My most devastating serve

On 14 August 2009, I wrote about "my most lethal shot in tennis". Today, let me boast about my most devastating serve.

In the tennis match with a friend yesterday, I made a serve which won a point, the friend unable to make a return. I was about to make another serve when he raised his hand signalling that he could not go on. He felt something wrong in his back and had to sit down to take a rest. After a few minutes, he tried to stand up but found that he was not able to because the attempt gave him sharp pain. He wasn't exactly paralysed but was stranded. A few more minutes later, he suggested that I call an ambulance. He was taken to a hospital, where his back was examined and X-rayed. The diagnois was that he had not damaged his spinal cord but had probably pulled and damaged some back muscles. As he did not show much improvement and was still pretty much immobilised after a few hours, he was admitted to the hospital for further observation and for physiotherapy. When I called him earlier today, he said he will have to stay there for a couple more days, and he has been granted two weeks of sick leave.

Not the brightest start of the new year, and I feel a little guilty for having caused the accident.