Enjoying tennis after all these years!
College Captains: Bargers, Collins, Castleman
These past months I have been playing a lot more tennis than the past few years. I now have the spirit again and decided to enter a couple of tournaments this month in Knoxville and Memphis but was surprised to learn that I was still rated a 4.5 when I attempted to enter. Needless to say I did not enter either tournament. I went through a lengthy process of appealing my rating so I can enjoy tournament play but the USTA would only lower my rating to a 4.0 (which I am grateful for there review). You see, I will be 50 years old this year and have bad knees (one knee replacement) and I am definitely not the player I use to be.
Going through the appeal process I realized that I have been playing tennis for 35 years (since I was 15 years old) and I reflected how this has been my main outlet of not only entertainment but a great stress relief. Over these years, I have gained many friends that I would not have known any other way except through the tennis community. Boy, the years have flown by!
Even though I wish to begin to play tournaments again it is no longer the competitor in me but the blessing that I can enjoy this sport after all these years. I look forward to playing my age group of 50 for the first time this year and also will play the 4.0 level (even though I think I am a 3.5 at this point). To all of you tennis players, young and old, get out there and have fun – bad knees and all! The years go quickly…
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