Out of a combination of luck and selective purchases, all my tennis apparel has resulted in being totally blue-white. A couple of different shades of blue, and a tiny bit of black on my shoes, bit it all fits together.
Out of pure luck, my racquets is also blue-white-black. It's a Babolat Evo Drive Tour. I was looking for what could be my next choice, and based on stats I'm going for something like Head Radical. Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like what I need.
Anyway, this racquet has a weird shade of orange. It's one of the very few colors that don't look good in websites. In the end it's not important, but it bugs me to ruin my blue-white combo of clothes, shoes, and racquet.

Just want to ask opinions regarding: 1. Head Radical MP 2. Wilson Blade 98 (16×19) 3. TFight ISO 305
Returnee player for about 6 years not playing lawn tennis and my last racquet of choice was Wilson Six.One Tour 90 16x19 and it saddens me that I misplaced it we transterred home.
I occasionally play singles and play more on doubles.
I really appreciate if you guys share your honest opinions from the above mentioned racquet, also we don't have playtest racquets here in our country
View Poll

Got back into tennis last year after a 7-8 hiatus. Had previously played in college and was ranked as high as NTRP 5.5.
I didn’t bother to get new racquets when I started up again. Figured my ~2013 Pure Control Tour GTs would work just fine.
Recently I’ve started to see a pattern in matches, where I struggled to generate power in the later stages of the match. Also struggled on days I wasn’t striking it quite as cleanly.
Yesterday I demoed the Pure Aero 98. My god, I was blown away by what I’ve been missing out on. Same Babolat feel, but with so much more free power and spin. More forgiveness and a lighter head. Instead of grinding to hit it deep, I was effortlessly dropping topspin shots right near the baseline. Hitting easy winners when I was able to step into the court without having to swing out of my shoes.
Only negative is now I’ll be out $850 to buy 3 of them.

Number one problem is I'm just not THAT great at tennis. I guess most of us aren't, otherwise we'd be touring.
Anyway, on return of serve, I tend to rely on a continental grip and sort of just get my racquet to the ball and hit something between a slice and a volley. No real follow-through on the stroke. It often leaves my strings with a lot of backspin, goes high, and lands around the service box line. If swing at the ball a bit more, it sails way out the back. If I try my normal forehand or backhand stroke with topspin, it usually dives into the net.
I would love some tips and/or videos that could help. I'm somewhere around a 3.5.

The Backstory
I played competitively up through my teens; mostly doubles, but would flex into singles to keep those skills sharp. 4.0 rated, could hang with 4.5 hitters but didn't have the stamina to compete at that level. I am now 30 years old, stopped playing over 10 years ago due to an ankle injury, and was thus prevented from ever really getting back into it. Good news, everyone; I'm better now, and cautiously getting back into it (the rust is delightfully falling off fast. I love this game).
The Gear
My first racquet was a Prince Graphite 125 that I got at the Salvation Army. Absolute chonker of a racquet, strung tight and thin (because I enjoyed breaking strings I get). That's all I ever played with. In fact, it's pretty much the only racquet I've ever used.
Now that I have some consistency back and am playing regularly, I would like a different racquet. One that's better? Newer? Less literally from the 80's? I don't really know why exactly I want a new racquet. Probably just because I can afford one now, and it feels like The Thing To Do. Neither here nor there, let's get to the point!
I've been demoing racquets for the past week. Hitting with my partner and against against the ball machine. I've tried a bunch of racquets, been narrowing down the things I like and don't like, collecting both subjective and objective data in a spreadsheet for my own point of reference.
Of all the racquets I've tried, the one that feels the best, that I'm most consistent with, that I can hit with for hours without any soreness, is a Wilson Ultra 108.
The Quandary
There's an obvious angle of "if it works for you, it works for you, just go with it" - that's exactly the advice I would give to someone in my situation. I'm not looking to compete right now, I just want to play the game I love as well as I can, who cares what racquet I use?
But I have an itch in my brain, that I like the Ultra 108 because it's the most like the Graphite 125 I grew up with. It feels like home, it's comfortable. Generally speaking, in my life I've found that when I'm comfortable, it typically means I'm not growing. I don't want to finally get back into tennis just to stagnate. I want to be the best player I can be.
So that's the question. Am I doing myself a disservice by running with the most comfortable racquet? Is this an opportunity to grow into something different? Does any of this actually matter?

