Doubles or Nothing: A Novice Plays in the U.S. Century

The Century Mixed Doubles pitted the No. 2 seeds, Karen Jerome and Christopher Gould (Above, L) against the top-seeded tandem of Sara Luther and Tom Harrity (Above, R) in a five-game nailbiting final. Jerome and Gould ultimately won, 15-11 in the fifth. Kit Tatum (middle) presented the awards.
The Century Mixed Doubles pitted the No. 2 seeds, Karen Jerome and Christopher Gould (Above, L) against the top-seeded tandem of Sara Luther and Tom Harrity (Above, R) in a five-game nailbiting final. Jerome and Gould ultimately won, 15-11 in the fifth. Kit Tatum (middle) presented the awards.

By Tracy Gates

A man dressed in squash whites came walking up to me about five minutes before our match, a big smile on his face: “You must be my partner,” he boomed heartily. “Glad to meet you.” This was my introduction to Kit Tatum, the extremely affable tournament director of the U.S. Century Doubles championships played over the weekend of February 25-27. My original partner (whom I also had never met) had sent me an email message barely twenty-four hours before our first match, sadly declaring that he’d re-pulled a hamstring and was not fit to play. Disappointed, I quickly sent a message to Kit, asking if he might know of someone who could take my partner’s place. Within minutes, he wrote back. “I’ll fill in.” And now there he was at the CityView Racquet Club for our first match against seasoned doubles players, looking eager to play. Only I had something to tell him first; I’d never played a whole doubles match before.

Yes, I did feel fairly sheepish about this fact. I don’t think I would’ve been thrilled if the racquets were turned and he told me the same. But the Century is a unique tournament, and most teams are slightly, if not significantly, mismatched. Reason being that all partners’ ages must add up to at least one hundred. I would not have jumped into just any doubles tournament on such a whim, but a few hours before the sign-up deadline, I received an email from a friend saying that the tournament was “in desperate need of women players” and “don’t worry about how good you are.” So, being as I’ll try just about anything squash related, I signed up.

The thing was, I really had no idea how bad or good I was. Up until a few months earlier, I’d been on a doubles court once. But back in December I’d been forced to join another squash club when mine was sold and the squash courts destroyed—which is a whole ‘nother story. my new squash club— CityView racquet club in Long Island City— has three singles courts and a beautiful new doubles court. I’d jumped on the court a few times out of curiosity and watched an exhibition match, but it felt like a whole new squash world that would take time to learn. And I’d seen the battle wounds from the hard ball meeting flesh. Painful!

With self-preservation in mind, I figured I’d best get some practice in, so I set up a few sessions with equally inexperienced friends and then invited myself to play with a more advanced team; with barely a week to spare I had no shame. By the time I met my partner, I knew the basics—who serves when, where to ideally hit the ball, and when to duck and cover. But a lot was still guesswork.

But, guess what? We won! After losing the first game, I asked Kit for some advice. “Just keep doing what you’re doing,” he said generously, “We’ll get the next one.” I’m not sure how truly he believed this, but from then on I don’t think we were ever behind in points. Our opponents couldn’t have been more gracious, and I have them to thank for setting such a good example with their on-court skills. I just tried to do what they did. It also didn’t hurt that my partner’s wily corner shots kept hitting their mark.

Of course, the rest of the weekend didn’t go like that. A couple of Canadians cleaned us up the following day with their deep cross-courts and neat front court nicks, but a big part of the weekend for me was experiencing my first doubles tournament and I enjoyed every minute. It’s hard not to when the matches are played at some of the most impressive clubs in NYC—the University Club on 5th avenue just across from the Museum of Modern Art; the New York Athletic Club on Central Park South; and Racquet and Tennis on Park Avenue, to name a few. Having grown up playing squash at a YMCA on well-loved but well-worn courts and then at the Printing House Fitness and Racquet Club where a working hair dryer was a luxury, I thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the old New York grandeur of these beautiful clubs. and I went back and forth to the women’s locker room so many times at the University Club, I began to feel as if I belonged.

It’s the people, however, that make this tournament really stand out. From my first match on Friday to the finals on Sunday, everyone I met was having a great time and, upon learning how new I was to their game, made sure I did, too. It’s a natural side effect of having four players on court that doubles is a social sport. I’m not an unfriendly player, but I’m not one to chat during a singles match. However, constant communication seems integral to the doubles game and I quite enjoyed it. Not that I didn’t see both focus and frustration on the court, but having a partner encourages more than a modicum of civility.

And the good times continued off the court. Food and drink was so plentiful throughout the weekend that it often felt like one long happy hour. Although the off-court highlight was certainly the Saturday evening party held in the University Club’s tap room. With great food, a well-stocked bar, and terrific live music by The Solid citizens (the lead singer played in the tournament), I was somewhat relieved that I didn’t have to play the next day and could dance to my heart’s content. But judging from a few bleary eyes on the courts on Sunday, no one goes to bed early in this tourney.

Admittedly, I woke up late on Sunday and my good intentions to watch all the finals were somewhat foiled. I tried to catch a consolation match at Racquet and Tennis, but the match had been cancelled due to the early departure of a player. And then by the time I got back to the University Club, the mixed doubles final was already in its fourth game. Fortunately, it went to five and was probably the most intense match I saw all weekend. The number one seeds were losing and the gentleman on that team was showing some frustration, if that’s what you call the occasional back wall slap. The cause might well have been the woman on the opposing team; her touch was amazing and she put ball after ball into the front left nick. After a while, it seemed like all the other team could do was lie down and wait for the end to come.

By mid-afternoon, after a few more rounds of finals watching and trophy bestowing, I was ready to lie down myself. Watching doubles squash is hard work. Or maybe watching anything you’re trying to suck as much knowledge from is the hard work. Whatever it is, I was ready for a long nap. I would need it, because I’m adding another squash night to my schedule; I’ve got to start training for next year’s century.