Father-Son Win for the Ages

They can be seen regularly playing with Claude’s weekly social matches or in Wasterlain family grudge doubles matches. 

“When I moved here, I really was looking forward to playing tennis with Mitch. But now I am not good enough to play with him anymore,” Claude said. 

“Well, I have to get him back for all of those years I was trounced by him when I visited California,” Mitch retorted. 

They decided that it might be fun to play USTA together as a doubles pair. With no expectations, they joined Guilford’s Men’s 40 & Over 3.0 team.  

On Sunday, March 16, 2025, they teamed as father and son, winning their match to help the team split 2-2 versus Lyme Shores. 

“It felt great to win. I normally get more motivation playing USTA, but I especially do when playing with my dad,” Mitch said. “I want to win it for both of us. We take pride in that we go out and compete and win against people that are younger than us.” 

It’s a compelling story of father and son teaming and winning a competitive USTA tennis match. Well, it is even more special than that. Mitch is 67 years old and Claude is 89 (at the time of writing). That is a combined age of 156 years.  

As I watched the match, the magical genetic synergy between them was evident. Mitch’s strengths are his speed and his baseline play. Claude, ever the slicer, has a wicked serve and deft touch at the net. They were in sync without overt communication.  Watching their symphonic play was both a pleasure and an inspiration. Seeing the father-son duo on the court genuinely cherishing the moment together was truly heart-warming. 

When asked how long he will continue playing, Claude quipped, “I love playing with my granddaughters and my great grandkids. I’ll play as long as I can still hold the racquet on the right end.” 

And will the 156-year total age mark be broken? “Both of our birthdays are coming up soon, so we can be the ones to do it," Claude said.