George Wachtel was a Senior tennis player who also wrote a blog about Senior tennis and fitness. In fact, Wachtel was still actively posting on his blog right up until his sudden death in 2021. The final two posts on his site were from his son, announcing that he had passed away, followed a short time later by his obituary. Sadly, I narrowly missed the opportunity to potentially meet an obviously kindred spirit.
My autographed copy of his book, Senior Tennis: Strokes, Strategies, and Remedies, was purchased from the pro shop at Newk’s Tennis Ranch about 7 years ago. According to the forward of the book, Wachtel was a regular attendee of the Adult Fantasy camp offered by that tennis resort. I then allowed my copy of the book to languish on my shelf until I picked it up this week. I wish I had read it sooner.
Wachtel shares his personal philosophy on health and tennis in the opening pages of the book. He disclosed that he had a family history of heart disease and was obsessive about his fitness and health. He outlines his aspiration to play tennis competitively into his 90’s. His book is even more poignant when read with the knowledge that he didn’t quite make it to that point, though he did play tennis until the end.
The “Caring for your Body” chapter of the book is a must read for Senior tennis players. Wachtel manages to be both insightful and funny on this important topic. For example, he compares and contrasts the triple I approach to injury (Ice, Ibuprofin, and Imbibing ) with the much more reputable and widely used RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) treatment plan.
I have always had an awareness that the Statin drugs used to treat high cholesterol are not great for athletes. Senior Tennis galvanized that opinion as the book describes the negative side effects in detail along with how they impact tennis play. Coupled with anecdotal injuries suffered by tennis players who took the drug, it is pretty clear that it is better to control high cholesterol through diet and exercise if that is an option.
Wachtel describes his own on-court philosophy in a section titled “How prostate cancer made me a better tennis player.” It is hard to stop smiling and enjoying yourself on the court after overcoming significant medical adversity. It is always a good day when you are playing tennis.
The observations on the finer points of tennis strategy shared in Senior Tennis border on obsessive overthinking, the hallmark of my own site. I particularly enjoyed the detailed enumeration of the winning team’s options when winning the racquet toss. Wachtel’s thoughts on why we lose to better players are actionable while also capturing the paradox of competition.
Usually when tennis books include chapters on stroke production, I skim or skip those sections altogether. Senior Tennis is a rare exception to that rule. For example the ideas on both hitting and defending against a drop shot are excellent and well-informed. I plan on taking his ideas on the serve onto the court with me.
Senior Tennis: Strokes, Strategies, Rules, and Remedies captures the philosophy of competition that is pervasive in USTA Senior age group open play. In this book, George Wachtel effectively captures and conveys the trifecta of tennis training: skills, physical conditioning, and the mental approach. It is the culminated wisdom of a life well lived and a game well played.
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In the second paragraph, you can use “the” or “an” but not both in the phrase, “the an Adult Fantasy camp”.
I’m interested to look into the relationship between Statin drugs and athletes. I hadn’t heard about that before.
Thanks! Correction is made. I have a family history of heart disease and relatively high cholesterol levels. My doc has steered me toward diet and exercise (exercise good, diet… more of a challenge) because of the side effects. This stories of Statin side effects in this book were downright scary.