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Well, I can assure you the underhand drop serves don't make us 70-year-olds happy, especially in social matches. League matches are understandable, but not particularly appreciated. Although it is a good strategy against us dinosaurs, we usually counter by hitting the next ball toward our...

I'll simply say, "Hey, this is a warm up, not practice." Then, if he hits another winner-type shot, I just walk off and stop the warm up until he's ready to start the match, even if we've only been out there a minute or two . . . works pretty well once your opponent knows you're not gonna take...

Well, mixed is always social, so, smile and say, "You owe me a kiss."

On the singles side, at least in Southern Colorado, Tennis Record's dynamic ratings do a pretty good job of rack-and-stacking the players. So, if I have a match against someone with a dynamic rating close to mine, I know it'll be a close match. If I'm playing a top tier player, then I know...

In Colorado, USTA 18+, 40+, and the "Other" USTA leagues unique to Colorado are played Mon-Thurs starting at 6 PM, usually with 3 lines at 6 PM and 2 lines to follow as the courts open. We'll have an occasional Fri 6 PM match if necessary so all teams have the same number of matches. Adult 55+...

Overall I've enjoyed league much more since I stopped caring about advancing and just started enjoying playing different folks at different clubs. What has changed, however, is that with the addition of new USTA and District leagues the season length for individual leagues has gone from 10-12...

If it's really short, keep hitting drop shots he can't get to . . . then, if he counters with a serve and volley to be able to get to the drop shot, drive it down the line . . . he should lose his mind and implode after a couple of games . . .

. . . I'm old . . . I take a nap before USTA matches . . . then go through the standard 10 min warm up with my opponent . . . 6 serves from each side . . . !

Received an email from Tennisrecord.com over the weekend. Site's info is somewhat similar to what TLS has. I'll leave comments on accuracy to the experts . . . ;-)

The loud CMONs at 3.5 level are a joke. Face it--we're 3.5s--by definition we suck and this ain't the US Open. However, if I guy wants to act like he's in High School after a winner or ace, then so be it . . . throw a CMON in there after I double fault or hit an unforced error, and your a** is...

I take a nap and then two aspirins before the match.

Colorado State Open had 955 entrants last year. M4.0 draw included 92 players.

Old guy here: Light meal, take a nap, take a couple of aspirin just before driving to the courts . . . if the match is running late, take another nap on the couch at the club . . .

Warmup is warmup, not practice. I've had experience with guys who want to practice drop shots and/or hit winners during the warmup. I politely remind them that this is warmup, not practice. If they continue, then I simply stop the warmup and go to the bench, even if it's after 5 min or so and...

Even at 4.0 and 3.5 you get the partners who make the expression of disgust when you double fault or make an error (they usually make more errors than you, but they somehow don't see it . . . ). My solution is to join the team that knows they aren't going to sectionals, etc., and play for fun...

Both . . . Pyramid for club leagues; Just Win for USTA leagues . . .

This was for both men and women. Not sure what the ladies did, but in our area, we ignored the time requirement and scheduled matches in the evening.

Colorado: 55+ 9AM Friday. Yeah, no one's still working when they're 55 . . . .

What I'd really like to see is for Tennis Channel to take a lesson from the Golf Channel and come up with some regular instructional shows. Lot's of tips and free lessons on the Golf Channel shows--no reason the Tennis Channel couldn't do the same. Plus, you know there's a Holly Sonders of...

For 18+ and 40+, 3.5 or 4.0, you're not going to take Colorado or Intermountain without a couple of questionable self rated players . . . now, is that cheating???

I don't believe the "If you play 10 or more league matches you can't appeal" rule is still in effect. I played 17 league matches (no mixed) and then successfully appealed up a couple of days before the new ratings came out (just to see how close I was at the beginning of the season).

As you age, how do you keep speed? eyesight? reflexes? I'm 60 . . . the answer is . . . "You don't!" But, you can stay in shape and fall apart at slower rate than your equally aged competitors. One thing I do recommend, however, is learning to let a few balls go rather than trying to get to a...

I've captained several teams as well. If player A will only play with a dedicated partner, I'll say something like, "No problem, let me know who it is and ask them to confirm it with me before I pair you up." This ensures the other person is ok with the arrangement as well. Bottom line is...

I've always advocated for more fluidity in NTRP rating assignment for those at the very top and very bottom of a particular rating. For example, if someone's a top 4.0 who wins 90% of his/her matches (yes, I know win/loss isn't part of the NTRP algorithm as it should be, but that's another...

Looks like only 85 folks from the Caribbean actually completed the survey. What I did notice across all sections is that there were LOTS of comments complaining about the 40+ format, primarily wanting more doubles lines and fewer singles lines. However, the survey question on the 40+ format...

Not sure if this has already been advertised, but the USTA league survey results from the 2014 season are online. The results also include user comments, which are classic. For example, "Don't schedule 9PM matches for the 65+ league, unless you're trying to kill us all off." The surveys were...

If you can't tell either way, it's in. I've won many points returning serves that were probably out and the server stopped playing. When they complain, my response is something like, "If you didn't hit it so damned fast, I could see it better . . . !"

Just looking at the 50 or so male 4.0s at our club, TLS correctly picked 4/4 bumps to 4.5. However, TLS also predicted 11 of our 4.0s would be bumped down to 3.5. Of these 11, only 3 were actually moved to 3.5. This seems to be a consistent pattern year after year, i.e., the USTA algorithm...

Interesting . . . for Intermountain CO, Districts have always been free; same at Intermountain Sectionals . . . so far, we haven't heard this will be changed for 2014 . . . "USTA, It's About the Money!"

In my experience, "Take Two" really means your first serve was an ace. Your opponent wasn't sure if your first serve was in or out, but he either doesn't know the rules or doesn't like to play by them . . .