AIBU to be annoyed that my beginner tennis classes were stopped with no warning?

[TheRealGossipGirl]

Around September last year, I was fed up of working from home and then doing absolutely nothing in the evenings - nap, wake up, TV, bed. So I found a coach at a tennis club that ran beginner group sessions every Thursday at 7pm. They were £20 a session and taught the basics in a group.

I absolutely loved it and quickly started looking forward to the sessions each week. On the coach’s recommendation, I also spent around £70 on a beginner racket.

Just before Christmas, the final session was cancelled. I texted the coach to check, and she said she’d cancelled it and said we could do 1-to-1 sessions in the new year if I was interested.

I said I’d think about it, as her 1-to-1 sessions are £50 per lesson and I already pay for the gym, personal training, and other bills. In this situation, one lesson per week would add up very quickly!

This week, I started wondering when the beginner sessions would restart, as I hadn’t heard anything. I checked the shared Excel sheet where we usually put our names down and saw a note saying: “Beginner sessions have now ended.” That was the first I’d heard of it.

There was no warning, no message, no heads-up that the beginner classes were stopping. I’m also annoyed as I bought a £70 racket on her recommendation, thinking this was a long-term thing.

I can see that a few people from the beginner group have moved on to evening improver sessions, but this wasn’t offered to me, and I don’t think I’m quite at that level yet.

AIBU to feel upset and annoyed by how this was handled? I’m not looking to do 1-to-1 lessons at the moment as they’re very expensive in London (£50–£100+), but if this had been communicated better I might have explored it, even if only once or twice a month. As it stands, I’m put off continuing with her.

Could there be not enough interest in beginner. It’s not really tennis season maybe they’ll offer it again in summer/wimbledon time. Could you ask about going to improver?

That’s rude of her. My DH works in a similar industry and he’d never just cancel like that.

Id ask or book onto the improver class, or find someone else!

A bit annoying, but that's the way it goes. There obviously wasn't enough demand or it just wasn't worth her while to do them any more.
I wouldn't have just assumed they would continue after Christmas unless specifically told the arrangements for booking onto the next term.

Maybe they just do 10 courses .
When they have time

The tennis club might have cancelled it.
It might have nothing to do with her.

It’s crap when you find a hobby you like and it’s cancelled. I’ve been on both sides of the coin. But when you’re delivering these sessions and you don’t have the demand for beginners you have to make quick decisions or your small business will blow. It’s shit, especially when you invest your time and then money on equipment, but that’s how it is. And probably why she offered one to one.

How many people were in your session?

I messaged her today to ask about the sessions and whether they would be restarting. She said her circumstances have changed and she won’t be running them anymore. She did say she’s available for 1:1 sessions until the end of January, but that’s not something I’m looking for, especially if she’s leaving anyway.

My issue is really the communication. She would have known she was winding things down and could have given people a heads-up.

Op move on. She's not doing it anymore. Its over. I cant understand where all this is getting you tbh.

Nothing we say or you say will change her mind .

Find another class or hobby.

Can you contact someone from your class and just enjoy a rally? Perhaps a message on a local FB group? Is there a wall you can hit the ball against to work on hand-eye coordination and your forehand/backhand? Sometimes, it’s just about practising the basics you’ve been taught. 🤷‍♀️

I’m bloody annoyed. I get that she’s not doing it anymore, but what really gets to me is the complete lack of communication on her part.

If you actually read my initial post, you’d see that the issue was always the lack of comms - and the fact I’ve now spent bloody money buying a racket for absolutely no reason.

You live in London, how hard can it be to find an alternative? And presumably after 3 months of lessons, you aren't a beginner any more, you're an improver like the rest of the group who have moved on.

You have so many options - join a tennis club, play socially, look for alternate coaching. You're talking as though this woman is your only option, and don't even know why she has cancelled in the first place, presumably she hasn't done so without good reason as it sounds pretty lucrative financially

If you've found a hobby, find another way of continuing. Don't cut your nose off to spite your face.

What are you expecting random to do about it though?

Take it up with her. Wont change anything though.

Ask if you can join the improver session?

It actually is really hard in London - most clubs have waiting lists now, and even when you do find one, the lesson prices are extortionate.

I don’t really like how this is being turned around on me, as if I “can’t get over it” or should just move on. I posted because I was upset with how things played out - not because I think there’s something I can magically do to change it. I’m fully aware I can’t. I’m not stupid.

From the conversation today, it’s clear she’s stopping tennis coaching at the end of the month. She has a few improver sessions left and can squeeze in a handful of 1-to-1s. So why would I pay £50 a week until the end of the month when she’s leaving anyway and I’ll have to start from scratch with a new coach?

Tennis lessons aren’t cheap - they range from £50–£100 depending on the coach’s experience. If I find someone charging £70 per lesson and do one a week, that’s £280 a month, which is a lot of money.

Yes, eventually I’ll find a club to join, but people underestimate how difficult that is in London. Tennis clubs are practically sold out here. There’s a three-year waiting list where I play. The only reason we were able to play was because she ran beginner sessions - she booked the court and we paid her £20, so it worked for everyone. That option is now gone because her situation has changed.

