Irena2 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 3:48 am
motobass and I played tennis this evening with our 21 yo. Pickleballers were next to us, but they didn't stay long. Until this spring, I can't count how many years it's been since I hit a ball. I'm too afraid to run (arthritic knee, back, and hips, and way too heavy) but it turns out that I can still hit a decent volley now and then, and if the ball comes to me just so, I have enjoyed the old feeling of hitting a good shot intentionally. Weather was nice for playing here in Chicago as the sun set.
Nice! Nothing like hitting the sweet spot on a racket. Are you doing to keep playing?
I can't imagine playing competitively again, but we hope to keep up with going out to hit a few times a week, should air quality and patience (waiting for a public court with doubled-up pickle-balling) allow. I have enjoyed reading about your matches, Megan! Where can you play on red clay near you? That's a shame that you couldn't play your match.
Can you reserve a public-park court? You can in Indy but hardly anyone knows, and it's like $7/hour. And are school courts accessible? It's not hard to find a court in Indianapolis, even with pickleballers taking up some. Clubs often have low summer rates because it's when people play outside. I hope you start playing again for fun!
It's on private land but it is technically a club that people can join. One of my USTA teams uses it as a home court, but I still haven't been able to play on it this year.
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:54 pm
Glad to hear when some members are actually playing. Not only talking about tennis
How are you doing these days? Injuries?
I'm not getting a lot of USTA matches this summer, but I'm in decent form. I lost one that was 100% on my racket - tons of soft, high, short balls to the middle of the court, waiting for me to pounce, and I missed a bunch of them. I won the first set easily then she figured out I had no range from midcourt and hit everything there with no pace. It was a dispiriting match, but it happens now and then. My next one, I was in the zone and couldn't miss.
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:54 pm
Glad to hear when some members are actually playing. Not only talking about tennis
How are you doing these days? Injuries?
I'm not getting a lot of USTA matches this summer, but I'm in decent form. I lost one that was 100% on my racket - tons of soft, high, short balls to the middle of the court, waiting for me to pounce, and I missed a bunch of them. I won the first set easily then she figured out I had no range from midcourt and hit everything there with no pace. It was a dispiriting match, but it happens now and then. My next one, I was in the zone and couldn't miss.
Finances. Can't afford to play at the moment, as cheap as it is to do so here
My elbow has healed completely, although I won't know until I go on a court and hit a ball. But I can't tell when that will be.
Nice! Nothing like hitting the sweet spot on a racket. Are you doing to keep playing?
I can't imagine playing competitively again, but we hope to keep up with going out to hit a few times a week, should air quality and patience (waiting for a public court with doubled-up pickle-balling) allow. I have enjoyed reading about your matches, Megan! Where can you play on red clay near you? That's a shame that you couldn't play your match.
Can you reserve a public-park court? You can in Indy but hardly anyone knows, and it's like $7/hour. And are school courts accessible? It's not hard to find a court in Indianapolis, even with pickleballers taking up some. Clubs often have low summer rates because it's when people play outside. I hope you start playing again for fun!
It's on private land but it is technically a club that people can join. One of my USTA teams uses it as a home court, but I still haven't been able to play on it this year.
The club with the red clay looks idyllic. We are spoiled - we have free public courts across the street from us - just resurfaced this summer! They're often full at hours when we can all play, especially with pickleball courts added this year. But most of the time one of us will wait and text the others - we can pop over in a couple of minutes. We can reserve public green clay courts for $25 an hour - a short bus ride away. (They used to be less expensive when it was run by the Chicago Park District.)
I can't imagine playing competitively again, but we hope to keep up with going out to hit a few times a week, should air quality and patience (waiting for a public court with doubled-up pickle-balling) allow. I have enjoyed reading about your matches, Megan! Where can you play on red clay near you? That's a shame that you couldn't play your match.
Can you reserve a public-park court? You can in Indy but hardly anyone knows, and it's like $7/hour. And are school courts accessible? It's not hard to find a court in Indianapolis, even with pickleballers taking up some. Clubs often have low summer rates because it's when people play outside. I hope you start playing again for fun!
It's on private land but it is technically a club that people can join. One of my USTA teams uses it as a home court, but I still haven't been able to play on it this year.
The club with the red clay looks idyllic. We are spoiled - we have free public courts across the street from us - just resurfaced this summer! They're often full at hours when we can all play, especially with pickleball courts added this year. But most of the time one of us will wait and text the others - we can pop over in a couple of minutes. We can reserve public green clay courts for $25 an hour - a short bus ride away. (They used to be less expensive when it was run by the Chicago Park District.)
