Chapter 8

With the next day clear, we took our time with breakfast and then the two of us wore our special dresses to walk to the venue to spend most of the day doing our duty for our sponsors, posing for pictures, signing brand new clothing and talking to fans, many who had seen that interview and were interested in my story. I held nothing back. There were a few who looked at me angrily, but the two men from our clothing sponsor were big enough to have them leave us alone.

At the end of the afternoon, we had become friends with Miss Foster, now Marilyn, and two executives from the clothes and shoe brands. They all agreed that our next match may be our last for this time, but assured us that we would be back, better prepared. We were each given a special playing outfit. It was the all-white with the trim but had the logos on one side and our names on the other, with a Union Jack on one sleeve. They were in new carry bags with our names on, together with all the other outfits that we had alternated, freshly laundered.

After a series of photos with us in the Eastbourne dresses for future use, we carried our bags back to the hotel, smiling for those fans wanting selfies. Geraldine giggled.

“Do you realise that there are more pictures of us out there than a hundred albums of our parents’ memories.”

“It is weird. I was thinking. There’s still the rest of the next week before school finishes, I wonder if it would be a good thing to show our faces if we lose tomorrow. If Tony and June are heading home, we can be dropped off at your house. The Eastbourne trophies are in your car. It may be nice to let the other girls see them.”

“That’s a great idea. I expect that there’s something else, knowing you.”

“You’ll see for yourself tomorrow. The woman who knocked me out of the singles is one of the pair that we’re playing. I looked her up on my phone and saw that she had spent a lot of her childhood learning ballet. We could talk to the head and see if we can do dance next year. Her balance showed me up as almost flat-footed, even with my agility.”

“I did some dance when I was younger, most girls do, but it would be a good idea for you. Do you really think that we’ll be knocked out?”

“The odds are definitely not in our favour. Those Americans have been playing for years. We may take a set off of them and make them work, but it’s unlikely that they’ll let us win. They’ve taken out the doubles crown in five out of the last eight tournaments that they’ve played. Any of the other pairs and I would be saying that we had a chance to get to the semis, but with them, all we can do is our best. The one that beat me told me that I was the first to take a game off of her for a while.”

“I suppose that’s why the stall made use of us today. They looked as if they were selling heaps. It’s a good job we got sponsorship, at those prices we’d be playing in one outfit with the other hanging on rails in the bathroom. I like those new outfits they gave us. I think that they would be good to use at the club.”

We did our usual run and stretches on the Wednesday morning. Mum and Dad had invited us for lunch at their hotel, so we showered and changed, then walked there. They were waiting in the dining room at a table and Mum stood to hug us both before we sat down. I gave her back the lanyards for them to use today.

“This may be the last chance to see us play here this year, Mum. Our opponents are well and truly the favourites this match.”

“That’s a pity, dear. I was beginning to enjoy this hotel life and the tourist spots. It’s been a very long time since we have had a holiday. I hope you didn’t mind that I offered Teresa the use of your room.”

“Not a bother, Mum. I’ll be staying with Geraldine for a while. We will need to train at the club, and there’s a tournament in Hamburg at the end of the month and the Surrey Championships in August. June has already received invitations for us to play at both. After that, we’ll be heading back to school.”

“Just make sure that you find the time to come to Deal for Christmas.”

“Will do, Mum. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and did stretching exercises and leg squats until it was time for an early meal with Tony and June. June told us that our money from Eastbourne had come through, and that she would keep back half for future expenses and the taxman, then would deposit the other half into our own accounts. Our earnings here would be a bit less for Geraldine, but not by a lot. We told her to pay her and Tony for their time and expenses before anything else, as we couldn’t have done any of it without them.

We were on court earlier tonight, as it was being televised. We walked to the venue with plenty of time in hand and spoke to our sponsors and a few reporters. We were in our playing outfits, necklaces on, and standing in the entranceway to the court with our opponents with time to spare. Before too long, we were into a friendly conversation. Before we were led out to an enthusiastic crowd, we were Mel and Babs, and Geri and Al. If we were going to be eliminated, it would be by new friends.

We went to our ends and warmed up with some serves. Geraldine watched the others closely.

“You’re right, Mel is as light as a feather in spite of that body. We concentrate on Babs, when we can.”

They served first, and we won a few points, with the games going with serve until we had a chance to catch Babs out of position and broke their serve in the fifth game. The crowd went wild and had to be told to quieten down a number of times. I had our serve and was able to ace them a couple of times, taking the first set six-four. If the crowd had been crazy before, they gave us an opportunity to hydrate as we changed ends, waiting for them to be quiet.