I can’t join the improver sessions, and she hasn’t offered them to me anyway because there are only three left before she finishes completely.

So no, I’m not expecting miracles or for her to rearrange her entire life around me. I’m allowed to be frustrated at how this was handled - especially when the communication was poor. This is a rant, not a plea for life advice. If you think I need to “get over it,” you’re very welcome to keep scrolling.

A beginner’s course has to finish at some point because the participants are no longer beginners…where I played, the beginners course was 8 weeks, then we were supposed to continue as improvers. If your coach leaves, will another coach run the next improvers course?

Maybe someone in the family is ill or has died, maybe she’s had to take on caring responsibilities, she can’t get to the sessions, a daytime job has changed hours, who knows? Sometimes people’s situations change and they can’t give notice. It would have been better if she had but I’m sure she would if she could have. It is standard for sports clubs to run beginner classes for a set period to encourage more into the sport with the aim that you move up in ability. Definitely not worth your energy to be annoyed. People can’t help their situation changing. It does sound frustrating for you if it’s difficult to find another class. Best wishes

‘Her circumstances have changed’ would signal to me that something pretty unexpected (and probably not great) had happened to her, something that didn’t giver her a lot of advance notice either.

Tbf with toe sudden cancellation, lack of communication and now she’s leaving, it doesn’t sound like she did know she was winding down. More like something unexpected has come up and a tennis class wasn’t the main priority in that which is fine. Won’t the club/gym replace her once she’s gone?

I think posters are possibly just a bit confused.at your need to 'rant', tbh.

If you wanted to learn tennis and plan to find a new club anyway, why does it matter that you bought a beginners tennis racket for £70? You now own a tennis racket that you can use elsewhere.

She offered you the 121 lesson because it was all she had to offer and some people would have taken her up on it as 'better than nothing.' She was giving you that opportunity too.

And, I agree with others that her circumstances changing at such short notice is unlikely to be a positive thing in her life. Yes, it would have been better if you'd had more notice but would another week or so have made any difference? She would have been unlikely to know about a sudden change in circumstances in December when you started in September, so you'd have been in the same position of owning a tennis racket anyway however much notice you'd had.

I used to do a certain type of yoga. I did it for 2 years before the studio stopped offering it with 2 weeks notice. It took 3 years for me to find somewhere that offered the same type.pf yoga locally. So I understand being disappointed but not the anger, tbh.

Could you leave your gym and join a David Lloyd gym? There’s always group lessons and people get to know each other quickly and set up informal groups for playing, etc. There’s normally free social tennis sessions as well.

I totally get this is annoying and disappointing and the way it's happened is not ideal.

Have you considered there could be things going on in her life that have caused a sudden change in circumstances that she does not want to make public? She may have a sick or dying relative, for example, and is having to relocate to care for them. She may have discovered a health issue and need treatment or surgery. She may be going through a divorce or separation and have childcare difficulties, or be in financial difficulty and has to take a different job. Sometimes, circumstances in people's lives change unpredictably and quickly, and in a business relationship, they won't always want to or feel it's appropriate to tell customers the full story. Quite honestly, you spending £70 on a racket is not going to be a consideration if she's had a sudden change for the worse in her life. People are telling you to get over it because frankly, you're sounding entitled.

A gym I went to closed because the owners were in quite serious financial difficulty, and I was just appalled by how some people reacted. Yes, it's crap when you've found a hobby you love and you can't do it in the exact same way any more, but also, keep shit in proportion and be mindful that others don't have life crises just to inconvenience you.

Out of season, have you considered trying padel tennis? It's usually a bit more financially accessible for beginners, indoors so good for winter, and you'd still be developing the racket skills. You can usually hire rackets. I'm sure you'll find other beginner tennis options when the weather warms up and your expensive racket won't be wasted if you're keen to continue longer term.

You haven’t lost a hobby OP. Take your energy into getting on those wait lists and leave the original instructor be.

This kind of behaviour is so heavy on instructors, people forget they are human being just trying to make a living. I’ve spent 10 years instructing and the actions of some participants have been really heavy and uncalled for and really affected my mental health. Don’t be that person, just move on. It’s really not that deep, I know you’ve invested your heart into it but invest it elsewhere if you feel so strongly about her actions.

Of course you’re right to be a bit annoyed. It’s being ‘turned around on you’ though because you’ve asked if you’re being unreasonable and you are a bit. Yes, it’s annoying but you seem to be beyond that and into angry. Stuff happens in people’s lives, I’m sure your instructor didn’t want to have a change in circumstances that forced her to end her business. She didn’t trick you into buying a racket (unless she is the one who sold it to you and that’s why you’ve taken it so personally?), she offered genuine advice at the time and now things have changed. You can use the racket elsewhere, sell it and recoup a bit of money or shove it in the back of a cupboard and forget the whole thing. It’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things and certainly not worth this level of anger.