I think I might quit tennis

[beltsman]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

We find that the bang-bang-bang reflex volleys in pickelball to be far more challenging than the volleys in singles tennis.

 

[Purestriker]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

Just play for fun and exercise. Join a cardio tennis class where it’s all about being athletic and aggressive. Playing pickle won’t fix anything.

 

[Bambooman]

It sounds like you needed more specific work to get better,

 

[ollinger]

You really should give doubles a chance. Much more offensive than the way most singles is played these days, defensive pushing doesn't work with two guys on the other side of the net.

 

[Fintft]

You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over.

While it's true that sometimes you have to win a point two or three times, no defender can return/bunt back forever well executed shots. Usually one is enouigh to go by him or thru him.

 

[johnmccabe]

Play more doubles. Get better at net play and serve. Then practice hitting down the line and approaching in singles. It should cut down the grinding in upper 3.5.

 

[travlerajm]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

Some people are more wired to enjoy “hitting around” than playing competitive matches.

Find a few friends that like to play tennis the way you do, and then establish a routine for hitting with them each week.

This will allow you to continue to enjoy the sport. Competing in singles is more about the mental and physical aspects than they are about ball striking skills, and defensive tennis and pushing are simply the natural evolution of low level tennis competition, because almost no one has the skills to play “the good tennis.”

 

[beltsman]

While it's true that sometimes you have to win a point two or three times, no defender can return/bunt back forever well executed shots. Usually one is enouigh to go by him or thru him.

Indeed, but I'm not good enough for that. So, no point in continuing.

 

[beltsman]

Some people are more wired to enjoy “hitting around” than playing competitive matches.

Find a few friends that like to play tennis the way you do, and then establish a routine for hitting with them each week.

This will allow you to continue to enjoy the sport. Competing in singles is more about the mental and physical aspects than they are about ball striking skills, and defensive tennis and pushing are simply the natural evolution of low level tennis competition, because almost no one has the skills to play “the good tennis.”

The problem is that I do like the structure of matches rather than casual hitting around. But yeah, that's what I need to do. It's hard finding people to hit with though.

 

[travlerajm]

The problem is that I do like the structure of matches rather than casual hitting around. But yeah, that's what I need to do. It's hard finding people to hit with though.

Ask around what you league opponents are looking for. Key is finding at least one regular reliable practice mate who likes to spar with similar goals.

And if you know each other, it can take the pressure off winning and losing. Most likely one of probably wins 6-4 each set, with the underdog occasionally pulling the upset. But fun for both guys when it happens if you can both just enjoy the battle and not worry too much about the result.

League tennis adds pressure to win because the score gets publicly reported. If you are too busy to practice much, that’s not ideal.

 

[caprivi]

Pick a team sport to satisfy your competitive urges: basketball, football, ultimate, etc. Or, a solo activity that you can improve on your own: running, golf, swimming.

 

[socallefty]

Tennis has a low ceiling (maybe yours is 4.0) for adults who learned on their own - you improve for a few years, then plateau for a long time before you start declining as you physically deteriorate. If you don’t have weapons to bother your opponent into errors or have the shot tolerance to win most long points or serve well enough to set up a lot of short points in your favor, tennis is going to be a gruelling slog against most players as you can’t give your own mind a reason to believe that you should win at the end of close sets and long games or TBs. If you don’t enjoy playing the sport and need a winning record to enjoy playing, then you might as well try easier sports like pickleball.

If you want to improve, you have to invest in taking regular lessons and doing regular practice drills for a long time. And I would focus on improving the serve first into becoming a weapon at your level as it is the best way to get easy, quick points when you age.

 

[ryohazuki222]

Sounds like a rut. Some advice below. Don’t take all of it or any of it. But worst case maybe it gives you ideas. Best case something works.

