Tennis

In Chinese, tennis is 网球 (wǎng qiú), and it's a bit of a different game than I've seen elsewhere. Well, that's not quite true - it's the same game, but playing it on the Lanzhou University Courts is different from anywhere else I've played.

I was very pleased to see four hard courts in a prime spot on campus, and soon after arriving I bought a racket. When my classmate and I got there, there were no open courts. We inquired about whether it cost money to play, and whether there might be an open court in about an hour. The peopel sitting by the entrance at a sort-of-official looking table only seemed interested in knowing whether we had student IDs (which we did not yet). Finally they seemed to agree that we could play, and said something about a half an hour. After some more confused conversation, it became clear that the courts were going to close in a half an hour for lunch, but that we could go play now. At these courts, you don't have to wait for a free court, you just have to wait for a free half a court. Four people can play on any court, even with strangers. You can join anywhere there's a spot. Particularly, elderly men seem to show up by themselves and join in. In fact if all the courts are full, I would later learn, you can still play between courts, if you really want to.

This means that no one is ever playing matches, since anyone at any time might come and take half of your court. It also means, since the courts are often full, that you don't get much cross-court practice. It means you can meet people easily. The courts have many regulars who hit every day, regulars who are interested in a foreign girl who hits decently. Many dont look like they've had much or any instruction, and I can easily keep up with most, despite not having seriously played tennis since high school.

Another difference are the tennis balls. When I first started, I was shocked at how everyone was using really old balls. I later realized I was partly wrong -- the courts were covered in a layer of dirt such that even after playing a short while the balls looked old. I still think people don't often buy new balls (the wal-mart-esque store where I bought my racket didn't even sell them - you got two free with your racket, though they were not in a pressurized container and already going a little flat). The balls I got with my racket came with a long length of rubber band which I could thread through a tight loop accessible through a small gap in the ball's surface, attach the other end to my racket, and hit with myself.

All sort of strange, but not in a bad way. I also like Chinese tennis for its characters -- the first is 网，which means net and absolutely looks like a net. It's used in words having to do with the internet and any type of network as well. The second, 球, literally means ball and is found in the name of any sport that is played with a ball.