If you ever need evidence that tennis is a sport for a lifetime, look no further than this documentary from 2017 that chronicles the pursuit of “Gold Balls” in the men’s 80 and over division at the USTA Cat 1 National Championships. Kate Keckler Daniel follows the competitors across the National Championships for all four surfaces and captures the essence and spirit of senior competitive tennis. You have to check this one out.
Until last week, I didn’t even know that this documentary even existed. That fact astonishes me because the internet search engines and amazon have both figured out that I am into tennis. You would think that somewhere along the way the algorithms would have served this one up to me. Instead, I learned of this movies existence during a lunchtime conversation at the Senior Women’s National Clay Court Championships last week. Gold Balls may be the most under the radar tennis movie ever made.
My own participation in Senior women’s tennis has provided me with insight into Super (which is the actual term rather than Ultra) Senior Women’s tennis. That community is not only inspirational, but collectively living life to the fullest. Above all, they are highly competitive. Gold Balls reveals the same thing exists on the men’s side of tennis.
As I contemplate my own impending retirement, people pretty frequently ask me how I will be spending my time. I now have an object lessons to use as an answer right down to the Class B RV that one of the competitors travels around in. This!
Gold Balls should be mandatory viewing for anyone who doubts the importance of Senior and Super Senior divisions in the tennis ecosystem. You simply have to check it out… or at least the trailer. You’ll be glad you did.
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