A Tennis Match with a Queen Ant
Content Warning (click to expand)
abduction, forced marriage
by Reggie Kwok
After a long day of working out and playing tennis, Dannik Javant face planted directly on his bed. In his bedroom, he turned on his humidifier and placed his brown tennis racket, his first good luck charm, underneath his pillow.
As a child, he used to whack everything he could find with it. Without getting into trouble, he’d hit the bullies that harassed him. He stopped when he whacked his father’s right foot and told him about the others he hit.
Dannik tucked himself to sleep as the humidifier vapor rose over him.
• • •
His good luck racket was underneath his head instead of his pillow. His ceiling looked brown instead of white. He reclined on a hammock instead of a bed.
Dannik sat up in his gym clothes from yesterday. A white cloth covered him. A humidifier sat in the corner. A log bench rested next to the hammock while light beamed from the windows, some square gaps in a wall.
With racket in hand, Dannik looked out his window. Some ants as big as him strolled while others carried rocks and blades of grass. The busy pathway outside occupied Dannik’s attention. Without any vehicles or lights, how did these ants function in traffic? He would never know.
Dannik wanted to hide in this room forever. What if another ant discovered that humans could become a part of this world? Ants could take over the world.
Did Dannik shrink or did the ants grow? He didn’t know what to make of his current situation. Did ants take over the world overnight? Would he become their slave?
Dannik decided to attack the first ant entering this room. If his racket could dent walls, it could hurt an ant. Besides, ants feared getting squished in the first place.
The first to enter through the door, a carpenter ant wearing a baseball cap and navy-blue scarf, was the same size as Dannik.
When the ant opened its mouth, Dannik swung his racket, but the ant grabbed Dannik’s wrist with a fierce grip.
The ant said, “Sit. I can explain everything.”
Dannik dropped the racket. The ant moved Dannik’s wrist to his side, and they sat on the log bench.
Why was this ant being so calm? Dannik had been ready to murder it. Could he trust it? He didn’t change size. He must have died and entered a new afterlife or something.
“I am Ice, the queen’s royal guide. The queen chose you to become the king for the new age of our kingdom. First, you will have sex with her whenever she chooses. If you stop, she will keep going.” The ant went into the other duties of the king.
Dannik didn’t want to become an ant king. He wanted to return home where he belonged.
Ice continued with the royal responsibilities of the king, but Dannik stopped listening. He hadn’t earned the position. Why was the queen interested in him out of all beings in the world? He wasn’t into politics or fancy balls. He was an athlete. He was more interested in tennis tournaments than political news.
Dannik grabbed one of Ice’s arms. “I’m not doing it. Take me back home where I belong.”
Ice tilted his head. “What? No, you can’t. The queen wills what she will. She’s a needy ant. Anyways, about your responsibilities—”
“No, I don’t want to be king. I want to return home.” Dannik squeezed the limb. “How do I get out?”
“If you don’t want to be king, you will have to beat her in a game of tennis.”
What? Since when could ants play tennis? How could an ant build a tennis racket without thumbs? Even though Dannik’s first racket was worn down, it was still better quality than an ant’s tennis racket, right? Whatever the racket, Dannik would return home.
“If you wish to return home, I will let the queen know of your decision, and the match will commence. Mind you, if you lose, you will become king,” Ice said, “against your will if we must.”
“I would like to challenge the queen.”
“As you wish, please wait here.” Ice left.
Dannik felt like exploring the world outside his room, but he didn’t want to get lost. Besides, how would a normal ant react to a human? Ice was calm, but Dannik didn’t want to know what another lower-tiered ant would do in response to the human’s size difference.
After a good amount of time, Ice returned to the room. “The queen didn’t like your decision, but she will meet you at the Bark Tennis Court as soon as possible. Follow me.”
Before Dannik left the room, he kissed his racket, a ritual he followed before every match for good luck.
A pumpkin carriage with root wheels and worms waiting to pull it stood waiting for Ice and Dannik. The carriage smelled like rotten eggs, and the worms hopped up and down like race horses waiting to jump out of a gate. Inside the carriage, no seats existed, and Ice shut the door before Dannik could leave.
In the back window of the carriage, Dannik saw more of the ant world living in this tree. The scent of pine went into his nose. Ants grew miniature trees inside of trees, and what human even knew about that? Some of the homes showcased beads and knickknacks like trophies. As Dannik felt like he closed in on his destination, the possessions from the homes grew more expensive. One home even had a diamond ring on display.
At the Bark Tennis Court, a match was already underway. The queen, with her elastic headband, was poised to strike a lob with all her might, while her opponent, a male, scrambled from the net line to the baseline. Before the male could reach the baseline, the queen whacked the ball and sent it sailing at her opponent. The rubber ball connected with the ant’s face, and the ant fell on his back.
If that was an overhead shot, what was the queen’s forehand like?
The opponent approached Ice. “Please, she’s going to fuck me and kill me in bed. I don’t want to have sex with her.”
The queen waved to her opponent. “See you tonight, honey.”
Ice folded his arms. “All match results are final.”
The referee said, “The queen wins the match, again.”
The opponent’s head lowered, and he left the court.
“My king, you came. Let’s play.” The queen reached for a red rubber ball from a basket of multicolored balls.
Dannik raised a hand. “Wait. I want to know why you want me to be your king.”
“Simple, to fuck you whenever I want. Male ants die when they have sex, but humans don’t. That’s what my voices say anyways.”
Voices? Was the queen sick? He didn’t want to risk offending her.
Ice broke the silence. “You win the set at two games, and you must win by two games. If the score is two to two, we’ll do a tiebreaker round to seven points. You need two sets to win.”
Ice turned to the referee. “I’ll officiate this match. You can take a break.”
