How I Survived a Weekend of Senior Tournament Tennis
My return to tournament play after 76 days—complete with highs, lows, and a whole lot of Advil.
After not playing in a tournament since the NTRP Nationals in April, I can’t believe how quickly time has flown. It’s like the older you get, the faster the days disappear—or maybe it’s just that my social calendar fills up faster than the last month of senior year in high school. Either way, 76 days had passed, and I was hungry to get back into the mix. Tournament tennis was calling my name, and I was ready to answer.
Well, mostly ready.
I’ll admit it: I was a little nervous. This tournament, an NTRP 55+ 3.5 Level 4 event, usually has a small draw—think 4-6 singles players and maybe 2-4 doubles teams. Easy breezy, right? Wrong. As I was casually (read: obsessively) scanning the player list a week before registration closed (and no, I wasn’t checking their ratings—if you’ve read my post How I Scouted My Opponent Like an ATP Coach, you know I’ve learned my lesson), I noticed something unusual. There were 16 singles players, and 7 doubles teams signed up. SIXTEEN!
For this tournament, that’s like showing up to a quiet neighborhood barbecue and finding out it’s turned into a full-on block party. As the numbers solidified, I realized two things:
Someone was going to need to eat their Wheaties.
That someone was me.
The Build-Up: Fantasizing About the Draw
One of my favorite (and least favorite) things about tournaments like this is that you don’t get the draw until a couple of days before the event starts. This leaves you plenty of time to fantasize about different scenarios—or, in my case, spiral into nightmarish visions of how it might all play out. With 16 players in the singles draw and 6 doubles teams, the math wasn’t hard: I had the potential to play 8 matches in two days. That might be legal for 20-year-olds, but for 55+ players? Questionable.
Fortunately, my partner and I were seeded #1 in doubles, which meant we got a bye. Unfortunately, so did our arch-nemesis team—the very same duo that beat us at the NTRP Qualifiers. This set the stage for an epic rematch (at least in my mind).
As for singles, my ranking had dropped a bit due to some missed tournaments and less-than-stellar results this year, so I was seeded #3. That set me up for a potential semifinal clash against the #1 seed—a player I’ve never beaten. Fun fact: he won the NTRP 55+ 3.5 Nationals Singles last year, got bumped to 4.0, and immediately appealed back down to 3.5. (Don’t even get me started on the NTRP rating system.) Oh, and he’s also one half of the doubles team seeded #2. The 4th of July was definitely coming early this year.
Day 1: Singles Survival
Match 1: My first singles match kicked off at 11am against an opponent I’d never played—or even seen—before. Sure, I noticed his WTN number next to his name on the draw sheet (thanks, USTA, for that little mind game), but I ignored it and focused on playing what was in front of me.
The first set went smoothly, and I won 6-2. But as any senior tennis player knows, winning the first set can be both a blessing and a curse. In the second set, my opponent stepped up his game—or maybe I just got tight. Either way, the set went to a tiebreak. I really didn’t want to lose it and face the dreaded match tiebreak, so I buckled down and took the tiebreak 7-2. One match down, another to go later that afternoon.
Match 2: The second match of the day was a bit easier, which was a welcome relief. I was playing someone I knew—a great guy I’ve been on USTA teams with but had never faced across the net. Sometimes playing friends can be tricky because I struggle to get into the “demolish this guy” mindset. But this time, I found my groove and played lights out, winning 6-0, 6-0.
Day 1 was in the books, time to head home, eat something questionable, and pretend to stretch while binge-watching tennis highlights. Sunday looked wild: four matches possible, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm, YIKES. Someone pass the ibuprofen.
Day 2: The Grind
Match 3 (Singles Semis): My morning opponent had beaten the #1 seed 15-13 in a match tiebreak, so I knew he was no slouch. Of course, my brain immediately started visualizing a loss and how great it would feel to have the afternoon off. But I snapped out of it, warmed up, and reminded myself to just play the match.
To my surprise, I won the first set 6-2. The second set was much tighter, and there was a moment when I thought I might lose. But I dug deep, fought back, and scraped out a 7-5 win.
Match 4 (Doubles Semis): My partner and I clicked immediately in our doubles match, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. I didn’t have to expend too much energy, which was a blessing considering the singles final was next.
The Singles Final: A Battle Against the Backboard
My opponent in the singles final was a backboard. You know the type—the guy who gets everything back and probably just turned 55 (cue the jealousy). He took the first set 6-4 while I tried to figure out how to break him down.
Finally, I realized the key to senior tennis: run them side to side, then up and back. Welcome to the “move them until they crack” strategy. I won the second set 6-2, forcing a match tiebreak. It was a nail-biter, but I managed to pull out a 10-8 win. Singles title secured!
The Doubles Final: So Close, Yet So Far
Our doubles final was a rematch against our nemesis team, and it started perfectly. We won the first set 6-4 and felt like redemption was within reach. But then... we completely fell apart. The second set? A bagel. 0-6.
The match tiebreak was a back-and-forth battle, but we ultimately fell 8-10. Not the ending we’d hoped for, but hey, that’s tennis.
Final Thoughts
The weekend ended with a singles title and a doubles runner-up trophy. How did I react? I went home, ate a well-deserved meal, and immediately signed up for two more tournaments. Because in tennis, the work never stops—and that’s what makes it so much fun.
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re my kind of player. The nerves, the comebacks, the bagels, the quick turnarounds—it’s all part of the ride. If you haven’t jumped back in yet, what are you waiting for? Grab your racquet, scan the tournament calendar, and let’s keep chasing those moments—good, bad, or just plain weird. Drop a comment below with your own war stories or hit that subscribe button to stay in the mix. See you on court!🎾
