Playing In An Adult Open

[BHStennisplayer]

I'm a good junior player. I'm 16 and playing in my first Adult Open. Any thoughts on how I will do?

[max]

I'm guessing by your post that you're a bit nervous. But never forget what General Grant said about his first Civil War skirmish: he was afraid of the commander on the other side of the hill; when he finally got the nerve to march ahead and engage his enemy, it was clear from the remains of the camp (they'd skedaddled long before any battle) that the opposing commander was equally afeard of him!

An adult going against a competent 16 year old player may (or may not, depends) be frightened by your potentially better stamina (I say this guardedly, I've seen plenty of pasty-white, bloated fat teens, pretty common to see this type of couch potato nowadays). He might think you can just outlast him.

Tip: play extremely fair, be extremely courteous. This pays off for you in both the short term and long term.

[todd03blown]

What level are you playing at?

I just played in the Georgia State USTA championships and was a little nervous but I am 37:). Once the match started the butterflies all went away. Like the poster above said play fair and be courteous it does go a long way.

regarding your string setup; how do you like the pro hurricane and xcel hybrid setup?

[BHStennisplayer]

Its a high level state tournament in Colorado. And to the first reply I am definatly not a fat teen. I am pretty skinny and have great stamina. about the strings, I love the hybrid but wish I didn't break the Xcel every 3-4 days.

[Sakumo]

You will get owned. Pretty simple. Though it is great experience.

[NoSkillzAndy]

You will get owned. Pretty simple. Though it is great experience.

That's pretty harsh, Sakumo, but probably true. The skill level in the open division is all over the place, with the upper end being very good. Your goal when playing one of these tournys should be to do as much damage as possible before facing one of the giants, and when you play one of them to try your hardest to make them earn it, realizing that no matter what you do they will still probably kick your arse.

[BHStennisplayer]

Thanks Andy. I got a pretty good draw. Here's the link. I'm Buchanan. http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=55849&E=1&D=M&S=2

[todd03blown]

good luck Bro!

[babolat15]

I know Drew Macholz

[goober]

You will get owned. Pretty simple. Though it is great experience.

Actually it is not that simple. You will eventually get owned to be certain but not necessarrily in the first round. The skill levels are high overall, but there are a lot of low level players that enter Opens for the fun of it. This especially true at small local open events.

I know a strong 4.0 player that had a 3.5 in the first round then a 4.0 (who had a bye) in the second round. He got smoked in the 3rd round when he ran into a seeded player. He ended up getting a ranking in the open division because of his 2 wins- lol :D

[babolat15]

Try your hardest, make your name known, and good luck

[BHStennisplayer]

Thanks all. my first match is tomarrow. I'll let youu know how I do.

[OrangeOne]

You will get owned. Pretty simple. Though it is great experience.

Really didn't add any value with that reply, did you!

Thanks all. my first match is tomarrow. I'll let youu know how I do.

Good luck! After the first few points, it'll just feel like tennis, no more or less nerves than usual....

[Sakumo]

Really didn't add any value with that reply, did you!

I said it was a good experience :confused:

[BHStennisplayer]

I just played today. I started out tight and then played good. The guy I played had a great serve and volley game. He won 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5).

[Sakumo]

I just played today. I started out tight and then played good. The guy I played had a great serve and volley game. He won 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5).

Nice job. Close tie breaker, were you nervous?

[Matt_MS]

Can juniors play in adult opens? Like local tournaments? I've never tried, I don't really play too many local tournaments.

[todd03blown]

I just played today. I started out tight and then played good. The guy I played had a great serve and volley game. He won 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5).

not bad at all; way to hang tough!!

[BHStennisplayer]

Can juniors play in adult opens? Like local tournaments? I've never tried, I don't really play too many local tournaments.

Yep, they can play in the Open Division only.

[BHStennisplayer]

Nice job. Close tie breaker, were you nervous?

I was nervous the first set, but not in the breaker.

[Voltron]

Congrats, glad to see a junior doing well in an open tourny. Good luck in the next round. :D

[OrangeOne]

Congrats, glad to see a junior doing well in an open tourny. Good luck in the next round. :D

Volt - either you're being cheeky, or you didn't read right - BHST fought a valiant match but unfortunately didn't win....

[Sakumo]

I was nervous the first set, but not in the breaker.

Very nice, shake out the nerves in the first set in warm ups. Blow balls to the back fence if you have to, that is what I do. Then come out strong the 1st set when they still have nerves and blow them out of the water.

[topspin_17]

i like playing in adult opens; the style of play is more classic. most of the people are friendly.

[max]

I think it's interesting to point out that, for better or worse, adults tend not to care so much about the event. They've often played plenty of tourneys, so it's not so important to them; they also don't have tennis goals, like wanting to turn pro, or wanting to develop a reputation as an athlete, or wanting a scholarship, etc.

I know in my case, I've found myself saying, "so what?". It's just another tournament, macht's nicht.

[BHStennisplayer]

It's weird. I play much better against adults than juniors. Maybe that's the reason Max.

[max]

Well, I'm just thinking. . . the last time I played a teenager in a tournament, he was a nutter.

EXTREMELY tense and uptight. I'm an honest player, but he thought I threw him a bum call. The result? He gets his mother, his brother and his uncle up off the blanket, out of the shade, and positions them around the court so that they can look up and down the lines.

I didn't do much of anything, I just played. The old lady (sorry, his mother) initially glared at me (poor woman probably felt she had to put on a game face). Eventually she realized her son had pulled the panic button and she just hung out around the line. I felt sad for her.

It was all just dumb and unpleasant. It was a quid nunc tournament in a quid nunc town; neither the kid, nor I for that matter, was going to get anything out of a win. We both got t-shirts for playing.

[max]

Looking all that over, I guess I'd just say, for a lot of adults it just don't matter. The reward they get is pulling off a few good serves and shots, stretching themselves a bit and getting some good competition. Having fun with having some good competitive tennis, trying hard, etc.

[rum02]

nice job, you took the second set and almost won the third. my first (and only) open adult tourney i lost 6-1 6-2 in the first round. o well i hope i do better next time.
http://www.92computing.com.au/catwod07/cat.htm
(click on mens singles to see results).

[babolat15]

hey close match good job

[JLyon]

nice match there, sucks they do not have a backdraw to play some more matches.
My bad, there were 2 David Bradshaws in Denver Area. This guy does not play league.
Very good match you played against him.

[BHStennisplayer]

nice match there, sucks they do not have a backdraw to play some more matches.
Also I guess your opponent was a pretty strong 4.0 player.

No way. I looked online at the ranking and he was a good 5.0 player. There's no way I would lose to a 4.0. Look for David Bradshaw at http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/rankings/rankinglists.aspx?id=334744

[NebAce1]

Nice job. It must have been a good match.

And also was just wondering to adults have the same sort of tempers and also intensity levels as juniors? Or are the matches a little bit more casual.