out-takes and bloopers

Raj Persaud and Chris Turner making it to Men's Semi-finals Beach Tennis Tournament Ilford Sunday 18th October 2020 - is this a footfault? You decide. Raj is about to serve in this vital beach tennis match he is over on left hand side of the screen - the lines marking out the court in beach tennis are strips of tape that are anchored in the sand... the rest, as they say, is history...

last night before lockdown on a tennis court...

the last night before lockdown in Portman Sq London W1, on an exclusive tennis court, elite athletes, including Steve Riley (responsible for more public tennis in parks across the uk than any other person), Roger Hunte (who teaches bachata and other dances), his friend Roger Hoyte (former rum shop owner and purveyor of fine rums), and Raj, gather to eat chocolate, drink rum, dance the bachata, oh, and play a little tennis (raj thinks he won the tennis that night but everyone's memory is hazy)

beach tennis

Raj is ranked Men's no 10 in UK Beach Tennis

Its been a roller coaster ride from no 16 to no 5 then down again - here he is playing in a tournament in The Hague in The Netherlands

The Hague UK Team

OK so in one game Raj and his partner Michael lost 12 - 0 ... perhaps a new European Beach Tennis record

Raj has no 1 on his team shirt

We can all dream

We are not here to enjoy ourselves

All sport is a proxy for war

Raj is told he takes tennis and beach tennis way too seriously

Note how rapt the spectators are

Its being able to play in front of a crowd that separates the men from the boys

Raj makes this look easy

Please do not attempt anything you see here at home... this takes years of training and self-less dedication ... no animals were hurt in the making of this film ... but some feelings were

the house of pain

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpAvszEAffY/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

RAJ WON'T WAVE

He needs to loosen up a bit