Hello! I had received interest about interviewing with one of the major racquet companies as a sales representative, but that fell through due to lack of experience. I unfortunately don't have a degree, but have about 8 years of experience working in various tennis clubs and pro shops doing sales, stringing, and helping running tournaments. It probably doesn't matter but I have certifications for stringing as well.
I guess my question is how can I work towards being a better candidate for a sales position in this industry? I'm open to other jobs in the industry as well. I appreciate the advice.

Hello subreddit,
I found a great deal on the Wilson Ultra 100L V3, at around $100 CAD (down from $280). I don't know if my size and weight are important factor, but if they are, I am 5'11" (180 cm) and weigh 170 lbs (77 kgs). I practiced many sports before I started tennis last year, I am slowly progressing my game. For now I use a very cheap racquet (Head Spark Tour) that weighs 275 grams strung, and would like to change to the Wilson Ultra 100L (292 strung). What are your thoughts?
Here are the specs:

• Head Size: 100 sq. in. / 645 sq. cm.
• Length: 27 in.
• Strung Weight: 10.3 oz. / 292 g.
• Unstrung Weight: 9.8 oz. / 277 g.
• Strung Balance: 4 Pts. Head Light
• Swingweight: 296
• Flex: 67
• Beam Width: 24 mm / 26 mm / 23 mm
• Composition: Carbon Fiber Graphite
• String Pattern: 16 Mains x 19 Crosses
• Recommended String Tension: 50 - 60 lbs.
• Grip: Wilson Pro Performance

Thank you for your time.

Hey all,
I’m a new college grad moving to NYC soon—played tennis competitively growing up and was on the club team in college. I plan on buying a permit for the public courts, but I’m also hoping to find a club or league in the city to meet high-level players around my age that I can hit with year-round!
From my research, two clubs stand out to me—Roosevelt Island Racquet Club (alongside Manhattan Racquet Plaza Club) and Sutton East Tennis. Does anyone have experience with memberships at these clubs, the demographics of the leagues/clubs around the city, etc.? It would be great to have the chance to play UTUSTA-sanctioned matches as well.
Any experiences/advice about the general tennis scene are welcome too! I’ll be living in downtown Manhattan (NoHo/EV/LES area) for reference.

Hello,
I’ve recently decided that I want to start playing tennis. In terms of racquets, I’m looking to have something of quality that will last awhile but don’t know what brand I should go with. I know Wilson is like the Nike of the space but I’m focused on quality and durability. Any suggestions are helpful!
Edit: any suggestions on basic gear to have as well would also be a huge plus i.e bags, shoes, etc.
TIA

Swiatek vs Gauff :

The #1 player against the #3 player is the best semifinal you can get, but this still feels like a lopsided match. Iga Swiatek has ascended to a level on clay that the tour hasn’t seen in quite some time, and with two of her biggest competitors out she can really let it all go in this semifinal. Paolini and Andreeva are tough outs, but they don’t pose the threat that Coco Gauff does. With three defensive baseliners left, and Swiatek in excellent form, the only real pressure is the proximity of the title. This is the classic jinx paragraph, but Swiatek hasn’t blinked since her 2nd round scare against Osaka. The situation isn’t new or overwhelming either, she has won this tournament 3 times already (2020, 2022, and 2023). Iga has been responsible for a lot of lopsided scores in the past, but now she’s starting to dish these defeats out to top tier players.
It’s not completely impossible for Gauff to win this match, but it would be one of the biggest wins of her career. Gauff has tremendous speed and agility which lets her defend better than most against Swiatek’s heavy topspin forehand. She also has the best defensive backhand on tour which means she can trade equally against Iga in cross-court rallies. Neither player has a huge edge in their service delivery, so this should be a high level contest in which Swiatek is heavily favored, but not winning by the usual blowout scorelines. Swiatek leads the h2h 10-1, has never lost a set on clay, and just beat Gauff 6-3, 6-4 in Rome a few weeks ago. Her forehand being so much bigger and more dangerous than Gauff’s makes it a good matchup for her, and since Gauff wins a good portion of her points with pressure and defending, Swiatek’s heavy topspin approach makes it safe to hit big against Gauff without too many errors.
Swiatek can get a bit impatient in big moments, but getting the scoreline to those big moments is difficult. 2/3 format tennis is a sprint, but on slow clay there are a lot of points and Swiatek didn’t exactly falter late in the match against Osaka, she elevated her level as she made her comeback. I don’t think Gauff’s game is done progressing, so these matches are very interesting. She is capable of hitting huge serves, huge forehands, and her backhand is excellent. She’s faster than most of the tour, she doesn’t get tired, and her ceiling is very high. This past week she has played some of the best tennis she has on tour, so Swiatek will have her hands full. It just feels like there aren’t as many ways for Gauff to score here, and Swiatek’s mobility means it’s tough to outlast her. Swiatek in 2 close sets.