- you’re posting here about this. To me, that means you don’t really want to quit. But you’re frustrated.
- quit leagues for a little bit. Spend time hitting around with other similarly leveled players that are willing to play out sets (scratches competitive bug)
- find lower level players willing to play with you that you can beat up on. At 3.5-4.0 …. You are way better than a lot of people playing tennis.
- don’t just find any players… try and find players who’s style you like to play against.
- if finances allow it, hire a pro or good high school kid to play sets against you. If there’s a local university, that might work also.
- bias towards playing younger players. They tend to play singles more. They tend to have “better strokes” and less “tennis iq”. Ie. Would rather hit the ball hard than in.

It sounds to me more like you want to quit playing a certain style of tennis match that is pervasive in your current circles. So above is all really just different ways to change your circle.

 

[ichaseballs]

competitive tennis = winning (hopefully with some sportsmanship)
social tennis = not being an ******* so everyone can enjoy their time

pick your poison...

 

[Roforot]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

At our level, the # of errors nearly always exceeds winners by 2 fold. But you can still play aggressive tennis by S&V. Although I win way more points by my opponents missing passing shots, I do also get the satisfaction of putting away volleys and overheads. It's also fun for my opponents b/c they get the fun of hitting passing shots. It gives the illusion that the game is winners and the points are quick. It's a great feeling and even when I lose I enjoy that kind of contest compared to the grind of hitting baseline shots side to side. You should adopt the carefree attitude. You will probably lose a lot at first but it's okay b/c you're learning to play. Try to make goals like make every first volley, or make him take more steps than you. Worst case is you go winless a season and return to your old style... but sneakily you will have learned some skills to help you close out points at the net.

 

[tele]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

By offensive, do you mean you are just hitting hard from the baseline, or do you often come to the net?

 

[Jono123]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

Or you could learn how to volley and or smash.

 

[Fintft]

Indeed, but I'm not good enough for that. So, no point in continuing.

Keep at it. Long term planning. Besides it is fun to have the outcome in your hands/on your racquet. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Find a racquet that is both controlled and powerful.

In my case I get tense when playing on points. especially if I am not match tough (not used to play matches). To fix that, I need to play on points more.
Or I've done so much rallying (plus lessons) that I can outhit (without too many misses either) most of my partners, while my serve is weaker (finally kinda fixed my toss) and my nerves come into play in matches. I know that b/c for example I tend to lift my head too soon etc.

 

[ey039524]

Change your mindset. Don't play to win. Play to keep learning, to enjoy hitting a great shot, to be outside running around, to be out there w friends, etc. Learn how to enjoy the game. It's fun.

 

[SinneGOAT]

You really should give doubles a chance. Much more offensive than the way most singles is played these days, defensive pushing doesn't work with two guys on the other side of the net.

One of my favorite and most effective plays in doubles is if I’m returning, if I get into a rally I’ll eventually hit a heavy high ball and then rush the net. Doubles is a ton of fun and rewards good net skills and aggression.

 

[Cobra Tennis]

I pretty much quit tennis due to an arm injury that sidelined me for a few months---and picked up swimming laps at the local indoor gym.

LOVE THE SWIMMING!!

I'm not trying to be perfect or fast, but a good 2k or 3k yard swim and then the sauna feels so good....and I can do it solo and year round.

I played college tennis, an instructor for 20+ years, and just got bored with tennis one day.

 

[TennisOTM]

I got frustrated with competitve tennis in my younger adulthood and gave it up for long time. Would just occasionally rally with friends for exercise and stress relief and hardly ever play points. Then in my early 40's I started feeling really out of shape and decided to schedule more regular tennis play to help get myself more active.

I joined a regular group adult workout. I was expecting it to be just hitting a lot of shots, like practicing with a ball machine except the machine is a person who would give us some tips for improving our form. Instead, the workouts almost entirely consisted of a series of competitive games. First to x-points, survivor, king of the court, etc.

I surprised myself by getting really into the competitive aspect of the games - it was fun to try to win them. If I played crappy and lost one game, there would be a fresh one coming in a few minutes. Would usually go home with that satistfying "I won!" feeling from at least a few of the games. Plus, the game scenarios would give me dozens of chances to hit a "dream shot" like blasting a passing shot down the line, which might be much harder to come by in a regular singles match.

