Hitting With John Sunyer

At Palmes, we are forever driven by a curiosity of all things tennis, pondering how the act of hitting a fuzzy yellow ball reaches far into our lives as individuals and creatives, uncovering how the joy, distress, relief, pain and wonder that we experience on the court travels with us as we go about our lives.

Hitting With is a portrait series where we meet friends of the Palmes Tennis Society who share our love for tennis while excelling in their creative field. Today, we hit with London-based writer and editor John Sunyer, photographed in Camberwell by Jack Orton. Get to know John better here.

How did you get into tennis initially? And what made you stick with it?

I grew up with a tennis club at the end of my road – three hard courts and, rather English, three grass courts. I also subscribed to Ace magazine basically my whole childhood, which my friends found quite funny and a bit tragic. And I lived close to Wimbledon, so I'd go every summer to watch and even worked there a couple of times. No single reason, really, why I stuck with tennis – I stopped playing for a few years, came back to it, and it just quietly became part of things again.

How often do you play?

I'm seasonally committed – once a week most of the year, then I disappear completely in winter.

What are the best things that tennis has taught you?

Patience, definitely. But I wish it applied more broadly in my life.

Is there anything about tennis, either as a player or spectator, that has surprised you?

What surprised me is how much it comes down to your worst shots rather than your best ones. There's so much variation in each stroke, and that ends up mattering more than you'd think. I used to hate my backhand, but it turns out it's solid enough – just not against heavy topspin or moonballers, who I have absolutely no time for.

What's the best part about the tennis scene in London?

According to the internet, there are 3,000 tennis courts in London. Which sounds like a lot, but feels about right. Around 60 per cent are in parks and public spaces, so you can usually find somewhere to hit no matter where you are.

Where's your favorite court in London?

Butterfly Club in Camberwell, which is my local. There are two courts on artificial clay, so they play quite well year-round and you can slide a bit. The club is surrounded by beautiful, quiet tree-lined streets and great cafes, pubs, and restaurants, so it rarely ends at just tennis.