever tennis trip. I was SO excited. For the first time, tennis wasn’t just something I did after school. It was taking me somewhere. I was getting on a bus with my teammates, my friends, my tennis bag and everything I needed for an adventure. I remember being on that bus with everyone, surrounded by people I was becoming closer and closer to. There was music, laughing, talking, snacks everywhere, and that feeling you get when you know you’re about to experience something you’ve never experienced before. We were all so excited. We were heading to Beaufort West for the tournament, and to little Grade 4 me, it felt like we were travelling across the world. It was my first real tennis adventure. And something happened on that trip that I didn’t expect. I made friendships that would last far beyond that tournament. I was sharing a room with a girl I didn’t really know. At first, it was a little strange. Imagine being in Grade 4 and suddenly sharing a room with someone you barely know because you’re both there for the same tennis tournament. But somehow, by the end of that trip, she wasn’t a stranger anymore. She became my friend. And incredibly, she is still one of my closest friends today. That is one of the things I love most when I look back at my tennis journey. Some of the people tennis brought into my life when I was little are still standing beside me years later. The tournament itself was exciting, but honestly, some of my favourite memories weren’t even on the tennis court. They happened after the matches. We would come back to our rooms after playing, exhausted, sweaty, excited and sometimes celebrating tiny victories that felt like huge victories. And whenever someone won something — even if it was just a great match or an important point — we’d celebrate like we’d just won a Grand Slam. There were little room parties. Laughing until we couldn’t breathe. Talking about our matches. Making jokes. Getting ready together. Eating snacks. And just being kids. We didn’t have to worry about rankings, points, sponsorships or anything else. We just loved tennis. And we loved being together. Sometimes we’d go outside after everything was finished. It would be dark. The courts would look completely different at night, and we’d still somehow find a way to play, run around, hit balls and challenge each other. We were tired, but we didn’t want the day to end. Looking back now, I think those moments were some of the purest moments of my tennis life. There was no pressure. No expectations. No one telling us that we had to become professionals. We were just a group of kids who loved the game. And somewhere between the bus rides, the matches, the late-night laughs, the room parties and playing outside in the dark, I started to understand something. Tennis was much more than tennis. It was friendship. It was travelling. It was memories. It was meeting people I never would have met otherwise. It was learning how to win together and lose together. It was learning how to encourage someone after a tough match. It was having people cheer for you when you were nervous. It was celebrating someone else’s success as if it were your own. And most importantly, it was creating memories that I would carry with me for years. That first A-team trip changed something in me. Before that, tennis was something I loved. After that trip, tennis became a world. A world where I could travel. A world where I could compete. A world where I could meet people who would become some of the most important people in my life. And I think that little Grade 4 girl on that bus had no idea where this journey would eventually take her. She didn’t know that one day she would represent South Africa. She didn’t know about Billie Jean King Cup. She didn’t know about international tournaments. She didn’t know about the WTA tour. She didn’t know how many airports, hotels, tennis courts, victories, losses, tears and sacrifices were waiting ahead. She just knew one thing: She loved tennis. And maybe that’s why that first A-team trip is still so special to me. Because before tennis became a career… Before it became rankings and tournaments and chasing a dream… It was simply fun. It was a bus full of kids. A tennis bag thrown over my shoulder. Friends laughing beside me. A room full of memories. Small victories that felt enormous. Playing outside when it was already dark. And a little girl who was slowly discovering that the sport she loved could take her places she had never imagined. I didn’t know it at the time, but that trip was only the beginning. And the next chapter of my story was about to get even bigger. 🎾