What do retired greats do?

N

Nellie

Hall of Fame
If you are a retired top tour player who does not play in seniors tournements, like Jimmy Connors, do you still play?

I know some people like Sampras, Lendl, and Becker just hang it up (at least for a while), but it seems a little strange to me to go from practicing several hours a day to nothing.

I have seen video of Connors rallying with Roddick, and I can tell that he still hits a regularly. I figure Jimbo is still a NTRP 6.5+ player, so he he must find good competition. You think that he calls up college players for matches?
 
hoodjem

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
I think a number of retired players play a lot of golf. I've heard that Edberg and Lendl do this. Maybe many others.?
 
T

tbini87

Hall of Fame
maybe some guys still play matches at high levels, but i doubt that it is a big deal. if they still wanted to be playing tough matches it wouldn't be hard for them to find some. however, im sure most pro tennis players had or still have other things they would like to do in life. im sure they have other passions too (other sports, car racing, sail boats, art, poker, etc) and now that they are retired they can focus on other things. obviously some coach tennis, and probably still hit fairly often.
 
T

tbini87

Hall of Fame
hoodjem said:
I think a number of retired players play a lot of golf. I've heard that Edberg and Lendl do this. Maybe many others.?
Click to expand...

golf seems like the favorite for retired athletes from all sports! it is something you can learn late in life, play against yourself, and play until you are old! there are a lot of football and baseball players that are also scratch (or pretty close) golfers.
 
T

!Tym

Hall of Fame
Bruguera went into second division pro soccer upon retiring for a few years, then he started playing tennis again on the seniors tour. But he pretty much quit cold turkey after retiring for awhile, believe he said he didn't touch a racket for awhile. A lot of former pros are like this, Muster put on 50lbs like IMMEDIATELY upon retiring! Haha, it's like that bon-bon episode from Married with Children, I guess sometimes the most fit are really just dying to be unfit.
 
A.J. Sim

A.J. Sim

Rookie
well, since they're retired, they can do whatever they want! :)

Seriously, I bet they play a lot of golf, spend time with their family, some play on the Senior tour (Courier, McEnroe, Sampras, etc.)
 
A.J. Sim

A.J. Sim

Rookie
he's single handedly keeping the Prince Mono alive just as he did with the old Wilson T-2000 :)

I think there was a US Open one year where Jimmy played BOTH the T-2000 and the then new Wilson Prostaff Original, the very first version.
 
G

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
I'd say a number of the recently retired pro's are set for life. They can do whatever they want without worrying too much.

Many of the "older" retired pro's still have to work. You can find them running tennis camps, managing tennis facilities, and making guest appearances all over the world, as well as coaching young professionals on tour.
 
N

Nellie

Hall of Fame
So if you are high level former pro, who would would you play against? Its not like you go out and play matches in open tournements. And everyone and their mother wants to beat you so they can brag to their friends. I remember reading a couple of years ago, that John McEnroe does not "like" playing. It is just such a part of his life and routine (like eating and sleeping) that he does it out of habit.
 
B

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
Any one or combination of:

1. Coupled (not married), married or married w/kids, i.e., normal family life
2. Non-tennis career/business
5. Tennis career/business - club pro, college coach, pro coach, tennis commentator, head of an academy.
3. Senior tennis
4. Leisure life (if invested money well) - attend world wide tennis events, hangout with friends, be a tennis celebrity, play music, attend other big sporting events, cultural events.
5. Hedonistic leisure life - lots of women and/or lots of drugs
6. Everyday Joe with no great non-tennis career - have to pay the bills. (I'm assuming that not every great is automatically rich forever and some have blown their money).
7. Used in commercials and advertising
 
A

A.Davidson

Semi-Pro
I guess it would seem weird going from several hours (presumably 3/4+) to not playing, like Pete did.

However, if you think about, it is probably very invigorating and exciting - after having your life dominated for years playing the sport, finding a life without it is probably quite refreshing.
 
tacoben

tacoben

Semi-Pro
"as men get older, they are drawn to the sea"... is a famous quote I heard once. I bet a lot of them do fishing as a hobby. They have the money to travel the world to fish some of the best waters anywhere.
 
tacoben

tacoben

Semi-Pro
I wonder if there were any other pro's who ended up in the slammer like Roscoe Tanner?

I suppose it's not all gravy (retirement), after all, transitioning from all the traveling and being the center of attention, to being just a "regular Joe"...like raising a family, working a real job, and people/friends/relatives smooching off of ya...require a different set of skills.
 
