The USTA runs tennis leagues for all ages and skill levels

Dan Herron stumbled, hit a wall on the indoor court and nearly broke a finger when he fell and jammed it through the holes of his racquet strings during his first tennis match last year at the tender age of 49.

He and his partner won, but the next morning Herron, who lives in Kent, Wash., was so sore that he could barely get out of bed.

Still, the father of three pressed on, as did his six teammates, competing in matches as part of the United States Tennis Association's Pacific Northwest Adult League, calling themselves the "Weakend Warriors."

That self-deprecating name belied a fierce competitive nature and within a year, the Warriors found themselves in the championship match of the 2007 USTA's 2.5 Adult National Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. Playing at the novice level -- the USTA ranks league players numerically from about 2.5 to 5.0 -- they lost, but just barely to a team from Puerto Rico with many players half their age.

"It was like Mutt and Jeff versus real class athletes," Herron says. "I think our average waistline was 36 and theirs was 30." Having the opportunity to play locally and possibly rise to the top over hundreds of other similarly ranked teams is just one of many opportunities the USTA offers Masters athletes.

The organization has a large network of local leagues, which are generally based on skill-level rather than age. It also has an extensive array of age-group competitions where players from 30 up to 95 can vie for titles at national competitions on a variety of surfaces -- clay, grass, hard court and indoor.

Among the organization's national age group competitors, Lee Burling of Oswego, N.Y., may hold the record for the most titles. The 76-year-old has won 41, including one this past March for doubles in the 75-79 age group in the National Women's Clay Court Championships in Houston with her partner, Nancy Reed.

Burling played her first national competition at age 45 and ended up traveling the world, playing in tournaments across the United States and in such far-flung locales as Australia and parts of Africa.

She credits her late husband for often taking care of their two children so she could achieve her tennis dreams. "Tennis really helped define me as a human being," says Burling, who came of age before the advent of Title IX.

"Suddenly, I wasn't just a wife and a mother but a human being who had something to do." With more than three decades of competitive tennis experience, Burling says she has mellowed over time, so much so that she now plays with Reed, who was once a bitter rival on the other side of the net.

"Nancy called a couple years ago and asked 'Would you like to play some tennis?' Burling recalls. "And I said 'Are you sure you're calling the right person?' Well, she giggled and I giggled and then we started talking and finally I said, 'Well, we can try it once and if we can get off the court without killing each other, we'll keep going."

Even those who are fairly new to the game such as Herron and his teammate Dan Benoit from the "Weakened Warriors" say the best part about tennis is the friendships it fosters.

Benoit, 48, says he has not felt as close to a group of men his age since he was in high school. "Our age, it can be hard to find (friendships) like this," he says. "And competing all the way to the national level together definitely made us closer."

UPCOMING AMATEUR TENNIS EVENTS

NATIONAL PUBLIC PARKS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
New Orleans
July 21-29, 2008

AMERICAN TENNIS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Miami
Aug. 4-8, 2008

USTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S 70-90 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Portland, Ore.
Aug. 21-26, 2008

USTA NATIONAL MEN'S 45, 50 GRASS COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Philadelphia
Aug. 24-30, 2008

USTA NATIONAL MEN'S 75, 80 CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Virginia Beach, Va.
Aug. 25-31, 2008

USTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S 35-85 HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Salinas, Calif.
Sept. 15-21, 2008

USTA NATIONAL MEN'S 40 CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Savannah, Ga.
Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2008

CLAREMONT SENIOR WOMEN'S CLASSIC
Claremont, Calif.
Oct. 8-12, 2008

LES GRANDE DAMES FALL CUP
Winter Park, Fla.
Nov. 5-9, 2008

BABOLAT WORLD TENNIS CLASSIC
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2009