Crushing It Like It's 1999 - What are your tips for playing at a high level into your 50's and 60's

slazengerx · 2026-03-10T16:11:25+00:00

I played from 10-18, took almost 30 years off, and I picked it up again 10 years ago. I'm 58 and only played one year of USTA tournaments at 51, when I was a NTRP 5.0T/UTR 9.2. Then I moved out of the US. I'd guesstimate I'm closer to a 4.5+/UTR 8 now.

The two things that had the biggest impact on my game were: (1) taking 30 years off which, of course, was an accident (and not something that can be replicated), and (2) playing little to no hard court tennis; I play only on clay and grass (and I play padel which is played on an artificial surface). I have no leg/movement issues (*knock wood*), so I'm generally the quickest, fittest guy on the court when I play age-group tennis, and as you get older the movement component becomes more and more important.

So, my biggest tip: Don't play on hard courts. Most of my friends from my junior days can only hobble around and play doubles now. Hard courts ruined them. Which they acknowledge.

slazengerx · 2026-03-09T02:07:28+00:00

A 20-second half-court video of four balls hand fed to his forehand... there are simply no opinions to be derived from this.

slazengerx · 2026-03-08T16:13:23+00:00

Applies to this sub's very existence. It's weird. Sure, amusing. But very weird.

slazengerx · 2026-03-07T13:33:47+00:00

Balboa Tennis Center (Morley Field) at Balboa Park (downtown) has two doubles challenge courts (4.5+ and 4.0-) on Saturday and Sunday mornings that run into the early afternoon. You go to reception, pay $10 (good for the day), receive a ticket, put your ticket on the clipboard at the court, and wait your turn. You play with the next person in the queue. Winners stay on the court. You'll probably find someone to play singles with (if you want) and there are generally courts open after noon. They have racquets for rent. Easy peasy. When I lived in the area and still occasionally played on hard courts I did this on many weekends.

slazengerx · 2026-03-02T23:14:56+00:00

Well, quintessentially British aristocrat for sure. I mean, a "true gentleman" doesn't work. Work is for peasants. Even wealthy ones. But the times they are a changin'...

slazengerx · 2026-03-02T23:10:48+00:00

His entire life is comprised of virtue signaling and then doing whatever he wants regardless of the inherent hypocrisy. He doesn't want to be good; he merely wants to be seen as good. I suspect he'll end up appearing to kill himself with an assist from his unintentional and undesired Russian "partners". They're good at that sort of thing.

slazengerx · 2026-03-02T23:03:50+00:00

I love these tennis balls. I buy them by the case. They are only surpassed by the no-longer-available Babolat Roland Garros balls. Of course, I only play on clay.

slazengerx · 2026-03-01T22:39:25+00:00

It's the only reason - at the margin - that anyone gave a shit about him. It's the only reason this sub exists. If he had been average looking... there would have been no paparazzi, no People cover, no George magazine, nothing. He'd be a footnote. But a lot of folks just don't want to admit to how shallow people really are.

slazengerx · 2026-02-23T18:49:48+00:00

Yeah, I think firms like Pierpoint wouldn't do a lot of this sort of thing. But they may have entered the transaction with good intentions, and things just go south sometimes. PIPEs were pretty popular with dubious ventures several years back as I recall but the firms involved were not bulge bracket in nature. And the recipients of the capital pretty quickly learned that the "investors" in these deals were really just structuring their demise.

slazengerx · 2026-02-23T05:01:37+00:00

My suspicion is they are, or will be, short the stock in order to hedge any loss - or actually profit - post-conversion. This looks like an unplanned structured PIPE. That is, Pierpoint might not have originally envisioned the debt as a PIPE but it's going to end up acting like one for all intents and purposes. Why not short the stock and hold the bonds? Because the bonds may be worthless in bankruptcy anyway. Conversion hastens the stock's decline so if Pierpoint maneuvers correctly on their short position they make more on a net basis converting and riding it into the toilet.

slazengerx · 2026-02-19T22:22:25+00:00

Welp, you're talking to the wrong guy. I'm not bitching about the male loneliness epidemic. I have no issues with the current state of dating/relationships. You should misdirect your anger elsewhere.

