curtstead
Professional
Back in my semi pro poker days (made a few thousand on the side in college, don't let semi pro fool you, I wasn't all that good lol a lot of rec players were just really bad), I used to use the 2+2 Poker Forums. In those forums, people would post their trajectories on to playing higher stakes, the World Series of Poker, etc. Some people actually made it.
I haven't actually seen threads similar of someone posting their rec tennis journey, any match results or posting through their attempts of trying to make it to higher ratings, etc. Maybe there have been and I just haven't seen them, but regardless, here is mine. I posted it in here as this was the closest section I could think of for something like this.
Some background on me: My name is Curtis, I'm 34 y/o, I am a 3.5 according to USTA, and have been playing since December 2018 when I picked up a racquet at Dick's Sporting Goods for cheap. Briefly played juniors when I was 10-11 years old, but I just wanted to play video games. I hated sports, much to my parents's displeasement. My dad was a college basketball player at a D2 school here in Georgia, and my Mom was a personal trainer/athletics instructor for 30 years. The closest thing to an athletic achievement I had in my youth was playing Halo 1 on original Xbox for 30 straight hours with my friends at a weekend sleepover. Just so you get an idea on my athletic history, lol. My sports switch flipped when watching Fed win the 2005 US Open final against Andre. After that, I couldn't get enough of watching sports. Tennis has always been my favorite though.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I captained my USTA 3.5 men's 18 and over team to nationals in 2024 in San Diego. Unfortunately for me, my losses at Nationals seemed to have keep me down at 3.5 (lol wtf??) as opposed to moving up to 4.0.
I play in a few flex leagues here in Atlanta. One is called Ultimate Tennis, as I am listed as a 4.5- on their website, which is roughly equivalent to high 3.5/low 4.0 USTA if I had to guess. For example, my cousin plays the highest level of Ultimate Singles, which is 6.0. He is a confirmed 4.5 USTA player. That is where we start. I am currently in my Fall 2025 4.5- Singles Season.
I just recently got Swingvision, and I will post all my matches in here for those interested in following along, for (hopefully constructive but you can say whatever TF you want) criticism, just shooting the sh*t, whatever you want. I already played my first match, against a guy I know, and won 6-2, 6-3. Had a recording error that has since been fixed. I have 6 matches remaining before (hopefully) playoffs. I have my next match this evening, and will post both the recording, and any thoughts I have from the match.
Some side notes, starting with my current racquet setup (from a holic so this has changed a lot
):
2023 Yonex Vcore 98, 1g of tungsten at 12, wilson leather grip plus og
Strings: Grapplesnake Tour Sniper 1.25/17g at 49#
OG: Gamma Supreme
Lacoste AG-LT 23s
I also have a weight loss bet with a teammate of mine. Started the year at 231 pounds, had to get to 190 and be no more than 193 pounds on new years eve. As of today, I am halfway there at 210 pounds with a little under 4 months to go. Going to be a tight one!
To wrap, I don't really know why I'm starting this thread, but I just am starting it anyways, and am looking forward to it nonetheless. Will post my match results and footage tonight. Cheers!
-Curt
I haven't actually seen threads similar of someone posting their rec tennis journey, any match results or posting through their attempts of trying to make it to higher ratings, etc. Maybe there have been and I just haven't seen them, but regardless, here is mine. I posted it in here as this was the closest section I could think of for something like this.
Some background on me: My name is Curtis, I'm 34 y/o, I am a 3.5 according to USTA, and have been playing since December 2018 when I picked up a racquet at Dick's Sporting Goods for cheap. Briefly played juniors when I was 10-11 years old, but I just wanted to play video games. I hated sports, much to my parents's displeasement. My dad was a college basketball player at a D2 school here in Georgia, and my Mom was a personal trainer/athletics instructor for 30 years. The closest thing to an athletic achievement I had in my youth was playing Halo 1 on original Xbox for 30 straight hours with my friends at a weekend sleepover. Just so you get an idea on my athletic history, lol. My sports switch flipped when watching Fed win the 2005 US Open final against Andre. After that, I couldn't get enough of watching sports. Tennis has always been my favorite though.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I captained my USTA 3.5 men's 18 and over team to nationals in 2024 in San Diego. Unfortunately for me, my losses at Nationals seemed to have keep me down at 3.5 (lol wtf??) as opposed to moving up to 4.0.
I play in a few flex leagues here in Atlanta. One is called Ultimate Tennis, as I am listed as a 4.5- on their website, which is roughly equivalent to high 3.5/low 4.0 USTA if I had to guess. For example, my cousin plays the highest level of Ultimate Singles, which is 6.0. He is a confirmed 4.5 USTA player. That is where we start. I am currently in my Fall 2025 4.5- Singles Season.
I just recently got Swingvision, and I will post all my matches in here for those interested in following along, for (hopefully constructive but you can say whatever TF you want) criticism, just shooting the sh*t, whatever you want. I already played my first match, against a guy I know, and won 6-2, 6-3. Had a recording error that has since been fixed. I have 6 matches remaining before (hopefully) playoffs. I have my next match this evening, and will post both the recording, and any thoughts I have from the match.
Some side notes, starting with my current racquet setup (from a holic so this has changed a lot
2023 Yonex Vcore 98, 1g of tungsten at 12, wilson leather grip plus og
Strings: Grapplesnake Tour Sniper 1.25/17g at 49#
OG: Gamma Supreme
Lacoste AG-LT 23s
I also have a weight loss bet with a teammate of mine. Started the year at 231 pounds, had to get to 190 and be no more than 193 pounds on new years eve. As of today, I am halfway there at 210 pounds with a little under 4 months to go. Going to be a tight one!
To wrap, I don't really know why I'm starting this thread, but I just am starting it anyways, and am looking forward to it nonetheless. Will post my match results and footage tonight. Cheers!
-Curt
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