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Write a story about a tennis match between two rivals.

Posted in Character on May 3, 2024

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✍️ 15 stories

Battle of the Sexes

Submitted to Contest #249

Battle of the SexesSo does this mean it has finally been settled? Once and for all? Considering the debate has been raging since... well, since the beginning of time really! Who believes Adam fully forgave Eve for offering that piece of fruit? Even if they managed to populate the world nearly single-handed afterwards don't you think he harbored a little resentment for making him work so hard to feed all those hungry mouths? Must have been some bad blood brewing below the surface. Something somehow needling him knowing she had fallen for that...

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Unraveling

Shortlisted for Contest #249 ⭐️

I know it’s not ideal, but we have to be smart about this. It’s crisis time – the family is on the line here, Sarah.” The ball smacked the pavement with a noise like a gunshot, neon yellow fuzz fusing with the green paint of the court for a millisecond before bursting apart. It was a good shot, and Evan obviously expected her to let it go, but she’d been practicing her game and was able to counter with a pretty good backhand, sending it back over the net, where it bounced once, then twice against the court before landing neatly in a shrub....

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Maim, Set, Match

Submitted to Contest #249

The net across the court had ensnared somebody, who now struggled like a bug on sticky paper.Digby Guzman froze. The horde had long since departed for greener – aka warmer and fleshier – pastures. He’d hoped that all the zombies had vacated the area. But he’d forgotten that the walking dead weren’t all that bright. It made sense that a few stragglers remained stuck in spots that humans with intact brains would not. He tightened his grip on his tennis racquet, which had a big dent and loose strings dangling like spilt guts.The zombie hung hal...

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Aced

Submitted to Contest #249

I was already down a set. No way I was losing another. Set point just made me more focused. Alex was good, maybe better than me, but I’d rather have eaten the fuzz off a tennis ball before giving him two sets in a row. We’d played each other through high school and college, and that happened only once. “You can still leave the court a winner! Not!” he cackled. We always trash-talked each other across the net. But Alex never said that to me before. Those were the exact words my old man used to say to me right before I stepped onto the court a...

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Double Fault

Submitted to Contest #249

"Your hedge is clearly encroaching on my property, Walter!" Harold exclaimed. His eyes narrowed at the unruly shrubbery that dared to defy the meticulously straight line he had established between their yards. The spry octogenarian's hands trembled (partly with indignation, and the rest was from a perpetual tremor) as he pointed an accusing finger at the offending greenery. "Harold, you're acting like I planted it there just to piss you off," Walter said, rolling his eyes. He stood tall and proud, his white hair perfectly combed back, a touc...

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Call Me Isabelle

Submitted to Contest #249

 "Call me Ishmael.” Kai’s teacher asked the class why this was one of the most important lines in literature. He knew that it was one of those lines that came off like fireworks. It went off with a bang. Left you wanting more. Promising lots of sparkly stuff later.    But what if it had read, ‘Call me Isabelle,’ he thought to himself. Would it have had an even bigger impact? Nah…People wouldn’t have accepted it back then. Shoot, they didn’t accept it now. He sighed and tri...

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Returning the Volley

Submitted to Contest #249

    As soon as the match began, Irina Ubetekov came rushing toward the net at Wimbledon, returning each serve with more power than she had put behind the thousands she had made during her entire 10-year career.     This tournament meant much more. It would put the final jewel in the crown on her climb up the summit of the tennis world, and she wanted to leave that world with a flourish on her record, avoiding the dreaded “40-Love” at all costs.      For she had made u...

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Set Point

Submitted to Contest #249

“Is the match confirmed for tonight?” that was the text I received on the messaging app from my brother Jorge that Sunday afternoon. I had forgotten about our plan, having bought beer and popcorn to watch Flamengo's football game on TV. As usual, I hadn't checked my schedule on Sunday, and I had forgotten about my brotherly commitment.We had a small age difference, just over a year. Jorge was older but had repeated a grade in school, so that we had spent many long years in the same class, and many colleagues even thought we were twins, despi...

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IntraRacial Warfare

Submitted to Contest #249

IntraRacial Warfare:By: Justin Marlowe Saturday, July 15, 1996: Terry and his son, Cameron, were preparing to leave their home in Stafford, Virginia to spend the day in Washington D.C. The two of them were fatigued beyond belief, as the previous week had been absolutely draining. Terry was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and would make a similar hour-long trek from his home outside of Northern Virginia to The Pentagon on a daily basis. The last thing he wanted was to head right back into the same area on a Saturday. This was his weeken...

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Game, Set, Lover

Submitted to Contest #249

(TW: Contains cursing)Sweat was pouring down my flushed face, and my throat tightened as I saw whose name was paired across from mine on the tournament bracket. It was the final match of the spring tournament and a rematch that would surely draw the entire country club to our court.I wiped my face with my cold, wet towel and watched as Becks Taylor took the court with his oversized, Babolat bag and his trusted Head racquet in hand. His pink headband held his wispy, blonde hair at bay, and I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or my imagination, b...

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Game, Set, Match

Submitted to Contest #249

I can’t remember how long ago Jake killed Sam. Lots of people ask me about how it was like to witness the Murder Match. I always tell the same story, sometimes omitting details, sometimes adding ones nobody knew about. I like the way their facial expressions change from mesmerised to horrified in the blink of an eye. And then I tell them what I thought of it. Truthfully and honestly. It was horrifying. I can still see in my mind sometimes the way that Sam’s body lay motionless on the court, his blood the same colour as the clay. It drip...

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Good luck, Adi!

Submitted to Contest #249

Aditya Rastogi comes running into the court. A roar of cheers bursts from the crowd. He tangles his hands and starts stretching his forearms over his head. An arrogant smile and the audience is vindicated. He starts skipping rope and looks towards me. We lock eyes. I remember something similar happening in my dream. But, instead of puffing my chest and giving him a middle finger, I get flustered. He ignores me sneeringly and turns perpendicularly to finish his warm up.I prepare to serve in the first game. The crowd only cares about Adi. I ca...

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The Goals of Rivals

Submitted to Contest #249

“Thank you for joining us here at Fultz Gardens for our championship match between Dani Ryder and William Armes, in what has been an incredible week of tennis. This year’s Milan Invitational has really brought out the best and the brightest from around the world. From everyone here at Fultz Garden my name is Travis Wellsly, joined as always by my humble companion Chip Falger, and Chip, what is the atmosphere like here on the main stage?” “Oh, Trav the air is positively electric as we are moments away from getting this match underway, and I g...

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Mind Games

Submitted to Contest #249

I had watched every match he had ever played, studied the recordings for hours. I knew his game plan probably better than he knew it himself. For example his first serve would be powerful with him aiming it for the back corner of my service box on my forehead side, in the hopes the spin on the ball will kick it out of my reach. Once he realises I have gotten wise to it because I ready myself further over, he will try a serve down the middle to my backhand. Another example is without a doubt once a rally reaches ten, his next shot will go dow...

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Perfect Match

Submitted to Contest #249

Perfect MatchByBL Weinman Bjorn scanned the crowd, searching for Rachel as the match began. She was always easy to find, with her notebook computer in her lap pounding away at the keys - a habitual gesture during matches that confused him and played on his mind. What was she criticizing now, he wondered? He yearned to show her he was more than an aggressive player who couldn't solve his opponent's defensive game. Bjorn had been trying to get Rachel's attention since he first met her as the college newspaper's sports reporter at the start of...

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