There is a particular pleasure in finishing a game and having nowhere else you need to be. The score is settled. The conversation isn’t.
That is why the clubhouse matters to us. Somewhere to get a coffee, settle into a chair and carry on talking. Somewhere friends who don’t play can feel just as much a part of the afternoon.
A sporting club is made of small rituals. The same four on a Tuesday. Someone learning everyone’s coffee order. A quick drink that becomes a longer catch-up.
The courts give you a reason to come. Everything around them gives you a reason to stay.