Paolini vs Andreeva :

Sabalenka vs Rybakina was going to be a very entertaining contest between two players with incredibly similar approaches. Instead, we get a very entertaining contest between two players with incredibly similar approaches. Jasmine Paolini and Mirra Andreeva are both incredibly quick. Both defend the baseline like it is a delicious sandwich and their opponent is a highly interested caterpillar. Both are tiny, but hit the ball big for their stature and reflect power well. Neither one have the best serve, but they’re able to locate it well and use variety to stay out of trouble. This has the potential to be a 3 hour match, and their last meeting was exceptional. Paolini led the first set 5-2 in Madrid a month ago before ultimately losing in a tiebreaker. The second set was decided 6-4 as Paolini just came up short in her final service game. That experience, and the confidence and desire that both have coming into this are going to make for a tremendous semifinal, even if it’s not the one fans were looking forward to.
Paolini’s quarterfinal was the one I felt would be most competitive. Rybakina isn’t the best mover on clay, and Paolini had just played her to three sets in their last meeting. Rybakina’s highlights will make her look like she should have won, but Paolini was excellent in this match about hitting to the open court. Rybakina moves well, but once she got stretched wide to her forehand she went with height to try to get out of trouble. This is a good plan but Paolini’s footwork is very proactive on these shots and she’s able to take her forehand down the line extremely well. Her best shot is her off-forehand to the ad side, and this week there haven’t really been lapses in consistency on that wing.
Paolini won the first 6-2 and it looked like the pace of the game and the length of the rallies were uncomfortable for Elena. Late in the second, Rybakina found herself down a break again, and it brought out some of her best tennis. Rather than defensive hoping, she went big on her backhand constantly and was able to wear Paolini down. The third set was a tense affair with both players trading breaks then finding comfortable holds for the middle section. In the end, Rybakina finally found an ace, but followed it up with a few unforced errors in a row. All credit to Rybakina for going big in pressure moments. I didn’t love all of her choices, but backing yourself to make shots is how you win against top competition and Paolini did seem to be a favorite in long rallies. In any event, Paolini really earned this win and seemed as fresh at the end as she was at the beginning so she should be set for the semifinals.
Andreeva’s win was a little more puzzling. Sabalenka broke early, but seemed to be clutching at her stomach/abdomen/hip area a bit. She would later reveal that it was a stomach bug, but she was not 100% today at all. After a few games (during which Andreeva broke back), Sabalenka was gesturing to her box that she couldn’t continue. She got treatment, but it didn’t seem to alleviate the discomfort. When she swung big, it worked, but it clearly hurt her as well. The score never really got bad enough for her to withdraw, and Sabalenka ended up winning a close tiebreaker.
A set lead is great, but it felt like resetting the score to 0-0 made it obvious how long of a march was left, and Sabalenka never looked happy out there at all. Even holding her racquet up triumphantly after a point seemed like something she struggled to do, and I think the moment (QF of a major) and the crowd are the reasons she finished the match out. Andreeva had some struggles emotionally, but reset quickly. She moved the ball well, she returned serve well, and she didn’t let what was going on on the other side of the net throw her off her game. A close second set win was followed by a third set where Sabalenka only looked partially convinced she could win. After she went up a break and immediately gave it back, Sabalenka started to fade. Errors flowed, and Andreeva’s consistency won her the match.
It’s already the best result on tour that either player has had, and when you consider Paolini was fading in the ranking a few seasons ago, and Andreeva is just 17 years old, it’s unreal. In the semis, I expect Andreeva to be a little bit more stable on defense, but for Paolin to start quick. In Madrid, she jumped out to an early lead, and while she’s fresh I think her forehand is the biggest weapon on the court. Andreeva can outlast players, but she doesn’t tend to outhit them until late in the match when it’s more about footwork than pace. As far as backhands, Paolini’s is excellent but not able to go down the line as effectively as Mirra. Andreeva constantly came up with big passes and drives on the run down the line against Sabalenka, and it’ll be a reliable shot here. Paolini’s inside-out forehand is great, but on the run going cross-court, I don’t think she can really hit through the court well enough to score on Andreeva. This means Mirra can spread the ball with impunity on that wing. Andreeva mixes just enough dropshots into her game for them to work despite them not being the sharpest offerings, and I think she’ll be just a bit more clear on the task at hand in a third set.
There isn’t much to set these two apart, and their previous meeting was extremely close. Andreeva’s wins (although Sabalenka was ill) are a bit more impressive to me, and I think her backhand wins her this match in the end. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how diligent her footwork is when approaching balls where she has control, and she’s been very aware of where her opponents are. Mirra holds her swing until her opponent commits, and tends to pick the right shot. Everything is sort of coming together for her to win, but really these two are very evenly matched. I expect Paolini to be able to close out any set she gets a lead in this time, but for Mirra to be the more technically sound player in a marathon match. Andreeva in 3.