If there's anything like that in your area, maybe it's an idea to help spice up your competitive tennis experience. I also support others' suggestions for giving doubles more of a chance. If you want to quit or take a break, think of it as quitting singles tennis and taking up a new sport: doubles tennis. The benefit over choosing an entirely new sport is that you already know the physical mechanics of shot making. Then it's just a matter of learning to vibe with the different rhythms of the points and teamwork with a partner.

 

[nyta2]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense,

... the consistent player...
if both consistent, offense > defense.
but easier to play defensively

at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors.

i think it's not fun if i don't know how to fix my errors
is it a fitness issue?
footowrk issue?
etc...
a "defensive" player usually doesn't have weapons, so maybe how you're attacking is an issue, but you don't know what you don't know...

I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover,

same for me,... 50's
recover as you need to.

and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving,

i hate the logistics of tennis when i have to commute
find folks closer!

warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore.

maybe you just need a break? i took a 7y break thinking similar thigns
but found my way back to it after trying other things

What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win.

agreed, no reps == no improvement

It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player.

against any good player, will often take that many shots... good players play both offense and defense...

All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot,

focus on putting the ball wherey ou want, not trying to hit hard... placement does not require "swinging your heart out"

and he can just send it back over and over.

probably cuz when you hit hard it lands short, and easy for him to bunt it back

Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis.

none of us are going pro, but we all enjoy the process
maybe we're ocd about chasing and hitting the ball, and we enjoy improving how we hit the ball

And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

yep... i just focus on beating my yesterself

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through?

happened to me... take a break... try something else. but don't stay inactive... we all need to exercise our body and brains daily...

Should I just take up social tennis?

sure. the key being, you're not focusing on winning and losing... just enjoying the process of improving (by tinkering, etc...)

The problem is that I don't like doubles.

why?
gonna guess not enough long rallies for you, since your match time is also probably your practice time.
also not enough movement, especially if you're guarding your alley and staying on your side (that said, singles is way more physical, but doubles is not not physical )

People rarely play social singles.

"social" is a mindset... i find competitive anything, still social... obviously can't play tennis without someone...
my guess is you take it too hard if you lose, maybe start thinking, "if i lose this person will never play with me, etc..." (which does happen, but can't let it bother you)

I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game.

honestly, every game where you're not making money (all!) should be "social"

That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

maybe a decent way to take good break, then come back if the tennis bug bites again...

 

[Lord Of The Strings]

Sounds like you're undergoing a bit of an existential crisis with the "there will always be somebody better" mentality. With that attitude, what's the point of doing anything for fun? Even for the world's top ranked tennis player, they don't win every match or stay world number 1 indefinitely...so...yeah, there'll always be somebody better. What's the point of any hobby if you can't be the best at it? You won't be the best pickleballer in the world either. So what's the point?

The answer is simple...because you enjoy it and have fun playing.

If you don't enjoy tennis because of the results, then either 1) leave tennis; or 2) (if you still enjoy the actual mechanics of playing tennis) find a social hitting group rather than playing competitive leagues.

Realistically it sounds like you're burned out on tennis and maybe a break wouldn't be a bad idea.

On a side note and I have no empirical (only anecdotal) evidence to back this up...but I firmly believe that people who only play singles have less fun with tennis and are more prone to emotional tennis slumps/burnout than people who play doubles. I think having a partner helps with perspective and just tends to create a more social environment.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

I feel you. My story was exactly the same, having played for just over 10 years starting at 3.5 and ending playing 4.0. I enjoyed the competing, but the folks on my teams always were the best part. What started to get to me was all the traveling and later start times since I am up and to work early. So I would be getting up between 3:30a and 4:30a, then getting off after 4p and many times if the match location was across town I would just end up going there instead of driving all the way home then back over there. So get to a place around 5p and some matches weren't until 8p. So finish up the match and drive home, shower, re-hydrate, whatever, and I am not getting to bed until 11:30p to after midnight...to wake up early again. Just too much.

