The Washington Post - 29.08.2019

the washington post

.

thursday, august

29

,

2019

DC

12

BY MATT FUCHS

With the U.S. Open underway,

Serena Williams and Roger Feder-

er might be receiving all the atten-

tion for defying Father Time, but

they aren’t the only players who

seem to be thriving longer than

expected. Away from the cameras,

older amateurs are giving their

younger counterparts unexpected

competition.

I discovered these aging war-

riors after being promoted to the

“elite” division of my local tennis

league. I promptly lost six straight

matches, but what really disheart-

ened me was that I dropped a few

contests to players nearing retire-

ment age. One of them, almost two

decades my senior, beat me with

such ease that he ran laps around

the court afterward for a better

workout; another planned to have

a second match later that day.

Gradually, however, my discour-

agement turned t o curiosity.

Since then, I’ve asked older ten-

nis players from across t he country

to serve up their longevity secrets.

There were plenty such players to

choose from — 6 2 percent of the

U.S. Te nnis Association’s 310,000

league players are 4 5 or older.

That’s partly a matter of demo-

graphics; as baby boomers age,

seniors m ake up more of the p opu-

lation. But it’s also due to greater

awareness, compared with previ-

ous generations, of the keys to ag-

ing gracefully. “More adults are

wanting to learn and get better as

they get older,” s aid Joanne Wallen,

the USTA’s director of adult com-

petitive play.

The following lessons for body,

mind and soul transcend tennis to

other sports and overall health.

Keep a 1-to-1 ratio

Since winning one of the USTA’s

most competitive amateur cham-

pionships in 2006, Harris Rosenb-

latt has attracted a gaggle of play-

ers who want to improve later in

life, teaching them at his clinic in

Potomac. “If they want the same

success I’ve had,” s aid Rosenblatt,

50, “they’ve got to apply the 1-to-1

ratio.” This means striking a bal-

ance between hours spent on the

court and lower-impact, joint-

friendly exercise a nd therapy.

Henry Forster, who attends the

clinic, lives by the ratio. To o much

tennis and “my body wouldn’t put

up with it.” On days the 57-year-old

isn’t playing, he swims, rides an

exercise b ike and does yoga. Te nnis

or not, he stretches 20 minutes

every day and watches h is calories.

Remaining mostly injury-free

has enabled steady improvement.

He didn’t take up the sport until

graduate school, yet he plays as a

4.0 out of seven levels in the USTA’s

rating system, which is what you

would expect for his age if he had

ranked among the best juniors in

the country. He won a USTA na-

tional title as part of a team in

2001, competing in a division for

ages 18 and over. This year and last,

he led Montgomery County’s

championship team in the 4 0-and-

over group. Although he’s lost a

step athletically s ince his g raduate

school days, his improved skill set

compensates. Asked how he and

his contemporaries feel about ex-

celling in their 50s, he said, “We

kind of live for it.”

Find a good recovery routine

Like Forster, D.C. resident Sylvia

Okala, 76, caught the tennis bug

relatively late — when she was in

her 30s. Just six years ago, she

captained her “D.C. Firecrackers”

team, coached by her husband, to

the USTA’s Mid-Atlantic champi-

onship at the 3.5 level. As she ap-

proaches 80, she continues to hit

about four days every week, some-

times challenging 4.0 players —

“big bangers,” s he calls them. And

her confidence to reach any drop

shot rivals Rafael Nadal’s. “I don’t

think I’ve changed at all,” s he told

me. “I can still r un.”

To sustain her performance,

she’s tried nearly every form of

therapy over the years, keeping

what works — and she’s kept a lot.

Her backyard h ot tub made the c ut

in 1983. Since then, its massage jets

have been a pillar of her tennis

recovery; hot water immersion

has been shown to help athletes

bounce back after exertion. An-

other pillar: acupuncture; she’s

been getting a s many as four treat-

ments per month for 20 years, both

electro-acupuncture through ad-

hesive pads and treatment

through sterile needles. Studies

suggest acupuncutre can ease

pain, and Okala thinks it’s healed

her tennis elbow, stiff neck and

knee arthritis.

Her routine continues: yoga

each morning, plenty of table mas-

sages, icing, kinesio tape for mus-

cle support, visiting her physical

therapist to nip potential injuries

in the bud and, last but not least,

frequenting the dance floor, where

she mixes conventional dancing

with flurries of jumping jacks to

stay limber and elevate her heart

rate.

What motivates a 76-year-old to

work so hard at maintaining her

tennis game? The other players are

her friends. “I’m an energetic per-

son, and I like being around posi-

tive people.” They share longevity

tips and reinforce good habits, like

the folks in R osenblatt’s c linic, who

said they often trade advice as well.