They broke our serve in the third game, and we didn’t get it back, losing the set four-six. The third set was a humdinger. We played our hearts out and went to advantage in about half the games, ending up at six all, and going to a tiebreak. As we changed ends, I could see some in the crowd close to rapture. Our team were sweating, and Mum was swigging from her water bottle.

We had played more tiebreaks than they had, but it was their reputations on the line. Every point was greeted with tremendous applause and calling out. In the third set, the format is the first to ten points, but the win had to be two points clear. We took that set to fifteen-seventeen and the four of us had a group hug as the crowd were yelling and applauding. We had lost, yes, but we had gained the respect of the games mega-stars. We collected up our gear and waved to the crowd as we left the court. Our team were there to hug us and tell us that we were now legends. Mum and Dad told us that they were tired out and were going off for a sleep.

In the privacy of the locker room, I hugged Geraldine.

“Well done, friend. That was the best losing game I’ve ever been in.”

“Me too, Alice. We’re going to hear more after that than our two doubles championships combined.

“You could be right. When you turn your phone on, I expect that you’ll have a message from your father.”

When we had dressed, we left the locker room to a phalanx of reporters. One of the organisers was there and led us to one of the private rooms where the winning pair were waiting. We spent an hour with them praising our game and stamina. We found out that they hadn’t dropped a set in twenty doubles matches, let alone needing a tiebreak. We were declared as the future of tennis, which we told the reporters, yet again, that it wouldn’t be for another couple of years.

Leaving the venue was a problem. We needed Tony, June and a couple of the venue security to escort us back to the hotel, with us needing to sign their hi-vis once we were safe inside. We agreed to leave for Godalming in the morning, just after breakfast, so June settled our accounts. I had a problem getting to sleep, thinking about the match we had just played. It would be something that would haunt us for years, whatever we did now.

We were all quiet at breakfast. In a while, we would be on the road and heading back to almost a normal life. Tony told us that there would be a welcome home party at the club on Saturday evening and that we were the guests of honour. Geraldine declared that we needed good dresses. He laughed.

“You’d better turn up in the Eastbourne dresses. They are your look until you win another tournament.”

I was with June again and we loaded her car. Once again, it was our mini convoy on the road, this time heading south and the security of the big house. On the way, she told me about our next tournament.

“You have a ten-day total break, and we’ll fly to Hamburg a week from tomorrow, with the first round of the WTA event on the Monday, after the qualifying, which you leapfrog. The WTA matches are before the men every day. It’s a very small field, in total contrast to what you’ve just done. The doubles are only sixteen entrants, and the singles are thirty-two. You are both there as new kids on the tour and drawcards because of your wins originally, but even more so because of how you played Mel and Babs yesterday. Of course, the money for the WTA is stupidly low compared to the ATP. Total is two hundred and seventy-five thousand Euro against over two million.”

For the rest of my time, I was scrolling through my phone, trying to separate the scam calls and the real ones. There was one text from Sandra, telling me that my room was ready as soon as we got back. There was one from the head, telling me that they had watched the match on a big screen in the entertainment centre and that we should be prepared to be mobbed when we were next in the school. I replied to that one, just saying that we’ll be at the school on Friday, with our Eastbourne trophies. When we arrived at Geraldines’ home, Sandra came out and hugged us both, telling us how wonderful the match was, saying that she had cried when we lost by two points. June told her that she could hardly see through her tears when we had taken the first set.

We unloaded our things, hugged June and Tony, thanked them for everything and said that we’d see them on Saturday. The house was blissfully quiet after the noise of the last few weeks. Geraldine had seen the same text from the head and agreed with going into school on Friday. We had a light lunch and were both yawning, going to our rooms for an afternoon nap.

Two hours later, we were both bright as buttons and helping Sandra prepare the evening meal, which Walter had promised to be home for. I checked my phone again and there was a text from my sister, saying that they had been on the edge of their seats and Enid wanted to tell me how awesome we both were. I checked the local phone book and called a driving school, booking lessons for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, next week and giving the address where I was to be picked up.

Walter arrived home and we had another round of hugs. He had watched the match on the TV in the apartment and had recorded it. We had a pleasant evening, after a nice dinner with wine. Even after our nap, we both retired early.