As far as competition, I just did me and stopped worrying about what was happening across the net. Even in more defensive matches and, yes, pusher back board lob fests, I just took it was time to work on certain skills and looked at it as a different challenge.

 

[Steve Davis]

touchtennis is the answer. Much easier to play, compact court, light racquets. Hit your hero shots more often.

 

[jhick]

touchtennis is the answer. Much easier to play, compact court, light racquets. Hit your hero shots more often.

Perhaps, but realistically, how many people do you know who play this regularly in your area? I'm assuming the OP is in the US and it just does not have the popularity of pickleball or tennis. Also, harder to put the ball away in touchtennis so it might be even more frustrating than tennis for the OP.

 

[socallefty]

I firmly believe that people who only play singles have less fun with tennis and are more prone to emotional tennis slumps/burnout than people who play doubles.

I think that players take singles losses more personally and get more sad while they can always blame their doubles losses on their partner. On the other hand, singles players might enjoy their singles wins a lot more as a 1-1 achievement compared to the team sport of doubles. I think there are people who enjoy individual sports more or team sports more - it depends on their sports history and personality. I enjoy singles more and care about my singles record a lot more than doubles.

 

[Steve Davis]

Perhaps, but realistically, how many people do you know who play this regularly in your area? I'm assuming the OP is in the US and it just does not have the popularity of pickleball or tennis. Also, harder to put the ball away in touchtennis so it might be even more frustrating than tennis for the OP.

check out the action on youtube, or try your talents at the upcoming touchtennis US Open Nov 14-17 in Detroit. $20,000 prize money and global ranking points up for grabs. The #1 player in the world Luka from Serbia will be there. Points don't last long with him...

 

[tennis3]

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

 

[jhick]

check out the action on youtube, or try your talents at the upcoming touchtennis US Open Nov 14-17 in Detroit. $20,000 prize money and global ranking points up for grabs. The #1 player in the world Luka from Serbia will be there. Points don't last long with him...

I've watched it on youtube and also played for fun with 4.5 level tennis players. The professional level is much different than the level of the OP. Still, the fact remains that for the average recreational player, hitting winners is going to be harder in touchtennis compared to regular tennis. The court is smaller, balls are softer so that ball does not have as much velocity, junior racquets do not supply as much power, etc.

 

[RyanRF]

you improve for a few years, then plateau for a long time before you start declining as you physically deteriorate.

Jeez man that's so grim

 

[Fintft]

Jeez man that's so grim

Imo, you improve for a long time

 

[Moon Shooter]

Tennis is the second funnest way to get a cardio work out I have ever come across. Whether I improve or not I’m pretty sure I would have extremely poor health without tennis.

That said now that I am 6 years in and coming up on 54, I admit I’m a bit discouraged I may be over the hill. But until I can find a better way to avoid diabetes I’m sticking with it.

 

[mctennis]

Perhaps find a club that does just some drop -in type events. I did this years ago because of my work schedule. I am very happy doing that. It is just tennis for fun and no pressure of playing good or bad and upsetting the rest of your team members.

 

[a10best]

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss.

I hear you. I stopped playing a lot too when we had our young beautiful kid. It took time away but I was happy with it. Then as our kid became grown some of the passion came back.
You may learn new strategies against pushers, aggressive baseliners, or aggressive net players. I'm in a flex league (but mostly 4.0-4.5 players & a couple real 5.0s) and people I've lost to our next match I beat them convincingly. I also win more tiebreaks and get more breaks of serve. Tennis is a mental game with a strategy for each style of player. You'll feel exhilarated once your strategy executed the right way starts winning you more points. I don't make money off tennis so win or lose I'm happy if I play well and we have some good points. If you don't enjoy the sport because of some players, you need to quit or take time off.
- PB may not be as satisfying because you already know tennis requires a higher skill and athletic level. Additionally, pb is a paddle and plastic ball, not a strung racket or strategic game to construct points to beat opponents. A lot of bunting and annoying dinks. Although you may have more fun b/c it's less competitive and more social. I look at it as ping pong.

