Tournament Advice for New Player

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by goober

In adult recreational league and tournament tennis 32 is a young pup. Trust me.

What he said. I didn't start playing organized tennis until I was 46 and I know lots of people who started at older than that. Last year I had the experience of playing one of my former students in league singles who was 32 years younger than me.

[beernutz]

Double post

[mhj202]

Originally Posted by beernutz

What he said. I didn't start playing organized tennis until I was 46 and I know lots of people who started at older than that. Last year I had the experience of playing one of my former students in league singles who was 32 years younger than me.

So, how'd ya do against the young whippersnapper?

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by mhj202

So, how'd ya do against the young whippersnapper?

Old man tennis held the day as I won 3 and 2 but that was one of his first league matches ever. He has gotten a lot better since then based on checking his tennislink. I do remember that both his fiance, now wife, and mom came to watch the match.

He is from a tennis playing family as his dad is a well-known 4.0 who captains quite a bit and he plays league doubles with his older brother (also a former student).

[goober]

Originally Posted by beernutz

I do remember that both his fiance, now wife, and mom came to watch the match.
.

OT- but the last time I saw somebody bring their extended family to a match was a 4.0 tournament. He entered as a self rate and he either played in high school a long time ago or he started playing as and adult. He had his whole entourage (about 7-8 people) watch him lose 6-0, 6-0 in about 40 minutes.

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by goober

OT- but the last time I saw somebody bring their extended family to a match was a 4.0 tournament. He entered as a self rate and he either played in high school a long time ago or he started playing as and adult. He had his whole entourage (about 7-8 people) watch him lose 6-0, 6-0 in about 40 minutes.

That was clearly too much pressure for him to handle.

I played a self rated guy in January who brought his wife to the match which was not a big deal. He warmed up great and was using what seemed like a pretty good forehand to move me side to side. We played a long first game and after going to deuce twice he broke me. His wife was really excited and positive pulling for and encouraging him. That was the last game he won and also the last time any game went to deuce. I honestly think the pressure of her watching was partially why he imploded.

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Originally Posted by beernutz

That was clearly too much pressure for him to handle.

I played a self rated guy in January who brought his wife to the match which was not a big deal. He warmed up great and was using what seemed like a pretty good forehand to move me side to side. We played a long first game and after going to deuce twice he broke me. His wife was really excited and positive pulling for and encouraging him. That was the last game he won and also the last time any game went to deuce. I honestly think the pressure of her watching was partially why he imploded.

my wife has never had anything to do with sports in her entire life ...

further more she has never seen me play, not once.

I once had a match against her best friend's husband. Her friend came out to watch and later asked my wife why she doesn't come out ... Her reply "I dont have time for that non-sense"

I like it better this way.

[tennismonkey]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

my wife has never had anything to do with sports in her entire life ...

I like it better this way.

+1. my wife has seen me play a match just once. league dubs match. afterwards she said, "i thought you'd be running more. points didn't last very long either. kinda boring."

curse you woman!


sorry to derail. hey OP - keep it simple and just take notice of what the guy wears and brings to the court.

matching gear from head to toe and a 12 pack racquet bag with only 4 racquets = poser. likely wildly inconsistent. short day for you.

scrubby non matching clothes and looks like he just finished mowing the lawn. carrying one racquet - possibly wooden. small thermos of water = tighten your laces and apply the diaper cream. you are about to be handed bagels and breadsticks. your entire tourney may be over in about 30 minutes.

[eastbayliz]

I am coming up playing my 6th tournament after returning to tennis at age 34. I used to be a real hotshot young player in the Juniors. Playing as an adult is a new ballgame for me. Sounds like you get plenty of time on the court. Go easy for a few days before tournament. Drink a ton of water. Bring a sports drink, energy bar and piece of fruit..banana's are my no brainer.

Most importantly I echo the other suggestions here ti simply make sure you are enjoying yourself.

[eastbayliz]

I am coming up playing my 6th tournament after returning to tennis at age 34. I used to be a real hotshot young player in the Juniors. Playing as an adult is a new ballgame for me. Sounds like you get plenty of time on the court. Go easy for a few days before tournament. Drink a ton of water. Bring a sports drink, energy bar and piece of fruit..banana's are my no brainer.

Most importantly I echo the other suggestions here to simply make sure you are enjoying yourself.

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by tennismonkey

+1. my wife has seen me play a match just once. league dubs match. afterwards she said, "i thought you'd be running more. points didn't last very long either. kinda boring."

curse you woman!


sorry to derail. hey OP - keep it simple and just take notice of what the guy wears and brings to the court.

matching gear from head to toe and a 12 pack racquet bag with only 4 racquets = poser. likely wildly inconsistent. short day for you.

scrubby non matching clothes and looks like he just finished mowing the lawn. carrying one racquet - possibly wooden. small thermos of water = tighten your laces and apply the diaper cream. you are about to be handed bagels and breadsticks. your entire tourney may be over in about 30 minutes.

Yeah +1 here too. My wife also plays league but has watched me play a match only once when most of our state tournament matches last year were rained out and we had to play a 4 game mini-match against the first place team to finish out the round robin part of the tournament on a Saturday night. She watched us blow a 3-1 lead with a chance to serve out the deciding game but instead we dropped four games in a row. I don't think she was too impressed with that display of intestinal fortitude. At least my kids weren't watching too.

[sovertennis]

Originally Posted by 3fees

^ Warm up for at least 45 minutes before your matches, take 30 minute-45 minute break before match time, stay loose.
^ Shorten up the Tennis Court aim 2 to 3 feet good from the lines
^ Ya only need to return the ball good one time better than opp to get the point
^ Dont double fault on serves, you'd be surprised how many players mishit slower 2nd serves( if they cant use your power-they are lost without a clue.)
^ Dont get upset if ya make a mistake, get over it, next point is too win.

This was a remarkably valuable post--I played in a USTA tourney (M45s) for the first time in many years and these tips were very helpful. I beat a 4.5 guy in the first round pretty easily, then lost the second match 4-6 in the third to a guy ranked 6 or 8th in the section. Could have gone either way--he was more willing to go for shots (and he made enough of them) as the third set wore on, which was the difference. Here are a couple of take-ways for me:
>>It's a long day. I got to the facility at 8 for my 9 start time (first match); won, then had 3 hours to kill before my next match. I watched some tv, chatted and watched other matches, but all that down time left me really flat and I got rolled in the first set of the second match. I made a good comeback, but lost, and the match went for over two hours, finishing at 3.30. (Curiously, had I won, I would have had to play the #1 seed 90 minutes later and would have not have been able to muster much fight. Is it usual to have to play three matches in a day?)
>>Even with ample training, the guys who do well do so because they play a lot of competitive sets. Being able to drill at a high level (that's me) doesn't translate into being able to win a match. I think we all know this, I suppose.

[Govnor]

That's just too much tennis for one day IMO (3 singles matches). Probably asking for an injury too.