Is there tennis after 50?

Of course there is! As the old saying goes, "Tennis is a sport for a lifetime."

You don't see many senior citizens playing basketball or football, or most other sports for that matter. And it's no mystery why golf is popular among older people. Because they can't drive the ball as far, they can't compete with the young in tournament or match play, but they can play the game at highly skilled level that makes it satisfying.

However, many are surprised to see a 60- or 70-year-old tennis player actually RUNNING around a tennis court. Surprise, healthy 60- or 70-year-olds who have played tennis all their lives can do that.

Like all sports that people over 50 engage in, tennis changes with you as you age – provided, of course, that you play with people of about your age and ability. The shots slow down a bit, though the angles get more cunning. The overall result is that tennis remains as challenging as when you were young, but it never becomes overwhelming.

What's more, there is that "other game of tennis," doubles, which requires more savvy and less running. Most older tennis players play more doubles than singles for that reason.

And so tennis is about the only really active sport that seniors regularly engage in. In fact, seniors compete in tennis at every level.

What's more, tennis isn't just an activity, it's a GAME. That's what makes us fall in love with it. And there's nothing like playing a game to keep you young at heart.

What do Baby Boomers and senior citizens want to get out of tennis? The same things everyone else does. A little exercise, some fun, and excitement.

The excitement comes from two things.

First, the obvious one: excitement comes from contesting the match. Seniors wanna win just like everyone else.

Second, the subtle one: excitement comes from new things. New discoveries. New experiences. New insights. And new ideas. Any source that serves as a fountain of fresh things captures our imagination. For, as the saying goes, "Life is trying things to see if they work."

Senior tennis players are constantly looking for new ways to win and trying new things on their opponents. Consequently, they often become extremely cunning tennis players.

About the only difference between seniors and the young is that seniors aren't much interested in improving their strokes. Practice? What for? And they soon become bored with drills.

What senior tennis players are mainly interested in is the GAME itself. What they mainly want is to beat some rival who usually beats them.

In that, seniors' maturity shows. In that, they are far ahead of the young.

Technorati Tags: tennis senior tennis baby boomers