Photos from the beginning of my becoming a writer. I played semi-pro tennis from the age of 9, was nationally ranked, could hit a 114 mph serve (aces were one of my weapons) and was fast enough for my cannon-like inside-out forehand to be my other secret weapon. I used a continental grip (which meant I held the racquet like a frying pan when I hit a forehand). And my backhand sucked, lol. For one season, when I put tennis aside before joining the tennis team at U of Illinois (U-C), I was on the track and field team in high school, where I won 22 medals, went to state in the high jump, 400M, mile relay and 800M. I placed in the high jump and mile relay and did pretty well in the 800M. I was named Female Athlete of the Year in Illinois that year. I was moving so fast back then it was many years before I understood what a huge huge honor that was. I say this was the beginning of my becoming a writer because sports taught me discipline, the joy of work, made it easy to imagine superpowers, sports showed me the United States, helped me understand systematic racism on a personal level (wow, the things they tried!), and I’m pretty sure my tennis game (which was dominated by one side of my body) helped to cause my severe scoliosis (read my memoir Broken Places and Outer Spaces for that epic tale). #nnediokorafor #nnedi #nnedimmankemdiliokorafor #nnedimma #tennis #roadtotrials #writerslife #homewoodflossmoor