N

Nellie

Hall of Fame
I also wonder what someone who is pretty good but did not win enough money to live comfortably. For example, I don't think that Tayler Dent will make enough money to ease through the rest of his life, if he was not coaching, the guy probably does not have the skills/experiance to get a non-tennis job.
 
J

JohnP

Rookie
Nellie said:
I also wonder what someone who is pretty good but did not win enough money to live comfortably. For example, I don't think that Tayler Dent will make enough money to ease through the rest of his life, if he was not coaching, the guy probably does not have the skills/experiance to get a non-tennis job.
Click to expand...

I'm positive that a high percentage of tennis journeymen are people who come from money, and have a relatively wealthy lifestyle ready to go for them when they step away from a game. That doesn't mean they're trust-fund baby types who are multi-millionaires without working a day in their life (i'm sure there are some of them as well), but alot of them are able to take over (or get a nice cushy job at) a family business or are heirs to some kind of set of investment properties or the like that they can derive a comfortable income with some simple management skills and work.

As for the ones who genuinely have nothing going for them outside of tennis, a big percentage of them end up as a club tennis pro or end up in a coach/assistant coaching position for some college somewhere, and are able to make a decent living that way.

No doubt there must be a number of former pros out there who because of lazyness, ineptitude, and/or bad luck are struggling to get by, but I think by and large they are doing okay for themselves.
 
Legend of Borg

Legend of Borg

G.O.A.T.
hoodjem said:
I think a number of retired players play a lot of golf. I've heard that Edberg and Lendl do this. Maybe many others.?
Click to expand...

I thought Edberg was too busy with his job at the company. I also think Edberg is making a mistake by not wanting to play on the seniors tour. He said it himself. At least he's making some good money.
 
L

llama

Rookie
Agassi and Graf seem to stay busy with their Charities, building resorts, designing furniture, creating fragrances, raising kids, etc...everything but tennis.
 
Rabbit

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
A.J. Sim said:
he's single handedly keeping the Prince Mono alive just as he did with the old Wilson T-2000 :)

I think there was a US Open one year where Jimmy played BOTH the T-2000 and the then new Wilson Prostaff Original, the very first version.
Click to expand...

According to Wilson's advertising back then, Connors helped design the ProStaff.

It's true he did play with the T2000 and the ProStaff at the same time. What he routinely did was play the early rounds with his T2000, the rounds that weren't televised. When his matches were on TV, he played with the ProStaff. I remember seeing him at Memphis playing with the T2's until they turned the cameras on. I thought it remarakble then and still do that he could play that well with such different frames.

Here's a Connors quote you might enjoy regarding larger frames and why he was the only pro to stick with a standard-sized steel frame:

Jimmy Connors said:
I worked too long and too hard to get the kind of aggressive style that I have, and I'd like to keep it. As for those new over-sized rackets, they're for women, old people, and sissies.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
matchpoints

matchpoints

Professional
Most of the Aussies are coaching and doing camps. The 'older' top ones didn't make much money back in the day and aren't set like the current retired top pros. Roy Emerson has a pretty sweet camp in Europe :)
 
Phil

Phil

Hall of Fame
A lot of pros, after practicing like dogs as youngsters, playing in the juniors and then playing years in the ATP, often while injured and certainly stressed out, are probably just tired of the game. They retire from playing for a REASON. To them it was a job, and not necessarily an easy or fun one.

Most of the people on this board play for the love of the game. I don't think that attitude follows most players into the pro ranks.
 
S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
Margaret Court, the "most accomplished player of all time," has been working as a Christian evangelist.

Michael Chang has the same aspiration.
 
Leublu tennis

Leublu tennis

Legend
scotus said:
Margaret Court, the "most accomplished player of all time," has been working as a Christian evangelist.

Michael Chang has the same aspiration.
Click to expand...
Michael Chang is a developer of a large shopping center in Chicago, I think, but could be another location.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
borgs game since he retired in 83
Replies
33
Views
4K
paolo2143
P
S
Jimmy and Brett Connors interview of Bjorn Borg
Replies
20
Views
2K
borg number one
borg number one
Roddick85
  • Poll
Roddick retired too early?
Replies
28
Views
4K
NatF
NatF
M
What order do you rank Lendl, McEnroe, Connors, Agassi in as far as greatness
2
Replies
82
Views
2K
jrepac
J
W
Splitting Indoors
Replies
33
Views
2K
KG1965
K
Top