So, I have a Dunlop UV-1 Univibe (the metal enclosure one from the late ‘90s, now discontinued) and its expression pedal. I listed them as a combo package on eBay and Reverb, as well as Craigslist, and for some reason, I’m not getting any bites. I listed them together at $240, which seems to be a fair price, according to past sales, but there’s no takers so far.
Any ideas as to where I can try to sell them off? I want to flip them for a Deja Vibe or JHS Unicorn V2, but I don’t want to spend money before making a sale.
Any help would be appreciated!

Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Justin, Millie, Topher
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Jasmine, MK, Ripper
Episode 15: Million Dollar Babies
"Last time on Total Drama Action! Our caveman movie challenges made some people look good! And other people look bet-ter!"
"Jasmine switched over to the Gaffers, and even then, they still couldn't score a win against their competition. And Topher showed off how much he meant to everybody."
"As their reward, the Grips won a mammoth rack of mastodon ribs while the Gaffers had to make do with what they could find, and what could find them."
The scene then flashed over to a few of the control tent's monitors. "Will Jasmine stay on good terms with her new team?" Chris asked as the two monitors that were focused on cut from static to identical pictures of the nervous looking girl. "Will Ripper keep up his jerkitude?" The two monitors cut back to static before cutting to identical pictures of the glaring boy. "And will anything happen between Anne Maria and Topher?" The monitors switched to static again, then to pictures of the Jersey girl and the fanboy smiling at each other.
The screens cut to static once again and the camera pulled back to show Chris sitting in front of them. "Find out the answers right now," he told the camera before the scene flashed to the area outside the cast trailers, "on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Theme Song)
Snoring could be heard as the episode opened on the morning sun, a small bird passing through the scene as the camera panned down to the cast trailers. It focused in on the boys' quarters, and the scene cut inside to Ripper fast asleep, causing the snores that had been heard outside.
The sound of a trumpet rang through the air, startling the rude boy upright. "I get the first and last waffle, Xander!" he shouted, still half-asleep.
"I'm up!" Topher shouted from the other side of the room. He rolled out of his bed and onto the floor. "Wait a minute, I'm not a military recruit at all!"
Across the room, Chase sat up in his bed. “It was just a wake-up call for all of us,” he grumbled.
"That's it! I'm moving to Canada!" Justin said, fully awake. "Except I'm already there!"
The scene cut back outside, the door to the girls' trailer swinging open. “At this point, I'm not gonna complain about our wake-up calls,” Millie said while walking out along with MK and Anne Maria.
The camera panned above to show Jasmine yawning before dismounting off her tree, landing on top of the trailer, and finally jumping to the floor. “Good morning, girls!” she greeted them happily.
“There's nothing good about this one,” Anne Maria scoffed. “Not when we were rudely awakened!”
“I'm used to it,” Jasmine told the girls. “I'm normally woken up by the alligators roaring next door to my home.”
The shot cut to a close-up of a trombone as Chris played a few notes on it. "Morning, sports fans!" he greeted as the camera pulled back to show him wearing a sort of one-man marching band outfit – a stereotypical hat accompanied by a combination bass drum and cymbals strapped to his back that sounded with each step he took.
The moment he appeared, an upbeat melody reminiscent of a sports movie began to play. "Who's ready to put up a good offense?"
"'Ghetti here!" a familiar voice called out from behind the host, the shot pulling back again as Chef walked up to the cast. "Get your pipin' hot spaghetti here!" He was wearing the hat and large box associated with food vendors at sporting events, and true to his word, he was serving up balls of tomato sauce-covered spaghetti. He smirked, then began pitching them at the cast – first Chase, who was hit in the gut as Justin and Ripper leaned out of the way; then Anne Maria who was struck in the chest but managed to catch it on the rebound; followed by Jasmine and Millie who easily caught a couple each; and finally MK, who quickly ducked under the first before getting struck in the head. Sauce and pasta sliding down her face, she shot an utterly unamused look off-camera.
"Hey, what's the deal?" Jasmine asked the host.
"The deal is breakfast," Chris told them all.
"Wait, we're having pasta for breakfast?" Millie asked in disbelief as Jasmine shrugged and started slurping a noodle.
"It's called carbo-loading, contestants," Chris explained, leaning towards the girl. "Today, you're all going to give 200%, in our Sports Movie challenge!"
