u/Limp-Preference-1706

Psychologists describe it as an existential high, time is suspended, focus is clear, and endorphines exploding in your brain like fireworks. You don’t feel feel young or old. Spiritualist Eckhart Tolle calls it living in the present moment.

Yesterday at a picnic, I (71m) chatted with friends, sipped a Margarita, ate fried chicken, and listened to live jazz. A tent sheltered us from the summer sun. No muscles ached, no problems to solve, no relatives in the hospital, putting on a buzz. For about 2 hours, I was in joyful.

Every night before my wife goes upstairs to bed, she approaches me like a cat hunting a mouse. Before I know it, she is hugging me, kissing me, and threatening to tickle me. In that brief interaction where I am laughing uncontrollably, supine on the sofa, I am happy and lost in time. Thirty seconds of Nirvana.

My doubles tennis match is an adventure, huffing and puffing, running and stopping, winning and losing. There are moments where I am lost in time, breathing hard, enjoying that my heart, lungs, and muscles still work.

Other times, I’ll go for days without feeling that elevated emotion. How do you achieve happiness or exalted states of mind? Would you share?

As a 4.0-rated 71-year-old with a bad back, lung disease, and a stented heart, I finally accepted that I will never learn the Rafa forehand, possess a Sinner’s serve, or compete fiercely in USTA leagues as I did 25 years ago.

My health issues only allow me to play doubles and/or practice twice per week. On other days, I am in the gym, stretching, lifting, and running to manage my compromised condition.

Gosh, I love this game! Since this is a “thinking game,” my new strategy is to hit my ground strokes with 70% speed, high over the net and deep. Plus, I have a well-disguised short slice. The idea is to make my opponent uncomfortable with craft instead of power.

Coming to the net after every serve no longer serves my bad back. So, I stay back most of the time. Of course, if I get a short ball, I’ll chip and charge. I realize that this puts my doubles team at a disadvantage, but this is my reality.

I’ve worked hard on my passing shots and lobs.
Since my eyesight and brain function aren’t as sharp, I now stand 3 to 5 feet behind the baseline to allow me more time to line up my ground strokes. 

Yup, I know this makes me susceptible to drop shots. But I still have the speed of a 50-year-old, so I stay alert.

With my serve, I’ve had to swallow my pride and ego. I can no longer consistently blast the first serve, then spin the second in with good velocity. I’ve accepted an 80% flat or 70% slice serve with more consistency. 

In summary, it's the Peter Principle in my tennis life. I’ve reached the level of my incompetence. Nevertheless, I love this game more than ever.
Would you share how you’ve compromised to enjoy this sport we all love?

As a 71-year-old 4.0 doubles players with a bad back and knees, I learned the stationary serve technique in the 1960s.

Even if I wanted to adopt the modern jump serve, my fragile body cannot do it. As such, do you have any suggestions for me to be.more effective and consistent?

Thanks in advance for any tips.