Ace of Hearts

1

Desiree Campbell POV:

Forehand...

Forehand...

Backhand...

Overhead smash...

The ball shoots past my opponent and bounces near the baseline. My opponent runs from the opposite end of the court but her speed isn't enough because the ball goes out and the audience erupts into applause.

I fall down to my knees, the ground hard beneath my fingers.

I did it.

I won.

My 4th Grand Slam title in the French Open.

I blink back the tears threatening to spill out, aware of the cameras trained on me. I stand up and walk to the tennis net where my opponent, Maria Hugo, is waiting for me with unshed tears in her eyes.

"Well played pequeño." Maria says as I approach the net. I playfully roll my eyes at the nickname that I'd grown accustomed to from her. [Little one]

She was one of the few people that I tolerated calling me that because she wasn't saying it from a place of condescension like other players. Being the youngest female tennis player with a lot of achievements comes with a lot of skepticism and doubts from outside parties, including the people who play in the same sport as me. Maria and I have a mutual respect for each other on and off the court, taking jabs here and there. 

We engulf each other into a hug rather than shaking each others hands which makes the audience applaud even louder at our display of 'good sportsmanship'.

Maria is one of the few players that I enjoy playing against, simply because she challenges me in a way that other players don't.

We pull away from the hug. "Well played Hugo." I smile, patting her on the back and go to thank the umpire.

Minutes later, they bring out the silver trophy with intricate patterns around the middle and silver base with the name of the trophy name engraved on it.

The Suzanne-Lenglen cup.

I accept the award and do my speech and thank everyone that helped reach this point of my career. I decide to keep the speech short and simple because the only thing on my mind at this current moment is taking a hot bath - if I don't crash out the minute I enter the hotel room- and a nap. 

I finish my 4 minute speech and 2 more interviews before I go to the bench and retrieve my tennis bag, feeling one step closer to leaving. As I'm putting my racquet into the bag someone sits besides me on the bench, "Aller quelque part?" [Going somewhere?]

"Maison." [Home]

She laughs, handing me my water bottle "Si tôt? Ca ne fait même pas une heure!" She exclaims in disbelief even though in the past 8 years of Celine being my coach, she'd grown accustomed to me going back and fourth with being introverted and extroverted. Some days I like being extroverted, other days I prefer to be alone. I smile as I zip up my bag, double checking that I have everything before I leave. [So early? It hasn't even been an hour.]

After a few seconds pass I turn to face her and finally ask "Comment ai-je joué?" [How did I play?]

I stare at her face which is decorated with a grin instead of her usual stoic expression.

Celine used to be one the greatest tennis players of her generation and holds the most Grand Slam titles won by anyone. After she retired, she moved back home to France and opened a tennis academy a few years later. It was that same academy where she saw me playing and started coaching me.