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James Gleason of USTA Caribbean is bringing out the retro racquet for what he hopes will be a classic performance at USTA League Nationals.
© Jen Pottheiser
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Gleason's iconic weapon of choice: The Wilson Jack Kramer model.
© Jen Pottheiser
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By J. Fred Sidhu, special to USTA.com
SURPRISE, Ariz. – James Gleason of San Juan, Puerto Rico is one of a kind.
With over 500 competitors representing 55 teams at this weekend’s 2011 USTA League Super Senior 6.0 & 8.0 National Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex, Gleason is the only participant playing his matches with a wood racquet.
Gleason, a 63-year-old software consultant who plays for the Caribbean Section Super Senior 6.0 team, owns two Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph racquets which are his principal racquets and two Dunlop Maxply Fort racquets which he uses as back-ups.
"I like it. I like the feel when you contact the ball," said Gleason, who has played tennis on and off for the last 40 years. "I have more control. I play well with it. Why change? For me it works. I like the feel of the ball when you hit it. I feel comfortable with the racquet."
When it comes to wood racquets, the biggest challenge for Gleason is locating a suitable racquet to purchase.
"You can’t buy them (in a store). You have to get them on EBay," he said. "Periodically I look and if I see a good deal I buy it. I found that if I try to restring them, sometimes they break, so I have to have a couple of spares to replace the ones I’m using."
For a couple of years, Gleason actually played with some of the newer, more modern racquets players use today, but after purchasing a wood racquet, he liked the feeling and control of the wood so much, he decided to keep playing with it.
There are differences when playing with a wood racquet according to Gleason. "You have to have your racquet back and you have to take a full swing," he said. "You also have to keep your eye on the ball. The sweet spot is smaller."
When fellow tennis players see Gleason on the court swinging his wood racquet they comment on how many years it’s been since they’ve seen someone playing with a wooden racquet or how they played with the same racquet when they first started playing tennis years ago.
"Everybody gets a kick out of it," Gleason said with a laugh.
Gleason and his Caribbean Section men’s 6.0 team got off to a strong start at the USTA League Super Senior National Championship on Friday as they scored a 2-1 victory over the Florida Section men’s team.