Social Tennis League Introduces Partners for Life
BROOKLINE, MA – It’s safe to say, when Dave Song and Heather Smith registered for the New England Social Tennis League for the first time in 2018 and 2019 respectively, they made a sound investment. Both relatively new to tennis, Song and Smith joined with the hopes of improving their game in a fun, laid-back environment.
They got that, plus a little more.
Their story started in 2019 on Smith’s first night playing at the Brookline, MA site. And what a memorable night it was. Initially only expecting to stay for one hour to play her match and leave, she ended up hanging the full three designated league hours to watch and support her new team.
As she returned to her car however, she realized she had parked in the wrong lot and her car was nowhere to be found.
“One of the other players who knew what happened apparently mentioned to Dave that some girl got her car towed,” Smith said. “Two days later, I saw Dave at the Southie league, to which I Ubered, and mentioned the car towing debacle. He said ‘Oh, you’re the girl that got her car towed.’ I made a lasting first impression.”
From that unexpected breaking of the ice, Song and Smith’s relationship blossomed. They started hanging out more on the court and after league matches at the bar, and that evolved into a friendship off the court.
“It definitely started as a tennis connection for me, but I think it was the small things and time spent together that opened the door for more,” Song said. “It was a lot of fun hitting and goofing around on the court, and we always had fun grabbing a drink or some food after the matches.”
Two years later, lives filled with tennis, laughter, dating and relying on one another through the pandemic, Song and Smith tied the knot and became doubles partners for life.
“We grew into friends, decided we wanted it to be more than that and then COVID-19 hit, and we spent every waking hour together. We fell in love and realized we wanted to spend our entire lives together,” Smith said.
Song and Smith have made several tennis friends over the past few years, however due to restrictions, they were only able to invite family to the wedding. The couple plans to eventually have a larger celebration, at which they say it will be flooded with social league players.
“When we do have a ceremony, you’ll wonder if it’s just another Social League picture,” Song said.
Both still consistently play at the Brookline site.
“We love to play tennis together, and I think tennis and the social league brings together like-minded people that enjoy playing sports and being active, and also playing a sport with a social and not super competitive vibe to it,” Smith said.
The spring season of the New England Social Tennis League starts in May with registration scheduled to open in April. To learn more about the league, click here.
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