Tennis in the East Village

Sometimes, I find myself playing tennis on the public courts underneath the Williamsburg Bridge. This is the East Village. It's a different game down here. This is gritty tennis, in a tough park. This is tennis with a layer of grime. Sometimes, there's a group of players who come out on Sundays and play "old school tennis," with old wood racquets and long hair and seventies tennis attire. Replicating the golden years of the tennis player, dressing up as Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, and Vitas Geralaitis, all rock stars of tennis, from a different era. I think it's a group of gay men actually, who usually dress in drag, adding some theatre and drama into playing tennis on a Sunday afternoon. Getting into costume and playing adds a nice slant to the game. Something you will only find underneath the Williamsburg Bridge, playing tennis in the East Village. Surrounded by the smell of traffic and garbage, and just tough, city life.