Tell us a little bit about yourself, for example: What do you do?
I grew up in the Highland Park area of Saint Paul. I had a humble upbringing meaning we couldn’t afford tennis rackets. My first racket was a racket my dad had bought at the thrift store. I was a wooden racket. I played with this racket and it was my first tennis racket. I remember it was quite heavy, especially for a 10 year old kid. Then in high school my dad bought me an aluminum racket which was a step up from my wooden racket. I was never very good but gave it my best. Our school was not known for a tennis program so everyone made the team. It was only after I graduated college and had a job where I could say I can buy a racket that I truly loved. I played tennis with my college friends sometimes well past midnight under the courts with lights, but as they have family and kids they are less available these days. The tennis league have reopened the door for me to contact and play with others who share the same passion for the sport as myself and has rekindled the love of the sport I felt as a 10 year old kid who first picked up a wooden racket.
My name is Minh Ha and I am a member of Tennis Minneapolis.
How long have you participated in your league?
I
participated in the summer league 2017 and continued to fall, winter, then
spring and summer of 2018. Minh has compiled a 38-32 record in 2 shorts years. Pretty impressive. Minh's Player Profile.
How did you first learn about it?
I learned about the league from a fellow friend at a
tennis Meetup in Minneapolis. He said it
was very fun and entertaining yet challenging enough so that you can improve
your game.
How often do you play?
Currently I play about 3-5 matches each week. On my
off days I have been known to schedule 3 matches back to back to back. It is quite a workout. My goal this summer was to play 20 matches
and I was able to play 21 matches. Minh got a free season for his effort!!
What do you like most about the league?
There are so many things to like about this league but
the thing I like most is the ease of scheduling a match and getting out and
play and meet new people. The league is
very flexible so that it works around my work schedule which is very hectic. I think the iPhone app is very good because it
has everything I need to schedule matches, submit scores and even find out my
rankings.
My most memorable match was summer playoffs 2017. I have never played in a single elimination
tournament in my life but my three playoff matches all went to the third set
and feature some of my most intense rallies and crucial points. One match in particular that I will always
remember was my semifinal match against Pooya.
We had a scheduled our match at Saint Anthony High School. Just as we were warming up, it started to
sprinkle and a downpour ensued. We ran
to our cars and I looked at the radar to see if we could move somewhere dry. We found that Rahn Park in Eagan was
dry. So we both agreed to drive to Eagan
to play since it has lights. When we
came there it was dry but then it started to sprinkle. We kept playing and the conditions did not
worsen. We even saw a double rainbow and
it did indeed turned out to be a beautiful night. I also featured 3 sets of wonderful
tennis.
Who are your favorite rivals in the league? Why?
Two of my favorite rivals in the league and Chan Kek
and Nick Ngo. Both these players play a
very similar style to me which is long baseline rallies and often times the
margin of error is very slim. They both
challenge me to keep my focus yet also elevate my play to another level. I first played with Chan in the fall playoff
of 2017. It was an instant classic 3
setter that feature numerous rallies and long deuce points. I played Nick twice in the summer of
2018. The second match was an instant
classic as it was a 3 setter. It was
also the third match I played that day and took place in between a ominous sky
that was very close to storming. We
fought through each point and also the wind and sprinkles. When the last point was won each of us were
drained yet appreciated the challenge our opponent gave us. It was truly a memorable night.
Do you have any other interesting comments about your
experiences with the league?
I am known in the league as the player that records
the matches with the gopro. I run into
all kinds of players and oftentimes they can’t remember my name but know me as
the player that records the matches. I
find it very fascinating to re-watch my matches and replay the points. It is very satisfying to relive the moment
and capture it for those times I cannot play tennis such as during the winter
months.
How did you get started playing tennis?
I started playing tennis at age 10. My dad took me out
one day and we both biked to a neighborhood tennis court. I remember asking my
dad what we were going to do and he said were going to hit the ball
around. After the first 10 minutes I was
hooked. I asked him to join me almost
every single day. He could not pry me away
from the hitting wall. Later as I grew
older I played with my uncle every Sunday after church. We had many memorable matches at the local
tennis courts.
What level player are you? (NTRP rating)
My current level is 3.25
What do you love about tennis?
I love the fact that there is so many layers to
tennis. It combines both the mental and
physical aspects of the sport where it is like a physical chess match. Each time I learn something new about tennis
there seems to be yet another aspect about the sport that I haven’t known
before. I like that I can enjoy this
sport well into my 70-80s and I can still watch these matches on tv and feel
the pressure the players who are playing must be feeling.
My favorite player growing up was Andre Agassi because
I loved his tenacious never quit attitude.
I loved his return game and his two handed backhand. Currently I love Rafa Nadal because of his
tenacious take no prisoner attitude and game.
I enjoy watch his endless rallies and his powerful topspin forehands and
underrated two handed backhands. He
reminds me a lot of my game since I favor my forehands and like to put a lot of
topspin on the forehands.
Anything else we should know?
My other hobbies are photography, videography,
photoshop and tinkering with computers and laptops. I also enjoy stringing tennis rackets for
family and friends. I also like to draw
and paint.
This league have allowed me to do the two things I
love the most, which is playing tennis and watching youtube videos of myself
playing a tennis match.
