Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” with Mylene Martin • Tennis | 10sBalls

By TennisBalls Staff
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: November 21, 2021

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories.

#MyBTR– “Tennis has been in my family forever, so it was only natural that I asked to try when I was 2 years old. Over 30 years later, I still haven’t put the racquet down. Whatever happened in my life, tennis was there. Even on the hardest day of my life, tennis gave me relief.

I had to make the most difficult decision of my life to get out of a very tough marriage I had been in for over 5 years. The day I left, I played tennis, the only way I could stay clear and have the courage to do what had to be done to start the next chapter of my life. My life was about to change forever, and I had no idea where I was going to live, but I knew it was the right decision, even though it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.

The next day, I had a USTA league match scheduled, and once I told my parents what happened, they asked me if I was going to play. My answer: “Never thought of not playing.” Even though things were so chaotic and uncertain, once I was on the court, nothing else mattered. My rental car might have been filled with my belongings, my tennis bag full of high heel shoes and household items, once my match started, that’s all I focused on. It has been the outlet for me to allow me to stay calm, focused and make the right decisions for as long as I can remember. Funny anecdote: I won 0 and 0 that day. This story is not to be pitied or for people to feel sorry for me, but to show what tennis means to me. I sacrificed a lot for this sport, but it has given back to me in ways I would have never imagined. The resiliency necessary to succeed and compete, to start over after injuries, the dedication, allowed me, along with my family and friends, to get through the toughest times, not to give up, and start over. I am in a much better place now, and I know that I will always find ways to give back to tennis the way it does to me. If this tennis story helps even one person, then it will have been worth being vulnerable.”

Mylene Martin (@mylenemartin87)