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Tennis Seniors Circuit ? How Old is Old?

The average age of a top ranking tennis player peaks in his or her twenties and then gradually declines with age. In past years, the tennis seniors circuit accepted players from the age of 35 ? an age considered reasonable by all involved. Recently, however, a decision taken by the seniors circuit management came under fire by former number one, John McEnroe after the former agreed to drop the age from 35 to 30.

Another former number one tennis player, the Chilean Marcelo Rios, was accepted onto the circuit, much to the disgust of McEnroe. McEnroe claimed that 35 was considered a reasonable cutoff age and management?s decision to admit thirty-year-old Rios infuriated him. ?They?ve bastardized the thing?, he reportedly said. Since Rios joined the tour earlier this year, he has won twenty-five straight wins ? a fact that is bound to draw attention to the decision.

So the question remains ? how old is old when it comes to the seniors tennis circuit? In an era when professional tennis players are getting younger with each passing year, it only seems natural that the senior?s limit should also drop. John McEnroe does not seem to agree of course, especially after he lost to the Chilean in a quarterfinal showdown at the Masters at the Albert Hall over the weekend. "In seniors golf they set the age limit at 50 and kept it. They haven`t changed the rules to let some 40-year-old in," he retorted.