"That is a mathematical impossibility," MK deadpanned before taking another pasta ball to the face.
"Suck that 'ghetti back, you lovable underdogs, destined to come back from certain failure!" Chris told the cast as he began to walk away. "We've got a training run!"
Chase cracked an eager grin as the host walked past. "Did you say running?" he asked excitedly just before the scene cut away with a flash.
A close-up of several shoes running along a grassy field was shown, accompanied by the huffs and pants of their owners. The shot pulled back to the contestants running along a football field, Chase and Jasmine silently vying for the front position. Anne Maria and Topher were behind, shortly followed by Ripper, Justin, MK, and Millie.
"That all you got, sports fans?" Chris called to them before they were shown to have stopped, everyone but Chase and Jasmine trying to catch their breath. "Man up! It's time for more action!"
"You call that a training run?" Chase scoffed. "A ball of noodles and a 3k jog is nothing!"
"That wasn't even a warm-up," Jasmine added.
"Good to see the two of you are so eager to get going!" Chris told them with a grin. "Of course, since this is just a set," the shot pulled back to show that they were standing in front of a stadium-seating backdrop, "and you guys are actors, we don't need to go all-out."
"That explains the astro-turf," Millie said, poking at the plastic grass she was lying on.
"Still," Chris continued, "today's competition is gonna require sweat, guts, heart, and sweat."
"You said sweat twice," Topher corrected. “Not that I'm whining.”
"That's 'cause it's not just your sweat you'll be dealing with," Chris explained. "There's Chef's sweat too!"
The camera quick-panned over to the hulking man, now doing jumping jacks in sweatshirt and training helmet. "'Cause you'll be pushing him the length of the field," Chris said, "aaand, he just ate a huuuge jar of jalapeño peppers, so," Chef stopped jumping and walked over to a tackling dummy that had been set up near the host, "he's sprayin' like a gym class shower!"
"We gotta push spiced up Chef like he's a football dummy?" Justin asked.
"Don't call me a dummy," Chef said.
"Don't worry, Gaffers," Ripper told his team with a quick flex of his arms. "With me around, you don't have to push a thing, dummy or no dummy!"
"What'd I say about the dummy thing?" Chef repeated angrily, sweating profusely in his close-up.
"This is a team effort," Jasmine said to Ripper. "We all have to push, not just you."
The bully frowned upon hearing that comment.
Confessional: Ripper
"Is she seriously doubting the strength and muscle of Ripper?!" Ripper told the confessional camera with disbelief on his face. "I once clobbered a vending machine when it wouldn't give me my dollar back, and that thing was super cheap!" He furrowed his brows. "Jasmine is gonna have problems with me if she continues to doubt me!"
Confessional Ends
With a stopwatch in one hand, Chris blew a whistle in the other and the Gaffers began to push against the tackling dummy Chef was standing on. "That all you got?" he taunted, the sled not moving an inch. "I could push better than that on my day off!"
"Don't even think about talking trash to me!" Ripper protested. His teammates backed off, and with a grunt, he shoved the dummy, Chef and all, into a heap ten yards away. "Booyah! That's how I do it!" he boasted, quickly flexing his biceps while Chef struggled in pain to get the dummy off him.
The scene moved to a group of eight tires that had been set up at the other end of the field. The Grips ran towards them, with Anne Maria in the lead followed by Justin, Topher, and Millie. They made good headway, but the camera soon pulled back to show that each tire had gotten stuck around one of their feet.
"What's with these tires?" Topher cried as he and his teammates tried to shake them off.
"How are we supposed to run this course if our feet are stuck?" Millie questioned.
"Aww, really? I'm sorry!" Chris told them as he walked up before whispering "Wait 'til they get a load of the mouse trap!" to the camera. Moments later, a series of snaps came from inside the tires and the Grips cried in pain and annoyance as they tried to jump away from the traps. "Snap to it, losers!" the host told them with a grin.
The footage skipped forward yet again, now showing MK as she crawled through a mud pit, a wary eye on the barbed wire strung above it. Justin and Topher followed after her, and Anne Maria and Ripper after them. "I've never seen the football team back home do this!" Anne Maria said amid the grunts and groans of her fellow cast members.
"You're right," Chris told her as the camera cut out to show all eight crawling through the pit while the host watched from the other end. "But we had some mud and barbed wire left over from the war movie, and it just seemed fun to me!" He smiled as the camera came in for a close-up. "Is it?"
Everyone groaned in frustration or exhaustion.
"That really bit," MK said as the camera panned up over her mud-splattered figure.
"Who even won the challenge," Topher asked the host.