 

[TennisLogic]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

Imagine being pro

 

[recreationalplayer]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

Do yourself a favor, drop usta, flex league, etc. play recreational tennis only. I dropped usta several years ago, drop the baggage.

 

[Chairman3]

This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread.

Can it be for a second...had to play one this morning. He couldnt handle deep balls so he started calling my shots near/on the lines out.
It's like, what is even the point of playing when you get this in USTA?

Alternatively, earlier in the week played a tough USTA doubles match, won, grinded it out, and it felt great. Next day the last two lines played their matches, pooped their pants, and the team lost anyway.
What is even the point here too?

So I agree with anyone who said abandon USTA and maybe you already have.
The flex and ladder leagues around me are ok, sometimes you get in a rut of playing the same guys.

In the end, find a few friends you like to hit with rallying or playing sets and enjoy.
Winning "competitively" just doesn’t seem to do it for me that much anymore.

 

[Dunlop300g]

Thus USTA is the U$TA. Don't let them bring you down! For them it's about $$ they're not "in it" to promote the game; they should be in it at this point to "protect" the game in that they should be preventing or advocating more for tennis so all the courts in small towns don't get converted to the junk sport of pickleball. Don't let the USTA drive you out of the game because they really don't have your interest in mind. Your interest is to enjoy playing tennis. Eventually the USTA will get "solved" by the internet (UTR is starting to do this); as one person noted above ... drop the baggage; you'll get POM. Peace of mind. Priceless.

 

[mctennis]

I think the USTA is all about keeping their organization going and adding more and more layers to their organization. Keeping their fees coming in to promote themselves NOT tennis. They throw away money on programs that return really zero for the money they spend. New buildings here and there. I went to a free USTA event at the Cincinnati at the ATP event. It was free for USTA members only. They had a bowl of potato chips, hard small pretzels, and tiny bottles of water. I know it was free, but really? Oh yes, they also had the tournament trophy there to look at.

 

[Roforot]

Thus USTA is the U$TA. Don't let them bring you down! For them it's about $$ they're not "in it" to promote the game; they should be in it at this point to "protect" the game in that they should be preventing or advocating more for tennis so all the courts in small towns don't get converted to the junk sport of pickleball. Don't let the USTA drive you out of the game because they really don't have your interest in mind. Your interest is to enjoy playing tennis. Eventually the USTA will get "solved" by the internet (UTR is starting to do this); as one person noted above ... drop the baggage; you'll get POM. Peace of mind. Priceless.

Absolutely. There's very little that the USTA does to promote tennis or develop juniors compared to the systems in Europe. They ***** themselves out to Picklers for $ instead of supporting tennis clubs and players. I have nothing against picklers but it's not tennis and they can build their own clubs/courts. Unfortunately, where I live, it's the only organized doubles league. Some clubs do have a doubles ladder, but it plays during the weekdays at like 10 am... so it' s mainly for retirees.

 

[mctennis]

Absolutely. There's very little that the USTA does to promote tennis or develop juniors compared to the systems in Europe. They ***** themselves out to Picklers for $ instead of supporting tennis clubs and players. I have nothing against picklers but it's not tennis and they can build their own clubs/courts. Unfortunately, where I live, it's the only organized doubles league. Some clubs do have a doubles ladder, but it plays during the weekdays at like 10 am... so it' s mainly for retirees.

It seems like most, if not all, the daytime leagues are for the ladies. When I was looking for a club and times I could play the events held at just about all the clubs had the men playing after work hours. The way I worked I could not join any sort of regular event like that in the evening. Mostly they were USTA sanctioned leagues and you HAD to be a USTA member to play in all of them. What for? The vast majority of people play for fun and social interactions. They never really expect to be " going to Nationals" or whatever by them playing once or twice a week. Yet they had to pay to just play in a "league" event even if it only at the club, like a ladder type event.

 

[TTMR]

I've been told that, despite being a pusher, I'm quite offensive on the court.

