Twelve students travelled to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton so they could take part in a 24 hour tennis marathon for the charity Bright Ideas for Tennis. The students were brilliant playing tennis constantly between midnight and 4am on Sunday morning raising over £5000.
Meeting up with my friends at 10pm for an intense night of tennis in London was one of the craziest things that had happened to me since the start of the year. On a bus ride energized with music and laughter, we made our way through the night, to the National Tennis Centre in Rohampton. As soon as we got off the bus, we were all starting to feel the nocturnal effect and seeing ourselves in this massive centre truly felt like we had all ended up in the same dream.
After the first two hours of feeling the excitement and jumping around the center, the feeling of heaviness started getting upon us. . By 2am, Ilse was already half asleep on the floor while Calla and Estelle were busy eating food to regain energy. The teachers were exhausted too, Mrs Smith had brought her coffee mug and Mrs Trigger had disappeared to nap in the van! The pro players offering to play points were very sweet but had no mercy on the courts. When not playing with the pros, we hit some balls with the other schools that were participating at the same time as us. It was honestly a fantastic experience, and although physically intense, it was for a worthy cause.
Well done to everyone who participated!
Ayamé Belkin, Year 11