"Let's see...," Chris told the contestants as he started reading the clipboard in his hands. "Huh, three... carry the five...," he muttered before breaking into a grin and announcing "Nobody!"
The castmates gaped with shock and uttered "Huh?!" as one.
"It was just to establish who's playing who for the real contest to follow," Chris explained before looking over to a large screen nearby. An upbeat techno tune began to play as the camera focused on the screen, which was divided into four sections with each depicting a stick figure performing a different physical activity against a colored background – punching on yellow; swinging a racquet on blue; wrestling with another figure on red; and throwing a ball on green.
"We're running four sporto contests," the host said, "with competitors seeded according to these results." The four-way split disappeared, replaced by two columns of contestants' pictures divided into teams, which disappeared again and reappeared in the following order: Chase and Justin on top; Jasmine and Topher second; Ripper and Anne Maria third; and MK and Millie on the bottom.
"I'm at the top!" Chase cheered. "Just like in track competitions!"
Beside him, Topher raised an eyebrow.
Confessional: Topher
"So it'd seem that Chase is one of the most athletic players on his team," Topher told the confessional camera. "With his speed and agility, he's basically a male Sky, only that he's less humble and more likely to risk his life. He'd be hard to beat."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to a close-up of a hanging microphone which was promptly grabbed by the host, causing a small amount of feedback. He was revealed to be standing in the middle of a boxing ring wearing a referee's uniform as the camera panned down, and quickly began to speak.
"In the right corner-ner-ner-ner," Chris announced dramatically, "from the Killers Grips-ips-ips-ips! The bookworm bruiser, the judgemental juggernaut, the prim powerhouse," an energetic tune began to play in the background, "MILLLIIIEEE!" The crowd went wild as the camera panned to the corner behind the host, where Millie stood politely inside the ring with a rather blank expression on her face. Justin was standing to the right outside the ropes with a smirk, while Topher and Anne Maria smiled off along the back.
"And in the left corner-ner-ner-ner," Chris announced, pointing in front of him, "from the Screaming Gaffers-ers-ers-ers! The brainy brawler, the crafty cobbler, the sneaky snarkhouse!"
The camera cut to Chase and MK hanging on to the ropes on the left side. "He's clearly talking about you," Chase told his teammate with a sly smile.
"MMMMMMMKKKKKKKKK!" Chris finally announced, the crowd going wild again.
"Why me, though?" MK asked.
"Because you and Millie came last in the football drills," Chris explained to her and the other Gaffers. "Loser, versus loser." He looked over at the writer, who frowned at him. "We're going to build to the top two players."
"Do I at least get gloves?" MK asked, holding up her hands.
A pair of large 'gloves' were immediately placed on them, startling MK. "Are these made of marshmallows?"
"Props," Chris told her, "so you don't hurt those pretty actor faces. And in true boxing movie tradition, you'll be fighting in," the camera zoomed in as he said with exaggerated slowness, "slllooowww moootttionnn."
Millie looked back at her teammates uncertainly as the roar of the crowd began to rise, and MK entered the ring.
The bell rang, and Chris was pulled up and out of the ring by the hanging microphone. A slow fight song began as the two girls approached and began to circle with an awkward sort of caution.
"C'mon, take a swing!" Anne Maria barked from her corner.
"Attack her, MK," Ripper shouted from the opposite side of the ring.
MK rolled her eyes, but complied with an agonizingly slow marshmallow-covered left hook that Millie easily stepped away from.
"Is that the best you can do?" Topher asked.
"We're supposed to do this in slow motion!" Millie tried to explain, looking back at her teammate and opening herself up to a slow right jab from her opponent. The impact was largely inconsequential, however, as MK seemed at a loss as to how she should react other than taking a step back.
"This is the lamest fight I've ever been in," MK muttered dryly before dodging a weak punch from her opponent.
"Just keep going!" Jasmine called from the sidelines. "Show her who's boss!"
"Thank you, Jasmine," MK said sarcastically as she blocked yet another of Millie's slow strikes and struck back with a creeping body blow that sent the writer staggering back in what seemed to be a purposeful manner.
"Keep going!" Justin shouted.
In fact, Millie staggered all the way back to her corner of the ropes. "What do I do?" she asked under her breath. "I've never done anything like this!"
"I don't know. Just punch her in the face or something!" Anne Maria said back.
"This is supposed to be a movie, so maybe you could try distracting her with some speech or something?" Topher suggested.