The referee stepped down while Ice took his place.
The queen said, “As it is my court, I will be serving first.”
The queen thumped the ball against the court. While the queen was ready to serve, Dannik took his place on the opposite side. When the queen served, she faulted, but the strength of the serve caused Dannik to lose balance. With the second serve, Dannik sent it back to her, but the queen responded with a topspin that Dannik couldn’t reach in time.
Ice said, “Fifteen love.”
The third serve was an ace. The fourth serve flew into the square right past Dannik. Dannik wanted a time out, but time outs didn’t exist in tennis. By the time the queen won the first game, Dannik hadn’t scored.
There had to be some kind of flaw to the queen’s play. Had anyone beaten her? Some ants must have gotten their way by winning, right? If only there was someone to give Dannik some advice. His coach who won him many tournaments from around the world would have said something to him by now. In this moment, he was alone.
For the second game, Dannik served. For the first time, he tossed the ball on the court and studied the bounce. On his first serve, the ball hit the opposing side’s square and rocketed past the queen. But on the second serve, the queen returned the serve, and a rally started for the first time in the match. Even though the queen did her best to keep up, her shots weakened with time, which gave Dannik an opportunity and the point.
At thirty love, Dannik had a strategy. The queen kept on the baseline for most of the time, but what was her net game like? If he could keep her moving, he could tire her out. He was faster than her.
For the next two serves, Dannik hit the ball softly. Both serves hit the opposing square and didn’t reach the baseline. The queen couldn’t reach the shots and gave the game to Dannik.
For the first time, Dannik returned the serve. While he charged the netline, she wound up her racket. A topspin boomed from her racket, and he countered with a drop shot.
With a consistent net game, Dannik won the first set.
And then the queen called for a time out. Ice nodded while the queen left the court.
What kind of craziness was this? Dannik had wanted a time out a long time ago. How come she got a time out and he didn’t?
Dannik approached Ice. “Where is the queen going?”
“I don’t know,” Ice responded. “I have never seen the queen lose a set.”
“The queen has never lost a set?”
“No, she usually gets her way no matter what.”
“Do I get a time out?” Dannik tapped the floor.
“There are no time outs unless the queen wants a time out.”
After a fifteen-minute wait, the queen came back with a larger racket.
For set two, the queen served. During the first serve, the ball came by so fast that Dannik didn’t have time to wind up for the shot, but he returned it. The rally didn’t last long, for she slammed it right away. He watched as the ball sailed from the floor to the ceiling back behind him. Ice gave the point to the queen.
Then, Dannik hatched an idea.
With three aces in a row, the queen had won the first game. When Dannik served, he applied backspin to the ball and hit the ceiling. The ball landed on the service square and then hit the net. The queen stood there with a tilted head. Ice gave the point to Dannik.
When the queen moved to the netline on the second serve, Dannik blasted the ball and won the point. The queen stood in the middle of the baseline and the netline. With such a heavy racket, she didn’t know how to move. And Dannik won the second game.
For the third game, Dannik sweated while the queen wheezed, unable to control her breath. The queen’s serves slowed down, so Dannik returned the shots down the sideline.
At love thirty, the queen yelled, “I’m not losing to a human!”
The queen served three aces in a row, and on the fourth committed a double fault, bringing the game to deuce. The queen’s limbs trembled. Back and forth the game went, where neither side could win enough to get out of deuce.
After ten points of going nowhere, the queen said, “Time out!”
Ice responded, “You know better. The game will continue.”
When the queen served, she hit the ball and collapsed. The serve hit the square, so Dannik returned the shot, which gave him the game. But the queen could not continue. The referee watching the match shouted for first aid and left, while Ice and Dannik approached the queen, who dropped her racket.
The queen pointed at Dannik. “My sex toy, I’m not going to lose you.”
Ice patted one of her limbs. “My queen, you are in no condition to continue. You must forfeit and retire to your quarters.”
“I picked him because I wanted to beat him in tennis and in bed. I was going to top him after winning this match. He was supposed to submit, not me.”
Dannik responded, “You picked the wrong player to play against. Next time, try some cardio.”
“But I do!”
Dannik turned to Ice. “I would like to go home now.”
Ice nodded. “Very well then. Follow me.”
As Ice escorted Dannik out of the Bark Court, three ants with white bandanas around their limbs approached the queen. And that was the last time Dannik saw the queen.
Ice brought Dannik back to the same room as before, where Dannik first arrived.
“So, Ice,” Dannik said, “how did I wind up here in the first place.”
Ice pointed at the humidifier. “That.”
“Do you realize how many humans would want to transform to visit your colony? You could expose so many researchers to your kind if you just explain to me how that works.”
Ice crept toward the humidifier. “I’m sorry, but after I use this, you may no longer return. The device is experimental at best and deadly at its worst. I don’t want to be responsible for killing your kind. Perhaps we should separate the two worlds for now. Go to sleep, and you’ll return home.”
Before Dannik could respond, Ice turned on the humidifier, and a vapor consumed Dannik.
Dannik returned to the real world, where he wanted to plow an old tree in his backyard to destroy the ants living there.
About the author and the piece (click to expand)
23 markets passed on this one before Reggie Kwok sent it to us. He currently lives in Massachusetts, USA. His Twitter is @KwokReggie. His Bluesky is @reggiekwok.bsky.social. He has published short stories at Samjoko Magazine, Underland Arcana, Scrawl Place, Androids and Dragons, Inner Worlds, Orion’s Beau, Zooscape, Midnight Menagerie, Madam, Don’t Forget Your Sword and Roses and Wildflowers.
©2026 by Reggie Kwok. All rights reserved. May not be used for A.I. training.