Age is no limit for Open ball boys and girls, especially at night

NEW YORK— When 55-year-old banking executive Vijay Parimoo told his friends he would be a rookie ball boy at this year’s U.S. Open, he expected a little teasing.

“They were like, ‘Isn’t there an age limit? Shouldn’t there be?’ ” he said.

But the U.S. Open has never put an upper limit on the age of its ball chasers, which tournament officials say sets Flushing Meadows apart from the other Grand Slams. Of the 275 ball people this year, about 75 are 18 or older and more than 20 of those are over 30. Several are in their 50s. One who gave it up a couple of years ago was 63.

Top players who make it their habit to thank the “ball boys and ball girls” in their victory speeches on tour have been seen giving double-takes when handed a ball or towel by grown-ups.

While the very idea of “ball men” and “ball women” has been lampooned over the years — most notably on TV’s Seinfeld when Kramer finds a way to bungle the “great ball man experiment” — it’s a point of pride for the hardy few who have actually done one of the most coveted minimum-wage jobs in sports. And U.S. Open officials say there are plenty of wrinkles, so to speak, at this particular Grand Slam that make older ball people a sensible choice.

For one, the two-week U.S. Open normally straddles the Labour Day weekend, when the school year kicks in and labour laws prevent kids from working extended hours.

“The older ballpersons are gold in the night matches,” says Cathie Delaney, a U.S. Tennis Association pro who manages the day-to-day court assignments for ball people who can be as young as 14. “Some of these matches go until 2 a.m. We can’t have a 14-year-old on the subway at 2 a.m.”

Dressed in identical blue uniforms, the six-person crew marches on and off the court like soldiers. In a choreographed flourish, they fan out onto the court to their assigned spots, the runners at the net who scamper for loose balls, and the throwers at the end who bounce the balls to the players and handle their sweaty towels.

Tina Taps, who has been in charge of the ball persons since 1989, says she doesn’t care about age, only a love of the tennis and the ability to make it through tryouts, which in- volve sprints, agility drills and throwing competitions. Each summer, about 400 people try out for just 80 rookie spots.

For Parimoo, the 55-year-old rookie from Warren, N.J., taking his place on court is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

When his 15-year-old son, Shray, tried out this summer, he took his dad with him. Amazingly, they both made it.

In one of his first assignments, Parimoo handled the towel in a doubles match for one of his idols, Martina Hingis. But his biggest honour came this week when he was assigned to work as part of the same crew with his son.

“This is a privilege,” he says. “I enjoy every minute I am here. I may not be able to do it tomorrow.”