"In the middle of a fight?" Justin asked in disbelief.
Topher shrugged helplessly. "It's the only thing I can think of!"
“If it'll give us the win,” Millie sighed and stepped back towards MK.
Seconds later, the bell rung again, and the two girls halted their reapproach as Chris descended back into the ring. "Round Two-oo-oo-oo!" he announced as Chef walked across the ring holding a placard above his head with the number 2 on it.
"You got this, MK," Chase told MK as she loitered in the corner, watching Chef as he walked up to her then back across the ring. "Just give it to her hard and fast!"
The music picked up its pace as the two girls approached the center of the ring once again. "You'll never defeat me!" Millie declared at an exaggeratedly slow pace as she and MK circled one another, the AV girl going in for a few slow jabs that the writer easily ducked and dodged. "I fight for truth," she ducked beneath a heavy swing, "and justice," she leaned out of the way of another blow and drew back her own fist.
Millie finally struck out at MK's face, and having been caught off-guard by the slow-motion speech, MK was unable to dodge the slow-moving uppercut. With a sound like an anvil being struck, the short girl fell to the mat, and the host quickly appeared at her side.
"One!" Chris called out, holding up a single finger. "Two! Three!"
Jasmine gasped from the sidelines. "Get up, mate!" she yelled in shock.
"Fourfivesixseveneightnine and ten!" Chris counted off quickly before the fallen techno could recover. "And the winner is-is-is-is," he announced, "Millie, and the Killer Grips!" He held up the author's right arm, and a triumphant boxing theme began to play.
Anne Maria, Justin, and Topher started to cheer. "You both did pretty good with the slow-motion," Chris told the two competitors, "and even though MK did fall first, the deciding factor was technically Millie speech – great job on that by the way, it really sold on the whole 'underdog' aspect."
“Thank you,” Millie smiled proudly as Chris walked away.
MK grunted in frustration as she got back on her feet. "I wanna know what's more humiliating," she muttered. "The loss itself or how it even happened."
"I don't know," Ripper grinned. "I thought they were BOTH funny!"
“Ripper, knock it off,” Jasmine warned him with a glare.
The scene flashed to a close-up of a racquet which quickly zoomed out to show it in Justin's hands as he gave it a few test swings. "Hey," he said, "it's a miniature tennis racquet," the shot zoomed out again to show him standing at the front of the contestants on the sidelines of what looked like a tennis court with the net raised up off the ground, "Where are the miniature tennis balls and how come the net is so stupidly high?"
"This is a badminton court, Justin," Chris told him as he and Chef approached the cast.
"There was never a sports movie about badminton! That'd be seriously lame," Justin said.
"There was a movie about badminton," Chris countered sharply. "It was very un-lame! Thanks for asking, I'd love to recreate my finest scene," he added smugly before the scene flashed to the next one.
"I just want you to know," Chris began dramatically, swinging the racquet around to emphasize his words as an emotional song started playing in the background, "you guys are the best darn badminton players I've had the pleasure of coaching!" The camera panned across the castmates, every one looking bored and unimpressed.
"You're beacons of freedom!" the actor-turned-host continued as Chef walked up behind him with a sad look on his face. "Go show the Olympic Committee we deserve a shot!" The music turned more upbeat and inspirational. "Show them, it's not badminton, it's goodminton! Heck, it's greatminton! Now get out there, and win one for the Flipper!"
The camera focused in on Chef as a tear came to his eye and his lips trembled.
Confessional: Chef
"Why couldn't the Olympic Committee just give the Flipper a break?" Chef Hatchet asked the confessional camera, struggling to contain his tears. "It was his big dream!" He finished with a cry and a snort.
Confessional Ends
Chris adjusted a cap he'd put on, then smiled at the camera as a tense song began to play. "Battling for supremacy in our second round," he announced as the shot pulled back to show the two contestants already on the court and their teammates in the stands behind him, "Anne Maria and Ripper!"
"Sorry Rip," Anne Maria called with confidence from the left side of the court, "but I've got tons of experience with badminton!"
“I'll have to see it to believe it, tan lady!” Ripper smirked at her from the right side of the court.
"Watch the birdie!" Chris called before tossing a small plush bird to Ripper.
He looked at it quizzically for a second, then Anne Maria called out "Time to make feathers fly!"
"You got this, Ripper!" Jasmine cheered from the bleachers.
"Yeah," MK added, "don't let her quips turn you into a baby and you'll be fine!"
