Naked Tennis

Another update on the wonderful week that we spent at the GNI Gathering in the Pocono Mountains. One of my nudist goals has been to play tennis naked. Well, I got my opportunity at the gathering.

Upon our arrival, we used our provided maps to tour the grounds during which we found the tennis courts. I had seen on the schedule that there was a Tennis 101 class scheduled early the following morning. I really wasn't interested in an introductory class. After breakfast the next morning, we walked over to the courts just to see what was going on. I saw the guys in the class hitting the balls. They all obviously had hit balls before, so I decided to go retrieve my racket in the hope that maybe someone would want to hit after the class finished. When I returned with my gear in hand but sans-clothes, I immediately met up with a red-head guy. As it turned out, he's one of the better players that was there that week and we immediately became tennis buddies. We played everyday except once when we both needed a break.

So if you're like me (and also haven't gotten completely bored by the topic), you're probably wondering about the obvious logistical issues of playing tennis nude.

1. The first and most obvious question was about the flopping issue. Now, I have a tendency to flop quite a bit even when playing in relatively tight boxer briefs, so I was definitely wondering about this. As it turns out, this is completely a non-issue. Yes things were flying everywhere, but I didn't slow down, stop running or jumping nor restrict myself in any other way because of fears of flopping. After playing for just a few minutes it became obvious to me why this isn't a problem. God (or nature) created us naked and optimized our bodies to be able to run, jump, hunt and a variety of other arduous activities. Our bodies were created to do this. The unnatural thing is when we wear clothing which is why it bothers me so much more when I'm wearing boxer briefs than when nude.

2. Most people that don't play regularly might not think of this, but pockets are essential in tennis. This is especially true if you have a 2-hand backhand and therefore can't just keep the extra ball in your left hand. Well my red-headed tennis buddy taught me how to overcome this my first day. When serving, I used the BF's fanny pack. Simple, easy, comfortable, problem solved.

3. When I play I sweat. So I typically use various methods to help me deal with this and ensure that my grip remains dry. Among these are wristbands and a cotton shirt on which I can wipe my hands. I wore a wristband, but wondered what I would use to wipe my hands if I didn't have a shirt on. As it turns out, this too was a non-issue. What I hadn't counted on was that we just sweat a lot less when nude. I still sweated, but much less and therefore just having a wristband was plenty enough.

I loved the feeling of naked tennis. I loved being able to look onto the next court and seeing brief moments of a beautiful male form contorting gracefully as it stretches to return a deep shot. Naked tennis was all I had hoped it would be which is basically two things I love: naked and tennis. And as a bonus, it helped me get a good amount of physical activity during my vacation.