In the morning, we had breakfast and made sure thar we were clean, tidy, wearing our necklaces and dressed well. Checking that the two doubles and the runner-up singles trophy were in the boot, Geraldine drove us to the school, laughing at the big ‘Welcome Home – Geraldine and Alice’ banner at the main gate. We parked outside the main building, picked up our trophies, and went in to see the head. The rest of the school were still doing the last of the exams, so we had a low-key visit, leaving the trophies in her safe keeping, to be displayed along with the Tunbridge ones that we had left earlier in the year.

She had a big parcel, with two framed pictures each, of the lunch with the Princess. One already graced the wall of her office. She told us that if we left one, it would be added to the wall of our room for us to look at next year. We agreed, and I said that it would be one of mine, as Geraldine had her home and the London apartment that cried out for one each.

We had a nice lunch, and then the head gave us each an envelope.

“These are your results for the end of first year. You have both done very well, especially with the other things that you had going on. Geraldine, with you now focussing more, you have improved across the board. Alice, you did keep up your standard.”

I took my envelope and put it in my bag. It would be impolite and unladylike to open it now.

“That reminds me, Headmistress. If you watched our opponents closely last night, you would have seen that Mel clearly showed poise and balance that belied her strong build. Her CV says that she did ballet dancing as a younger girl. We were wondering if we can join the dance group for some basic training. I felt flat-footed when I played her the first time.”

“Of course we can organise that. With your agility, I expect that you’ll only need one evening a week, which would cut into your other exercise evenings, but dance is just another form of exercise. There will be a note on your bed when you arrive in September. What are you doing for summer?”

“We have the Hamburg event from a week’s time, then we’re taking it easy until the last week of August, when we’ll be playing in the Surrey Championships. I’ll be taking driving lessons and hoping to pass my test, so allowing me to look for a car. There may be events that our sponsors want to have us at, but we have nothing organised. The one event that should be fun is tomorrow evening, at the club.”

She laughed.

“I can predict a lot of food and drink, music and dancing, with a big picture of the two of you in those Eastbourne dresses for you to unveil and sign. That will be followed by selfies into the early hours. It’s not every day that two players from the same club do what you’ve done in the last few weeks.”

That made me think. With everything else that had been going on, It never occurred to me how much it would boost the club. No wonder we would be celebrated tomorrow evening. Geraldine asked about our new roommate next term.

“That one has fallen through. Her father was deposed, and the family had to flee the country with whatever they could carry. Of course, he had put money in banks around the world, but, for the moment, staying out of sight is their number one priority. For the moment, you’ll remain as just the two of you.”

When we left the school, there were some other girls milling about and we waved to them as we slowly drove away. A little way further on, she pulled over and we put the plates on.

“Come on, Alice. Let’s go for a drive. Two anonymous girls in a sports car. Where do you want to go?”

“It’s funny. After all our hotel and restaurant meals in the last three weeks of living healthily, I really fancy a pizza. Let’s go into Tunbridge and find a pizza place.”

“Great idea! Drive on, young Alice, and let’s fall off the wagon for one meal.”

We found the pizza place, ate something unhealthy but enjoyable, then wandered the main shops, both coming away with a couple of outfits that would suit a couple of girls flying to Hamburg. We stayed at the house over Saturday, putting on our Eastbourne dresses for the party. It was as the head predicted, a lot of food and drink, a DJ and dancing, with the unveiling of a picture of us as taken after our big win. There were lots of selfies with us and most of the club members.

We joined the parents at their church on Sunday, creating a bit of a storm when someone recognised us. For the first three days of the week, we exercised in the morning, and I had driving lessons in the afternoon, with much of the time with me having to lose some of the bad habits I had developed. On Wednesday, I told the instructor to skip two weeks and that I’ll be trying to get to exam level after that, with him picking me up on the Tuesday.

On Thursday, we spent most of the day in our new training outfits at the club, playing each other and anyone else who were brave enough to stand at the other end, man or woman. On Friday, we had suitcases and our big sports bags on a plane to Hamburg from Gatwick. June was with us, but Tony was back at his main job with the club. Our Wimbledon money had come through and we had enough for all costs of the trip.

June was taking the job seriously and had booked us into a reasonable hotel within walking distance of the venue. The courts were red clay, similar to some of the other courts we’d played on. Our first singles matches were on Tuesday morning, against a two opponents that we’d never met before. Which meant that they had never met us, and our biggest reputation was losing a doubles match at Wimbledon. That also held true for ninety percent of the field.