If there’s n o tennis scheduled, Oka-

la sleeps late, but if she’s got a

match, she’s up at 5:30 a.m. to

prepare. At her age, “I’m so proud

when I win a match. Like I climbed

the mountain — I’m a live!”

Lose the focus on winning

All the players I spoke with

share a passion for the sport that

transcends concerns about win-

ning. For Bob Litwin, a 71-year-old

resident of Boulder, Colo., the

main goal is detaching from the

outcome while enjoying the chal-

lenge of competing. Another late

bloomer, his tennis mania didn’t

start until he neared age 30. Since

then, he’s put more effort into his

inner game than practicing his

strokes. He’s reduced his frustra-

tion and anxiety through journal-

ing, writing “stories” a bout t he dif-

ferent ways he can “win” — for

example, by not being too hard on

himself.

It’s paid off physically. “When I

was 4 0, every point was a stressful,

win-lose experience, and after a

match, I couldn’t walk up and

down the steps. Now I play like a

kid in the backyard, and I’m not

sore afterward.” He paused, then

said, “It’s peculiar t o me, too!”

Ironically, his results have been

spectacular: 24 USTA national

championship titles, the Interna-

tional Te nnis Federation’s c hampi-

onship in 2005 and, following two

hip surgeries, reclaiming the top

ranking in the 65-and-over divi-

sion. Meanwhile, he’s become a

performance coach and wrote

a book to help others overcome

their mental h urdles.

Detaching from the result was

Gigi Fernández’s motto even while

she was on the pro tour. “It’s not

easy, but it’s a must,” s he told me.

Regarded as one of the greatest

doubles players of all time, she’s

sharing her Gigi Method with old-

er players, teaching doubles strat-

egy and how to perform under

pressure — diaphragmatic breath-

ing and mental toughness in be-

tween points. “The older you get,

the more you can benefit from it,”

she explained. “Roger and Serena

are role models. They give hope to

all the weekend warriors that they

can continue improving into their

60s.”

Fernández suggests meditation

and yoga, and Litwin has success-

fully leveraged both. Back in the

’90s, he was known on the amateur

circuit for striking yoga poses dur-

ing changeovers — fitness hygiene

with a dash of gamesmanship.

“Warrior posture, tree posture.” H e

laughed. “Yoga was new to tennis

then. It made other players a little

less comfortable.”

Nearly all the super seniors I

talked with praised yoga. “I’ve seen

strong growth [among older play-

ers] for the past 10-plus years,” s aid

Lisa Wellstead, who teaches yoga

and mindfulness at a tennis club in

Atlanta. Like Fernández, she noted

the influence of the pros; whenev-

er Serena or Novak Djokovic talks

up yoga in the media, she gets a

spike o f interest.

Play with people you enjoy

Older players offer tips such as

taking the joint supplements glu-

cosamine and chondroitin or do-

ing single-leg squats for strength

and balance, but tennis itself is a

boon to longevity. A study last year

found that playing the sport adds

9.7 years to a life span. Te nnis

raises the heart rate intermittently,

offering m any health b enefits.

“Starting at a ge 4 0, we know you

get about a 10 percent drop-off

each decade in muscle mass,

strength, and power,” said Mark

Kovacs, a sports scientist who

coaches pro and amateur athletes

at h is Kovacs Institute. He b elieves

that if we train, though, we can

limit the decline to just 2 to 4

percent.

Extended life spans for tennis

players could also stem from the

psychological effects of connect-

ing w ith each other. Social interac-

tion is associated with good health

for seniors.

The fitness and social benefits

might explain why Brenda Carter

of Charleston, S.C., still thrives at

age 73 doing little besides tennis.

“I’ve never been a big exerciser,”

she acknowledged — except play-

ing five to six days per week for

decades. For her, tennis is the s pice

that makes exercise palatable, and

she’s enjoyed the taste of ranking

first in the country for her USTA

age group many of the past 20

years. One of her top accomplish-

ments was winning a champion-

ship with her husband in a nation-

al doubles t ournament for married

couples with combined ages over

140. Whether it’s her husband or
     friends, “the special part is the
     people you meet along the way.”
     [email protected]

Matt Fuchs is a policy analyst and

writer based in Silver Spring.

FITNESS

How these aging athletes keep themselves happy and in shape

Wellness

JO ANN LITWIN/BOB LITWIN

Bob Litwin’s goal when playing tennis is detaching from the outcome while enjoying the competition.

The 71-year-old was also a late bloomer to the game — his tennis mania didn’t start until he neared 30.