“You can bet on it!” Ripper nodded at them confidently, raised his racquet, and tossed the birdie into the air – the camera followed it as it fell back down and was struck when Ripper twirled the racquet down under it. On impact it made a squeaking noise that startled both players, and Anne Maria had to scramble swiftly to intercept it when it passed the net.
She missed her swing, and the birdie squeaked again when it hit the ground. "It's not alive, is it?" Anne Maria asked hesitantly, looking at it with wide eyes.
"It's stuffed," Chris told her as he walked over and picked the birdie up. "With a squeaker?" he tossed it lightly in his hand, making it squeak again. "That okay, hair spray?" Anne Maria nodded, and Chris walked away. "Point to Ripper!"
Once again, Ripper served the birdie quickly and easily, and once again, Anne Maria failed to return it – but by a smaller margin than last time. "Woo! Nice going, dude!" Chase called to his teammate. "Keep this up and we'll be winning this challenge!"
"Don't give up, Anne Maria!" Millie encouraged from the Grips' side of the stands.
Anne Maria grit her teeth in frustration, and Ripper made his third serve. This one was returned, however, and it was Ripper's turn to scramble for an interception. The music picked up as the birdie was followed back and forth, squeaking each time it was hit.
"Come on!" Jasmine cheered from the sidelines. "Show her you're pulling no punches!"
Ripper grinned and started putting more force into his swings, making it harder for Anne Maria to keep up.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I know I say that I was good at badminton, but that Ripper guy is something else," Anne Maria confessed while filing her nails. "Still, I don't wanna show that I'm all bark and no bite here." The tanned woman stuffed her nail filer into her pouf. "So I'm gonna show off my bite!"
Confessional Ends
The music deepened as a montage of Anne Maria hitting the birdie was shown, including shots of her diving, going between her legs, and even holding the racquet with her hair to return the birdie. It ended when the Jersey girl tossed the racquet up into the air with a twirl and a pose, intercepting a high-flying shot and sending it hurtling back at a shocked Ripper.
It struck the bully square between the eyes and knocked flat on his back. "Sorry, but I play hard!" Anne Maria called from off-screen as cartoon birds similar to the birdie were shown flying around the Ripper's eyes. They flew off when a whistle was blown, and Ripper sat up in a daze.
"We have a winner!" Chris announced, the music turning triumphant as the Grips began to cheer. "Now that's some greatminton!" Chris said as he watched Anne Maria walk up to her team with a grin on her face.
"So whatcha think about that?" Anne Maria asked the other Grips. "I told you that my badminton skills weren't just for show."
"I never doubted you. Not even for a second," Topher admitted. "And even if I did, you'd obviously make me regret it," he added with a nervous tone.
"Uh, what do you mean by that exactly?" Millie wondered with curiosity.
"What he means is that we support each other heavily as boyfriend and girlfriend," Anne Maria smiled as she emphasized.
“Absolutely,” Topher confirmed. “I am still my own man though. It's not like she has me whipped or anything.”
“Strange,” Justin started to say. “I thought your relationship would simply consist of Anne Maria bossing you around and you just accepting it.”
“Are you serious?!” Anne Maria asked in disbelief.
"Hey, just because Anne Maria isn't the nicest person around, doesn't mean that she'd abuse Topher for no reason," Millie defended.
"Yeah, and even if she did, it'd be because I did something wrong," Topher added.
“I've seen a lot of cliche relationships before, so I just assumed you two would be one of them,” Justin said admittedly.
"Oooh, looks like this team's got their work cut out for them!" Chris said as he suddenly popped into the scene. "So don't go away," he added as he dashed over to the ref's chair he'd been sitting on during the match and climbed up it, "there's still more sports-themed fun to come on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Commercial Break)

I’m suffering from RAD. Is this a real thing that happens to other people? Am I just a racquet nerd and love hitting with a bunch of racquets only to sell them later? Do you have bags and closets to house your racquets that you pull out when u r feeling your game is off?
I have RAD… Currently have 6 racquets that are strung and in my bag, a brand new ezone 98 in my closet that I’m debating to string or sell, and buying another racquet today. I have bought and sold at least 1-2 dozen in the last 2.5 years. Yes I play a lot of tennis but I’m just searching for that one racquet that makes me whole and swoon on the court. One that I feel like is the right blend of control, spin and power….
I play tennis often 4-6x a week. Help me figure out how to get 1 or maybe 2 racquets. Experimentation with strings and customization has just sent me down a rabbit hole. I’m acknowledging my problem…