I have only been playing tennis for two years and let's just say I will not be playing the U.S. Open anytime soon. Sometimes, I win or come very close to winning, but mostly my doubles partner and I get our butts kicked.

Recently we played an away match with a school we've never played before. We had no idea if they were going to be tough or easy. It was not my day to play so I was not about to fret.

When we left the city the temperature was at “feels like 97°.” The law states that we can't play in anything above 95°. In spite of the heat, we got on the bus and headed for the other school. After an hour long bus ride the temperature was at 93°. It was so hot the coaches decided to make everyone play doubles and only one set. This guaranteed my partner and I to play. The five courts were filled, so I began to do homework in the horrendous heat. I wasn't able to think properly with the sweat trickling down my face and music from 2009 blaring from the school.

After an hour baking in the sun I went inside to use the bathroom. As I walked in I felt the rush of cool, refreshing air from the AC. I never wanted to leave, but I had to go back. When I returned to the warmth, my coach immediately told me that I needed to get ready to play. I let out a moan of anguish. There were parents setting up chairs to sit and watch our match. I shook the hands of my opponents and the game began. I felt the pressure on my shoulders as I was being blinded by the sun. I gave it all I had. We would score, then my opponents would score. This continued throughout the game, but we won. The next game they won. And the next we won. We wanted to win. We needed to win. We stayed positive and believed in ourselves. Nothing else mattered, not even the sun in our eyes or the sweat on our faces.

As we were playing a game that was 40-30, my opponents scored a point. That meant it would be deuce and the next point would win. However, the parents stopped us and said that their children said the score wrong and that they won. They said that it was not meant to be deuce and the game was over. We did not want to create an awkward atmosphere so we just let it slide. We did not agree, but it was the only thing that we could do.

The match continued with the previous pattern until the score was 6 to 6. Right when my opponent scored that last point on us, we knew what was ahead of us. It was the thing every player dreads. The thing that can give tennis players nightmares for weeks... The tiebreaker! I spun around to face my coach and cried out that we needed her. It was our first tiebreaker and we had no idea what to do. The other team's coach came over to us and explained how to do it. He spoke fast and used words I never even heard of, like "deuce court" and "add on court." Then he told us we have 30 seconds to talk with our coach. We turned around and to my surprise, my coach was gone. Panic struck us. We had no clue what we were doing and the person we looked up to and needed was gone. My opponents and their coach talked for over a minute of strategy. Then my biggest fears were coming true. I was playing a tiebreaker. Then I was losing a tiebreaker. And finally, I lost the tiebreaker 2-7.

My coach had left because she had confronted the parents of my opponents about the “Deuce Incident.” She had put the parents in their place and explained proper tennis ettiqute of only saying "nice shot" or "good try." They were not allowed to discuss scoring or whether a ball was in or out. She did not want the parents to fight with us about our coach’s involvement if we had won, Because of this, our coach left.

Looking back at it now, it was a crazy and funny experience. It proved that I am capable of so much more. I could be put in any situation and I could do my best. It doesn't matter if I win or lose as long as I work hard and stay positive. I learned from this experience and won my next match.