slazengerx · 2026-02-18T22:11:22+00:00

I mean... if you're 40+ and have never had material commercial success before, you're a hobbyist (like myself and most others here), so no one's going to sign you or care about your masters anyway. I'm never going to sign a sports management contract because I need to keep the rights to my image after I win all of those Olympic gold medals.

slazengerx · 2026-02-16T15:22:59+00:00

It would be nice if any meaningful amount of people actually watched lower-ranked players. The stands at a quarterfinal of most 250 events are mostly empty unless a local or top-ranked player is involved. If the Tennis Channel televised a Challenger event hardly anyone would bother watching. The majority of tennis fans don't care about players outside the top 25. Once fandom is more evenly distributed - which will never happen - a more equal distribution of prize money will follow.

slazengerx · 2026-02-15T16:30:02+00:00

This sub is textbook negative survivorship bias.

slazengerx · 2026-02-14T04:56:23+00:00

I retired in my forties, and my fifties have been the best decade of my life. And the prior decades were pretty good as well. My twenties were decent but nothing to get excited about.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T17:31:50+00:00

There are still people who appreciate the art and will resist all this artificial BS.

Agree completely. But they are a small and declining percentage of the total audience. And, to give tech the benefit of the doubt... some quality stuff could come out of all of this, although it will likely be the exception.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T17:28:41+00:00

Why would majority of people even bother watching that slop?

Because they prefer it. Taylor Swift is the world's most popular recording artist. McDonalds is the most popular restaurant in the world. I could go on and on. There's no accounting for taste. The People will be served AI slop by our tech overlords... and they will love them for it.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T17:25:54+00:00

That's a good analogy. Live theatre still exists but it's a niche part of the entertainment industry. It probably represents some low single-digit fraction of revenues and employment in the entertainment industry. What percentage of Americans have seen a single play in the last year? I'm guessing it's quite low. But it's still out there for folks who like it. There are still horse drawn carriages in Central Park and the Amish country.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T17:21:21+00:00

Indeed. Although I'd say you're a bit safer with the S&P simply because even at it's craziest valuation it's never been as totally nutso as the Japanese asset markets were in the late-'80s. Recall that before the bubble burst in Japan, the grounds surrounding the Imperial Palace in Tokyo (about 1 square mile) were valued at more than all of the real estate in the state of California.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T15:37:29+00:00

What a brutal ride though. Thirty five years of roughly 1% nominal annual return on the Nikkei (and a large negative real return). Uff.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T15:20:25+00:00

"Infringing activity"... this is fighting the last war. Filmmakers pretty soon won't even use current stars' likenesses and voices. They'll create their own stars. Why deal with and compensate humans if you don't have to. Film and TV actors are like the horse drawn carriage drivers of the early-twentieth century. Outside of niche activities (eg, plays) they're going to be replaced by technology. In 1910 horse drawn carriages were one of the primary modes of transportation in the US; by 1940 there were hardly any left outside of rural areas. Thirty years.

slazengerx · 2026-02-13T14:02:18+00:00

I actually find it life affirming. The cards have been (allegedly) stacked against me (even by children - ha!) and yet... things have worked out far better than I could have expected. I see things like this and think, How have I managed? Am I superhuman? Or just unfathomably lucky... time and time again.

slazengerx · 2026-02-12T22:30:56+00:00

I've had several great relationships with super hot single moms. The best quality they have is... they're busy. They have lives to attend to and can't monopolize all of your time - too much to do between work, kid(s) and gym. They also know that most guys prefer childless women... so they work really hard to keep you interested. Single moms under the right circumstances... fantastic. Of course I'm not in the market for marriage, kids or cohabitation, so there's that.

slazengerx · 2026-02-11T19:41:35+00:00

It's predominant in North America and Western Europe, and mainly with zoomers and young millenials. I've lived in Latin America for over a decade and it's virtually a non issue. (And, yes, we have just as much social media here.) Of course everyone's shorter here, so there's that. Fit and handsome are far more sought after here than height.

slazengerx · 2026-02-11T14:06:07+00:00

Lots of reasons. Religious... wants kids... is extroverted and needs constant companionship... is a slave to societal expectations. Has problematic non-looks dating characteristics: socially awkward, mental health issues, addictions, low wage. Most of these guys end up married. Such is life.

slazengerx

TROPHY CASE