We both breezed through our first matches in straight six-four sets. Wednesday, we won our two singles matches first thing in the morning and the doubles match later on, as the first match of the evening. Thursday, we repeated the three wins, all quarter final matches. Friday, our only match was the doubles semi-final. Saturday, we had the singles semi-finals, which we lost. My opponent was an Asian girl who was in the top ten but had been sick during Wimbledon. Geraldines’ opponent had a surname about fifteen letters long, with very few of them vowels. Sunday, we won the doubles final, first thing in the morning

We had done well for a week in the sun, taking away around thirty-six thousand Euro each. After that, we flew home and had most of a month before the county championships. I spent a lot of time with the driving instructor and passed my test.

Geraldine took me to the BMW dealer in Guildford where she had bought her car and I fell in love with a low-mileage four-twenty hardtop, in a deep red, a few years old and twenty-two thousand pounds. We rang June and organised for her to transfer the amount directly to the dealer with them giving it a pre-delivery service and clean. We went back, late the next day, and I drove away in my very first car, free and clear. When Sandra saw mine, she organised for a photographer to visit, and there were pictures taken of the two of us in our special outfits that were given to us after Wimbledon, with my red BMW, Geraldines’ blue BMW, and Sandras’ white one in the middle. Leaning against the middle cars’ front bumper was a framed page from one of the newspapers, with the bold headline of ‘The Future of British Tennis’.

Our next event, and the last before we went back to school, was the Surrey County Championships, to be held in London, at the All-England Community Sports Ground. This was for ranking points and titles only and began with the first rounds on the first Sunday, with the finals on the next Sunday. It was only open to players registered in Surrey, so that thinned the field to our advantage.

At the end of the week, Geraldine had added the County Championship to her CV, along with the two of us as the womens’ doubles champions. I had been knocked out by the girl that Geraldine beat in the final. As far as we were concerned, that was it for the year. Any matches in our break times were overseas or indoors. I had driven us to London for the championships and had been in touch with my Aunt Gloria beforehand. After we had finished with an evening in our hotel, with our friends joining us for a party, the next day I was driving us down to Brighton.

We did the text thing when we got near, and Uncle Maurice was waiting on the corner when we arrived. I popped the boot and Geraldine got out to point out the bags. He put them on the pavement and then reached in with the car park token. I went off to park. When I got back to the hotel, Gloria greeted me with a hug.

“Welcome back, Alice. My, haven’t you grown up and done well since you were last here. I’ve put the two of you in a twin room. Your friend told me that you share at school, so it works out. I’ll need it Thursday, though.”

“That’s perfect, Aunt Gloria. We will need to go then to get back to school in time for our first week of second year. I’ll pay your usual rate for the room.”

“Oh no you won’t. If you came here from a championship, you could put your playing kit on and both of you stand with me and your uncle for a photo. I’ve got a professional coming in on Tuesday morning. The picture will be fast-tracked so that you can both sign it, before it goes up behind the bar. We had the whole hotel full of guests watching you in that Wimbledon match, all of them you’ve met, and all of them almost in tears with that final point.”

“I’ll need to go back to the car and get our outfits from the playing bags. They’ll both need to go through the wash before the picture. Do you have a shopping bag that I can take.”

She found a bag and I went back to the car to retrieve the two outfits. I got them into the wash and went up to the room that we’d been given. Geraldine was looking out the window.

“This is swish, Alice. Better than most of the hotels we’ve stayed in.”

“That’s because it’s an executive hotel, for those visiting the shops. We’re getting it free until Thursday morning, in exchange for a selfie to go over the bar. This is where I met Miss Foster for the first time. Come along, I’ll take you over the road. It’s more than a parking station.”

I took her across the road and up the escalator into the wonderland of shops. We wandered around, having to stop for photos next to the life-size ones at the sports shop for quite a while as the staff had selfies and the public took the opportunity to join in. We got back to the hotel with more shopping bags than we should have.

Over the next few days, we relaxed. The photo was taken and was back in time for us to sign to be framed for its home behind the bar. We signed another for the photographer to go on his celebrity wall in his studio. I showed Geraldine around the sights and the shops of Brighton. We took my relatives out for dinner while Jan offered to come in and do the bar job, in return for her own selfie.

On Thursday morning, we packed and took our cases to the car, with another trip needed for the extras that we now had. My uncle and aunt hugged us both and told me not to be a stranger. Gloria came with us to the exit and was there to take the card as we came out, giving us a wave and air-kiss as we left for our drive to Godalming, with Geraldine at the wheel.

Marianne Gregory © 2026