Hughes Hall
A Full Swing
One of my most enjoyable Cambridge routines has been attending “Give It a Go” tennis sessions twice a week at the University courts on Hughes Hall grounds. Being able to walk a few minutes from College to play my favourite sport felt like a small luxury that Cambridge quietly offered.
One morning our coach, Ned, focused on serves. Mine had always been cautious: a soft, controlled motion designed simply to land the ball safely in the service box. I realised that my instinct had always been to play it safe — to minimise risk rather than attempt something bold.
Ned encouraged me to try a full swing serve instead. The movement begins high above the head and drives powerfully forward, demanding a certain leap of faith: you surrender some control, and trust that the motion will carry the ball where it needs to go.
When I tried it, the serve felt different. For a moment I thought it might fly long. But it landed cleanly inside the box. In an unexpected way, that moment came to reflect my time at Cambridge. For years I had approached life cautiously, preferring certainty to risk and careful steps to bold strokes. Yet Cambridge, particularly Hughes Hall, has a quiet way of expanding one’s horizon of possibility. It asks you to speak when you are unsure, to pursue questions whose answers are not yet clear, to approach unfamiliar ideas with curiosity rather than hesitation. Like the full swing serve, these moments require a small act of trust that effort will carry further than fear suggests. Looking back, Cambridge did not simply teach me new ideas; it reshaped how I approach my life. Sometimes the most meaningful growth begins not when we know the outcome, but when we are willing to take the full swing anyway.
Miss Yue Qin Wang, Economics Tripos
