Gold Medal Match: Men's 5.0 70+ at US Open 2023 Pickleball

[@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164]

Thank you Team Hanlon! I luckily found this video and it was the finals of a match that I played in. I appreciate your work!

[@pl1532]

I’m curious: Is a 5.0 for 70 year olds different than 5.0 for 20 year olds, or is 5.0 the same for all age groups?

[@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164]

@@pl1532 5.0 is the highest rating based off of tournament results. But the Pro divisions have ratings over 6. But there are age brackets with divisions for every 5 years once you get over 50. So 55, 60, 65, 70, etc. A 5.0 player is not going to be competitive with 20 year old 5.0 players. Foot speed declines, hand speed declines, agility declines, eyesight declines, memory declines, what was your question? I forgot :)

[@pl1532]

@@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164 You answered it. A 5.0 at 70 years old is not equal to a 5.0 at 20 years of age. Should be one standard regardless of age, so everyone understands the difference.

[@gentlehorst]

@@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164 I decline ... to comment 🙂. Just saying, my basketball team received cheers when we were announced 'Over the Hill' 20 years ago.

[@anneschnoor5324]

@gregg…. Thank you for your answer and your humor. Was a pleasure watching you play.

[@CaptainRonAhoy]

An inspiration to all of us old farts!......hope to be this agile at this age.....well done....

[@sengcau4795]

Great recording and commentary! Awesome job!!

[@jtemme76]

I'm a beginner - these 3rd shot drops, amazing!

[@PickleballJoy]

Good stuff! THIS old guy would love to play in such a big tourney.

[@okiepita50t-town28]

I’m 72 and I can’t believe how quick these guys are. Great game.

[@1RobbyZ]

excellent commentary !!!

[@steveiannazzo5451]

I'd love to know Bill's sports history as a younger man. (Blue shorts and sleeveless shirt). He doesn't have a lot of general mobility left but he still has very fast hands, good anticipation, and good control of paddle angle. Former baseball corner infielder?

[@JamesWilliams-dj2bp]

Those guys are good. It's apparent that playing for hours is causing fatigue resulting in errors they don't normally make..

[@georgiawalker4320]

Good match. Fun to watch.

[@daveharter6469]

TKs for putting this on. are there any 70 plus singles?

[@TeamHanlonPickleball]

Yes, singles brackets at the US Open went all the way up to 85+. Unfortunately, we didn't arrive in time to record singles matches (except for juniors, which were held later in the week).

[@chesterw6161]

great post, thanks

[@rdwilander]

Great match to inspire everyone....question: at 34:35 didn't the server hit to the wrong side and the returner returned anyhow? If I am correct, would the referee call it if the player didn't when it is obvious mistake or does referee only speak up if there is a decision needed??

[@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164]

The team that won and serving at the end were stacking. Guy in red was the second server and correctly positioned to serve with their team having 10 points.

[@martintu]

Wish I can be agile like this when I turn 70

[@AnitaShank-qz9vd]

Nice job Noah

[@Avidhope]

I wish your announcer gave the names of the players. I think the red shirt played at Sun City Grand and was considered Number One in the world. Wonderful to watch these "old" guys play.🙂

[@TeamHanlonPickleball]

Unfortunately, knowing everyone's name is not possible when we're trying to record as many matches as possible and don't have time to clarify who is who.

[@jimh.4027]

Red shirt: Gregg Whitfield; white hat Jim Hackenberg (5 gold medals at this tournament). Other team must be Bradley Martin and Rudy Buck.

[@Dinktroitpickleball]

The Legend!!! Jim is the all-time greatest

[@CameronPickle]

That loudspeaker system needs a fix.

[@wallymann]

Very nice. These guys are good. Thanks, for sharing

[@surfdocer103]

5.0?

[@malduf]

Some good stuff, but no way are these guys 5.0 players. They could hold their own in 3.5 at my club but would get slaughtered above that.

[@PaulBCohen]

Post some videos from your club so we can see what you're talking about.

[@valleyforge-1777]

absurd comment

[@JamesWilliams-dj2bp]

Let's see you play for 3 or 4+ hours and play this good of a game.

[@mattc3581]

Reality is 5.0 in one age bracket is not the same as 5.0 in younger age brackets. If tournaments were mostly based on rating with no age groups and the older players played with the younger guys often then the ratings would be equivalent. But when you have people's rating derived heavily from matches only in their age group then the top players will end up 5.0+ no matter how they compare to other age groups. I've watched the top pro ladies pair at 65+, they are 5.0 ish rating, but a decent mens club pair of 4.0-4.5 would beat them easy.

[@CWK090]

Which club is that? I'd love to see videos of 3.5 players at your club, in any age group, playing at the level in this video.

[@rdwilander]

oops I meant at 12:040

[@mikefaletti3527]

The serve came from the far side and was returned by the guy in the white shirt. The video didn’t quite catch the serve so it looked like the guy in the white was serving. I’m guessing that’s why you thought he served to the wrong court.

[@rdwilander]

@@mikefaletti3527 makes sense thanks a lot for clarifying

[@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164]

The referee called wrong server. That is why it is nice to have a referee. At the U.S. Open, only the medal matches had referees with most of the other matches having no referee.

[@Mr.T-q4d]

@@greggwhitfieldpickleballsh8164 Saw that in another video, a ref calling wrong serve. Experience that in rec games. Good to have extra eyes on the game.

[@kvom01]

70+ here and 2.5 hacker. My reflexes are nowhere near these guys'.

[@Ilegator]

cringe

[@benleon51]

In reality, there is no 5.0 in 70+ if you know the level of a legitimate 5.0 player & their play confirms my reasoning.

[@lightsout6552]

I agree. No high level 70 plus will be as good as a 20-40 yr old 5.0. Probably not even as good as a 4.0 25 ye old but this is probably as good as it gets for over 70.

[@superintertainment11]

Hence why it’s 70+ 5.0 and not 19+ 5.0