Getting Better Can Be a Bit Awkward . . .

[3fees]

Getting Better Can Be a Bit Awkward .--Quite true,yet as some mentioned here playing or working out with higher rated players will improve your game,,I think however, getting lessons from a pro or near pro will speed the process, then just go out and beat the higher rated players,,,lol

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Having read this thread over the last week, I played my normal hitting buddy this past week. While I normally serve and volley ... go for big returns and usually win easily. This week I decided to throttle back ... force him into protracted rallies by forcing him from side to side. Generally giving him hope by pushing instead of finishing points.

I still won the set easily (6-1), but after the match he was delighted that he had played so much better than usual. I did not have the heart to tell him why.

[3fees]

One other point that many peeps here either dont mention or dont do,,tennis is a lot of book work too, reading then doing what you have read will pay dividends.

[storypeddler]

Originally Posted by winstonplum

I played tennis from the ages of eight to sixteen quite regularly. And then played maybe ten times in the next fifteen years. Life just happened. Anyway, when I played again for the first time three years ago, I was playing against a 3.5 and held my own. For the first six months he owned me; then I started to get the old timing back, get fit, etc. Then the tables turned and I began to own him. Then we stopped playing because it was kind of boring for both of us. And so it goes.

I'm a pretty solid 4.0 now. I'm play 3-4 times a week. I love tennis immensely. Some of the 4.0s that owned me a year and a half ago, I dispatching quite easily now. Obviously, there's another echelon of 4.0s to beat before, IF, I could ever consider myself a 4.5, and I know that if I can call myself a legitimate 4.5 that will be the end of the road as I'm approaching forty.

I'd like to hear others' opinion/thoughts about what happened when you just keep beating a guy 3,2,2 or 2,1,2 on and on, and, well, it just gets kind of boring. Do you talk about the fact you shouldn't really be playing each other anymore? Is it awkward for you? I've had this weekday morning match going with this guy for a year and a half and it's just kind of a waste of time now. Anybody have a similar experience?

I'm not bragging. I'm sure that moving from being an out-of practice 3.5 to nudging up against 4.5 over the course of three years is probably a very common occurrence.

Someone may have already suggested this, but I would say keep playing him and when you do, try things you are not comfortable with. If you play a baseline game, serve and volley more against him. It takes you out of your comfort zone, somewhat equalizes things, and gives you a chance to develop areas of your own game that you may not have worked on previously. Then when you DO play others at your own level or better, you have a bigger, better arsenal of strokes to use against them.

[storypeddler]

Originally Posted by winstonplum

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Anyway, I probably will never have enough time to do all the practicing, outside of matches, to move past 4.5

LOL. Saying that age has little or nothing to do with it is just not very realistic. Look at the USTA lists of 5.0 players and see what percentage of them are over 50. Or over 40 for that matter, There are some, but these are usually the studs who were even better than that in their youth and have slipped just a bit to rest at 5.0. They aren't moving up to 5.0 after 40---they are holding onto what they already had by staying in great condition and playing a heck of a lot. Usually they also are tennis naturals who had a lot of God-given natural talent to begin with. That is not to say all the rest of us have to despair---we don't. Age doesn't have to be the killer to our game. Most players who start dropping off do not do so because they get older per se, but because AS they get older they work out less, they play less frequently, they work at their game less, they gain weight, they have families or other interests that take time away from their game, etc. It isn't the aging itself that erodes their skills so much but what getting older means as a way of life. Those who are good and keep after it remain good for a very, very long time. And as seniors, they are still the cream of the senior crop. And as super-seniors, they are the cream of the super-senior crop. I topped out as a solid 4.5 in my early forties, but left the game all but socially for several years when I went back to grad school. But at 56, I am still a strong-very strong 4.0, and could probably return to the 4.5s if I had the time to devote to really working at my game. Tennis really IS the sport for a lifetime, my friend. One of the best things about it!

[gameboy]

Since no one has asked already, are you playing in USTA league or tournaments?

[GrandSlam45]

I still play regularly with a guy who I can easily beat 6-0 6-2 IF we play a match. We stopped playing matches long ago. Instead we use the time for drills or to practice our strokes. Despite our un-competitive matches, we still have amazing baseline rallies, so he makes a good hitting partner.

[gregor.b]

Originally Posted by winstonplum

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Anyway, I probably will never have enough time to do all the practicing, outside of matches, to move past 4.5

I think what he is saying is that, unless you have a specific problem that doesn't allow you to get better ( dodgy knees, tennis elbow etc) you can actually improve though you are over 40. For example, since 40, I have improved over the last few years in the consistency of my quality shots. I am probably a little slower and don't hit the ball quite as heavy as I did, but placement, court craft and confidence have all improved making me a much better overall player.

Same can go for anyone else.