Yes, indeed! The team of Wendy McColskey, Tina Karwasky, Jan Kirkland-Cochran and me…. This year the World Team Championships were held in beautiful Mallorca, Spain, October 8-13. Over 650 players, men and women 65, 70, 75, 80 and 85(!) age groups participated in the six day event. The sun shone every day with temperatures hovering around 82 degrees. It would have been easy to be distracted by the beauty of the mountains in the distance reaching down to the aqua colored ocean surrounding the island.

Our 70 division was called the Althea Gibson Cup and included teams from 17 different countries. We were seeded first followed by Great Britain, Australia, France, and Germany. There were five round robin groups:

Group A. USA, Brazil, South Africa
Group B. Great Britain, Switzerland, Ukraine
Group C. Australia, Argentina, Sweden
Group D. France, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium
Group E. Germany, Spain, Ireland, Mexico

The first day’s action was a round robin to determine winners in each section. Ultimately the five winning teams in the round robin would be joined by three additional lucky loser teams picked out of a hat. I happened to be standing by the officials’ desk and was asked to pick these teams as the draw was made for the quarterfinals. From then it became a regular tournament… quarterfinals, semis and finals.

Things went awry right from our first day of practice. We were playing doubles when Tina tripped and face-planted on the red clay. After pulling herself up off the dirt she noticed that her right hand was now missing a huge hunk of skin from the pad area. It looked awful and was bleeding badly. She also cut her chin, which was also bleeding. Off she went to the doctor who wrapped her hand in boxer fashion and told her that to be safe she should not play until Monday. Our first match against South Africa was Sunday, two days away.

Opening ceremonies the following day found the entire U. S. contingent seated behind an enormous tree, which made it impossible for anyone to see the stage or hear the speeches. It was so crowded with players, family and friends that the country flag bearers could not get through the throngs. Was this an omen? So far, as the captain, I was a bit worried.

Saturday night Tina told me that she was feeling ok to play and that she would get her hand rewrapped by the doctor and would play in weight lifting gloves. Warmup each morning prior to our match was only 15 minutes and began at 8:30 am. I put our lineup in: #1 singles, Tina; #2 singles, Wendy; Doubles, Jan and me, beginning with #2 singles. I hustled back to the court to warm up and after two minutes of hitting, Tina informs me that she can’t play! I run back to the tournament desk to change our lineup and put me in at #2 singles, move Wendy to #1. The problem is that now I have time for only a 6-7 minute warmup before I have to play singles. Team play always begins with #2 first, followed by #1, followed by doubles all on the same court. Not only am I not warmed up, but I am not prepared mentally to play singles. Our first match. Unexpected drama. But thankfully I won at singles 6-1, 6-4, then Wendy won easily, and Tina and Jan did the same in doubles.

The following day we play Brazil. Wendy starts and wins easily. Now it’s Tina’s time, as she feels well enough to play. She is pitted against an excellent player from Brazil who uses biting slices. Tina is completely thrown off and cannot muster a defense. She loses in a tight match, but now Jan and I must win in order to come out of our round robin in first place. The pressure is on us as I think about having to live with the fact that as the first seeded team we may end up in 13th place or so! But the pressure does not get in our way, and we win and now we move on to the quarterfinals with a day off in between.

My goal for our day off besides practice is to go to the Rafa  Nadal Academy, which is 30 minutes away. Oh, I forgot to add that the Internet at our hotel was not working and never worked the entire week. Using Whatsapp was useless and getting much needed information about scheduling, results, etc. required a trip to the tournament desk often. Getting a taxi proved to be an ordeal. We waited two hours and finally walked up the street to a different hotel, where we were picked up. The Nadal Academy is amazing to see … many, many hard and red clay courts, indoor courts, a hotel, a school for youth, two restaurants, shops and a stadium court. Inside the facility is a museum, which holds all things Rafa … shoes, trophies and the like.

Wednesday dawns and we are pitted against Argentina in the quarterfinals. We all win handily and now move on to the semis against France. As I sign our lineup sheet for our match against France I notice that the French #1 is not playing. Apparently she had a long tough match the day before and does not feel ready to play. Because of this change the players from their team must move up … the #3 is now #2 and the #2 is playing #1. Both Tina and Wendy win handily and as Jan and I prepare to play doubles, I am told by the French captain that they are forfeiting the doubles, as they are tired and the match has been decided already. I am disappointed. After practicing for many weeks, I came to play. There is nothing to be done. We would have preferred to have played to win the semis, but the good news is that we have won and will play in the finals.

Meanwhile, there seems to be an intestinal virus going around and many players and friends are hit with it. This keeps all who contract it glued to their hotel room. We are all a bit afraid. Also it’s now clear that we are in the midst of a super spreader. Sixty-seven people are tested for Covid with thirty-two positive cases. Nowhere feels safe.

Friday morning, we are in the finals against the Brits. Last year at the Worlds, we played and beat them twice, but their #1 is fresh off a major tournament win in Mallorca and is playing the best tennis of her life. As we begin our warmup I am told by the ITF ( International Tennis Federation) rep that one of the players from Great Britain has been taken to the hospital and another of their players (the #1) has gone with her. I am asked if it’s ok to delay the start of our finals. Of course.… However, after an hour and after conferring with the British captain, it is clear that neither of these two players will make it back in time for even a late start, and so the match begins. Without their #1, the British are struggling, but they fight gamely. Both Tina and Wendy win the singles, but the matches are close. Having won both singles, we win the gold, but it seems anticlimactic at best.

Then, again, the British captain does not want to play the doubles. If Great Britain had been able to play in full force, this match was a tossup, and I was eager to be a part of the battle. As it is, I am happy that we have won the gold medal representing our country, but I am disappointed and sad not to have played the last two matches.

This does not diminish the positives. So many wonderful moments — seeing friends from all over the world, being a part of this incredible event, playing for my country, supporting our other teams in their age groups, laughing and laughing. The difficult moments that ensued were mixed in. And I am left with the understanding once again that we are not guaranteed only joy and that life is not in our control. Given all of this, I would not want to have missed a moment (well, maybe I could have missed the stomach bug).