Concocting Tennis As a Movie

Imbibing sports in movies is not uncommon, and therefore I decided to pen my own script for a tennis movie.

Now, I am not a professional script writer, and I frankly don't know how the script is presented, so please bear with whatever format I have managed to conjure.

The Plot

I know I should be fixing the cast first, but I felt that it would be better if it is decided on the basis of my storyline. Also, I am open to public opinion about the choice of actors and places for my movie, so please do give your valuable suggestions.

The plot goes something like this...

In a particular city of a certain state in a certain country [all to be decided], there is a family of three living. The family is quite well off with the father [Mr. A] running a reasonably successful business and the mother [Mrs. A] contributing to the income with her fashion designing flair.

The son [Junior] is a youngster [age factor between four and five] with a passion for all sports, especially tennis, and sensing his interest, his parents have enrolled him at a tennis coaching centre.

There he is at his element. The coach, realising his enormous potential, expresses his thoughts to Junior's parents about his abilities.

Junior's mother, always the more perceptive of the two, shares the enthusiasm of the coach, questioning him about the proceedings if Junior were to continue playing.

Her husband, however, is reluctant to the idea, as he believes that Junior should follow his family's footsteps of higher education and a more academic-oriented profession. While he is not against sports as a fan, he is not keen on it as a career for his son.

But since Junior's mother and both Junior are over the top about what the coach said, he agrees to give his son a chance.

The next few years are a blur in Junior's life, as he is kept on his toes by studies which he can't just forgo and his tennis coaching. Each passing year is tough, as the better he plays and travels, the more school work he misses.

Finally forced to accept the fact that he can't travel in two boats at one time, he nails down the coffin on his studies.

His mother accepts his decision with grace, while his father is totally impassive on the subject, and this does add a notch to Junior's tough decision.

But it had to be taken as he was making and carving a name for himself in the Junior tournaments.

He had quite a lot in his kitty, and there were rumours circulating that if he maintained his top form, he could even play in the junior slams by the next two years.

Junior found himself amazingly close to his goal of playing in the international level, and he realised that this was what he wanted to do. This was what he connected with the most: his only passion in life.

What he hadn't expected was fate's interception and in a cruel manner at that; his mother died after getting hit by a drunken truck driver on the highway and he suddenly found himself alone without any support.

His spine was gone: His mother, who unfailingly accompanied him to his matches, who gave up her career so that her son could get the best, had left him.

And then he lost it; lost his desire to win, lost his flame, lost all purpose of doing what he loved at one point.

His father, who all this time was waiting for Junior to see sense and life from his eyes, acted on this opportunity to coerce his son passively out of his tennis craziness. Not that there was anything left to coerce; Junior was already part-zombie by this time.

Prodded by his father, he dutifully rejoined his studies. His heart was however missing: neither in tennis nor in studies. Tennis held no meaning for him after his mother's demise, while studying was something he was doing to please his father.

One of his school mates [name unchosen] who saw him listlessly poring over the teacher's drones, go past the courts without even a second glance, and live life as if he was an android, took him aside one day and gave him a piece of his mind.

No, he didn't give philosophical lectures nor did he try to influence him; he just asked him one question: "Is this what you want out of your life, whatever you think you are doing? Think about it and then continue it."

Junior didn't know how to answer. He stood there tongue-tied long after the guy had gone debating with himself: Is this what you want?, he had asked and is this what I want? he queried himself.

The next day, having made up his mind before he went back to the training centre where he was first inducted and got himself re-admitted. His old coach was still there and still ready to take him where he knew Junior could belong.

Junior's decision to get back to tennis made his father realise that he couldn't ask anyone to lead their life as per his wishes, not even his son.

His wife understood their child's need better than what he would ever have and he resolved to support Junior henceforth in his commitment.

Years of hard work and toil bore fruition when Junior became a pro again and heightened the most when he got his chance to play in the 128-man draw Slam. He was inspired, for this is where he imagined himself to be.

His mother would have been very happy, he knew and he knew how to add to the fulfilment: By winning it. He was charged and determined; every match he played, every opponent he defeated brought him closer to his goal.

And then finally: He made it to the finals. It was half a dream come true; the other half would be realised if he won it. His father was there to cheer for his son and if he would witness his son lifting the trophy, nothing better than it!

He put his heart and soul into the match, but his rival was no less. He was younger and more agile than Junior and wasn't ready to let go of it that easily!

The game went on and finally the younger rival made a mistake and gave Junior a breakthrough, which was all he needed. He didn't wait to end his patient exile, not now after he had borne the misery for years.

The tiredness was gone, the reflexes were responding more quickly and then...then it was sweet victory! A victory he had envisioned but which took ages to actualise.

And when he lifted the trophy, he cried...cried for his mother who would have been at the top of the seventh heaven; cried because he had proved his father wrong.

Not that they were in the worst of terms, but still his father's past impassiveness rankled the core of his heart! 

Junior, when he won his first Slam wasn't exactly young by any chance. He knew that age wise he had a huge disadvantage as compared to his rivals, but he was prepared to deal with anything, until it went beyond his control. He would fight, fight until the very end!

What happened to the guy who made him re-acquaint Junior with his goal? Well, he is a guidance counsellor who helps kids realise their true potential. In his words: Talking with Junior helped him find his own life as well!

P.S.: I know that some aspects might be poetic license, so please free to voice your disagreements. I am open to corrections.