Public clay courts, how nice! Not cheap but not awful. That's the going rate indoors here - probably more in Chicago.
time to get my racket restrung since it is raining and I anyway cant play for a day or two..it is so absurdly cheap to get your racket strung here.. if you buyt the string (Technifibre 15 gauge for about $15) you get the stringing free.. wonder who pays the stringer..
all the fellow-players here wait for their string to break before they get it redone - I have never broken a string in my entire life (that is about 60 years if playing tennis) so I would be waiting a very long time if I did that! People just dont see that the strings are THE most vital part of your gear, after all, it is what actually hits the ball!
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 1:14 pm
time to get my racket restrung since it is raining and I anyway cant play for a day or two..it is so absurdly cheap to get your racket strung here.. if you buyt the string (Technifibre 15 gauge for about $15) you get the stringing free.. wonder who pays the stringer..
all the fellow-players here wait for their string to break before they get it redone - I have never broken a string in my entire life (that is about 60 years if playing tennis) so I would be waiting a very long time if I did that! People just dont see that the strings are THE most vital part of your gear, after all, it is what actually hits the ball!
You've never broken a string? Do you hit with any spin at all? Wow... I don't know anything about string and assume that translates to "the strings don't affect my play at all." I don't have it restrung until they are fraying. All I know is that both of my elbows hurt a lot. My frame is heavy and I wonder if I need a softer string.
$15 is so cheap! I pay $30 or so and have no idea what kind of string I'm getting.
3 reasons, I think
I hit flat,no spin at all
I change the strings every 3 months
And
(Coughing modestly) I always middle the ball!
Also, I string them fairly low, 55 lbs..
I think you should follow the old rule of 'restring as many times a year' as you play a week. Regardless of their condition...
I switch my racquets when I play. So I re-string when I break one, and I string both.
Breaking strings. Funniest moment ever for me: My partner serves and breaks his strings, and I slapped the return, actually for a winner, and broke mine.
We both switched our racquets, of course.
I lost a tough USTA match last night, but I competed well and gave it my all, so I'm happy. It was so windy that you couldn't keep the ball in from one side and couldn't hit it out from the other. It didn't feel like real tennis - every shot was desperation and improvisation. I was down 7-5, 2-0 and moping about the wind (and vision ... it's still hazy here from wildfires... the air looked greasy, actually). I realized I had to play the conditions more than the opponent. I won the set 6-3 - I actually thought I was down 3-4 in the second and I held for 4-4, but I was UP 4-3 and it was then 5-3! But my opponent seized the TB and thoroughly outplayed me. I thought she was tired, and I always bring intensity to a match tiebreak, but she played it aggressively and I was sloppy.
She's on a team without singles players, so everyone on the team takes a turn playing singles once during the season. I hate it when a player walks on court saying, "I'm not a singles player!" and then competes just fine. This woman is a veteran league player and has played plenty of singles in the past. But I think I would have won in regular conditions or inside.
I'm just glad I changed my attitude in the second set and kept fighting and gave myself a good chance to win. I've learned to appreciate the competition aspect of tennis matches and judge myself on how well I competed more than the score.
For us, the end point is not winning or losing. It's how well you played.
So good for you.
And that was one of the reasons why I stopped playing matches. The players that come to the court and immediately start with the excuses. I just wanted to play with grownups, not mental little kids that think they are about to play the Semis at Centre Court.
watching Wimbledon is seriously hampering my own play the next day - I end up staying up till 1 am then I have to be up at 530 to go play.. today, I was so tired, I could barely move my feet. Trouble is, after watching some good tennis, I am more motivated than ever to play, but the body doesnt want to! I am actually hoping for rain so I can sleep in.. never did that before,
the time zone I live in, Australian Open is the best USO is the worst - I have not been able to watch the finals live for the past 33 years (ever since we returned home..)
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 6:59 am
watching Wimbledon is seriously hampering my own play the next day - I end up staying up till 1 am then I have to be up at 530 to go play.. today, I was so tired, I could barely move my feet. Trouble is, after watching some good tennis, I am more motivated than ever to play, but the body doesnt want to! I am actually hoping for rain so I can sleep in.. never did that before,
the time zone I live in, Australian Open is the best USO is the worst - I have not been able to watch the finals live for the past 33 years (ever since we returned home..)
It is brutal to be a tennis fan! The hours can be crazy. I can't wake up at 5:30 to play tennis. Impossible!
Translation
My frame is heavy and I wonder if I need a softer string.