 

[EggSalad]

Or at least competitive tennis. I've been playing competitively in rec flex leagues for 11 years now at around the 3.5-4.0 level. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I try to play fun, offensive tennis, but it's so difficult. Tennis rewards defense, at least at this level. This isn't a "complain about pusher" thread. Defensive tennis is a legitimate way to play. It's in the rules, so it is what it is. And it is more effective. So, when I lose to a defensive player, it just means that he's a better tennis player than me. So be it.

And if that is tennis, then I am not good at tennis. So it's not really fun to play. It's not fun making errors. I guess I just don't like the sport anymore. I'm getting older, my body takes longer to recover, and a match is a 4-hour investment including driving, warming up, showering, etc. I'm just not sure it's worth it anymore. What's the point of playing competitively? There will always be someone better than you.

And as I get older and have a family now, I have way less time to play or practice. I just don't get the reps in to be able to play with a low enough error rate to win. It takes 2-6 shots, sometimes more, to win a point against a good defensive player. All he has to do is bunt it back a bunch of times and you will miss. You swing your heart out on every shot, and he can just send it back over and over. Depressing. I guess I just don't have the time to get good enough to enjoy competitive tennis. And even if I could practice, so what? There will always be someone better.

Is this a tennis midlife crisis that people go through? Should I just take up social tennis? The problem is that I don't like doubles. People rarely play social singles. I guess I could keep playing competitive flex leagues, but simply adopt a completely carefree attitude and treat it like a social game. That's hard to do though.

Or maybe I'll just quit and take up pickleball.

I played competitive/High School tennis growing up. Then took a long break and got back to playing at 41yrs old. I’m 45 now.

I just don’t enjoy USTA for many of the reasons you mention. I also don’t like having to feel like I have to play at a specific day/time, when usually that is a less than ideal day/time to begin with given my job and family.

That said, I play a lot of tennis and all of it is just fun, competitive (non-league) tennis (mostly singles) and it is infinitely more rewarding than playing a 3.5 USTA match where my opponent just wants to keep the ball in play. Or I’m having to play on some public court that hasn’t been refurbished in 20 years and has lights that don’t work and is 1/2 hour from my house and the match will end at 10pm.

I’ll play in a tournament a couple times a year and that scratches the itch for really wanting to compete for something.

 

[Roforot]

It seems like most, if not all, the daytime leagues are for the ladies. When I was looking for a club and times I could play the events held at just about all the clubs had the men playing after work hours. The way I worked I could not join any sort of regular event like that in the evening. Mostly they were USTA sanctioned leagues and you HAD to be a USTA member to play in all of them. What for? The vast majority of people play for fun and social interactions. They never really expect to be " going to Nationals" or whatever by them playing once or twice a week. Yet they had to pay to just play in a "league" event even if it only at the club, like a ladder type event.

I think pre-Covid my club used to have a Thanksgiving / Turkey mixer w/ lunch afterwards. But in the past year, they're doing something where you have to sign up w/ USTA # through the tournament website. It feels bad to make it require USTA membership. I know quite a few club members just hang out and do thier own thing without leagues or USTA.

 

[EggSalad]

The best thing to do is to try to build out a group text with as many singles players at or near your level that you enjoy playing with. Then just send out a text to see if anyone will play. The other a will do the same, maybe they add a few people too and before you know it there isn’t enough time in the week to play as much fun tennis as you’d like.

 

[mctennis]

Maybe even ask the club you play in to TRY and start a group that does not need a USTA membership to play. Have a drop in type group or maybe a club pro do a " drills" session that is a drop in type group. That seemed to work out well at the club I belong to. Usually the club pros know people that would like to be more of a social event that you are looking for than a competitive event.

 

[socallefty]

If you join a private tennis club, you can likely find enough players to play everyday or as often as you want at your level and higher. You will likely have better courts/lights than most public courts and possibly a bar/restaurant afterwards to socialize. Generally you might find better coaches also especially if they have a Junior development program.

Depending on where you live, the monthly expense might vary, but if you really like tennis it might be a worthwhile expense. I think it might be the easiest way to enjoy social tennis and build up a big network of friends who play tennis. You also save a lot of time as you don’t have to drive around all over your city/county to play USTA matches.