Ahh. The three t's. We'll get to the third "t" later. Hello tennis fans! 2022 marks the first major of the tennis calendar in sunny Australia. It certainly has made International news with World #1 Novak Djokovic and the question of whether he will play in the tournament he has won 9 times.
I'm a huge tennis fan and this moment allows me to reflect on this alternate reality back in January of 2020. At that moment, I had attended 3 of the 4 majors as well as Indian Wells and The Laver Cup. My journey had taken me through some crazy turns including hanging out with phenom Coco Gauff and future Australian Open finalist, Jen Brady. At another tournament, I could have reached out and touched Serena's coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Well in January 2020, there was nothing left to do but to complete the set by spending three weeks in Australian Open and New Zealand. At the time, the biggest story was the fires burning down under (remember that?). The adventure started with winetasting in Tasmania before heading to the world's biggest tennis party in Melbourne. I saw the top ranked doubles teams compete and made it into Rod Laver Arena.
I shared drinks with legendary Aussie coach, Emma Doyle. It was a splendid time. I would follow the tournament up with spectacular sites like walking amongst the Kangaroos at The Crocodile Hunter's zoo, watching "Knives Out" overlooking Sydney Harbor, and having an all out magical experience at Hobbiton in New Zealand.
One day in Australia I flew into the Gold Coast Airport and the radio talked about how I had just missed Tom Hanks in the Gold Coast Airport the day before! This is important because for most of the World, the start of Covid was Tom Hanks coming down with it in Australia. The virus can be dated to BH (Before Hanks) and AH (After Hanks). Little did I know what the world would soon become. I made it back to the States in February just before the world and International travel would grind to a halt.
And that gets to my third 't': Time. For many of us, it feels like time has been taken away from us and all of these experiences we've wanted were taken away from us. We bought a lot of stuff to get us through our isolation, but that itch to go and travel and create memories is stronger than ever. Omicron is currently raging but looks to subside soon and the opportunity to get some of that time back. I am excited to be traveling back to London and New York with Sports Expeditions in 2022 to create more memories. Will you join me?