Playing in her first singles match in more than a year, Williams, the 45-year-old tennis great who is currently unranked, thrilled fans when she beat Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday July 22. Stearns is 23 and ranked 35th in the world.
That same day, 45-year-old pitcher Rich Hill became the oldest player in Kansas City Royals history when he started against the Cubs. He allowed just one earned run in five innings during his first game since September 2024.
Three days earlier, 46-year-old boxer Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring for the first time in almost four years. Pacquiao electrified the crowd when he fought 30-year-old Mario Barrios, the reigning WBC world welterweight champion, to a majority draw.
“I think in general, athletes at that level are just a different sort of type of human being to begin with,’’ said Miho Tanaka, an orthopedic surgeon and Director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. “But I do think that longevity really requires that perfect amount of preparedness and support.’’
She cited “optimizing kinematics,” and other experts who talked to USA TODAY cited “recovery methodologies,’’ “wet float and dry float therapy’’ and “genetics.’’ In interviews with USA TODAY Sports, they offered their insight as the feats of Williams, Hill and Pacquaio put a spotlight on a broader phenomenon in sports
Older athletes playing at an elite level.
Sophistication a key factor
William Kraemer, a former coach of multiple sports who became a prolific researcher of sports science, is now watching something relatively new.
Not just the likes of Venus Williams, Rich Hill and Manny Pacquiao, but other athletes thriving despite their comparatively advanced age. That list includes LeBron James, who will turn 41 during the NBA’s upcoming season; Alex Ovechkin, who will turn 40 during the NHL’s next season; and Lionel Messi, who is a comparative youngster at 38.
“What they’re doing now is much more sophisticated in their training, recovery and testing,’’ said Kraemer, Senior Advisor for Sports Performance and Sports Sciences at Ohio State. “It’s just so much more knowledge going into athletic training.’’
That includes improved individualization and sequencing of workout, said Kraemer, who also cited technology such as the Oura ring, worn to monitor health and fitness metrics; dry float therapy, floating on a water-filled membrane without getting wet, and wet float therapy, floating in a tank with salt water and getting wet; and, for sleep, hyperbaric chambers that can cost as much as $90,000.
“It is growing to be the norm just because you got such high-level athletes working and all the money involved,’’ Kraemer said.
The price tag for such technology is likely no barrier for wealthy older athletes.
Maverick Carter, the longtime friend and business partner of James, told GQ in 2018 that James spends more than $1 million a year to keep his body in the best condition possible.
“I have no idea where the amount of money came from, but I do invest in my body for sure,’’ James said earlier this year on The Pat McAfee Show. “Whatever I can do to continue playing at this level, man, I’m going to continue to do while I’m playing.’’
Working wiser not harder
Dedication appears to be a unifying aspect of older athletes thriving.
After winning her first-round match this week, Williams said, “You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9-to-5 except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day.’’
But athletes at the top of their game and defying age aren’t necessarily working harder, said Mike Boyle, a former strength and conditioning coach who worked for the Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox.
“I think there used to be much more emphasis on how heavy you lift and how tired you get kind of thing,’’ he said. “And I think people are starting to realize that those probably aren’t really the best metrics.’’
Take Pacquiao. Justin Fortune, Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, said the boxer has accepted the need for more rest since suffering a shocking defeat in 2017 to Jeff Horn by unanimous decision.
“He burned himself out about two weeks before the fight,’’ Fortune said.
Miho Tanaka, an orthopedic surgeon and Director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, suggested wisdom is also at work in handling injuries.
James has dealt with an assortment of injuries in recent years, as has Messi since joining Inter Miami in 2003.
“I think as athletes age in their careers, they can become a little bit wiser in terms of how they approach injuries and how they come back from them as well,’’ she said. “They know when to not push too far.’’
Nutrition plans, blood work, supplements
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and Williams, the seven-time Grand Slam winner, both have touted the benefits of personal chefs. But Hill, in his 21st season in the majors, would need to incur little extra expense for meals and supplements, said Marie Spano, a registered dietitian who works for the Washington Nationals.
“Baseball has changed dramatically, going from back in the day they were handed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made by a clubby,’’ said Spano, who also has worked for the Atlanta Braves. “Even when I started in 2013 in baseball, it’s changed dramatically since then because of the collective bargaining agreement. Players expect more and teams have to give more.
“They spend an astronomical amount on food and supplements. Every team has a registered dietician there and advanced teams are doing blood work. They’re doing more measures on body composition, muscle bone and utilizing that data to drive interventions.’’
It’s the older players who make best use of the resources, according to Spano.
“As I always say to every rookie, every older athlete I’ve worked with has everything dialed in,’’ she said. “They’re the ones that are asking for detailed nutrition plans, they want the blood work done, they want their supplements dialed in, they’re regularly checking in with you.’’
The secret pill
Kraemer said there will always be the presence of ergogenics – or, more colloquially, banned performance enhancing drugs. But he said suspicion stemming from the success of older athletes “is a reverse prejudice of highly fit athletes.’’
“Poor Joe Namath and Dick Butkus would’ve played many more years successfully, but they had lousy orthopedic surgeons back in the day,’’ Kraemer said. “So you look at how surgical interventions and sports medicine, athletic training, physical therapy also has elevated. So that’s a whole ‘nother thing. We know so much more about sports medicine.’’
Boyle, the strength and conditioning coach, said, “Maybe it’s my naivety, but I think there’s less of that stuff going on. But just the general nutritional knowledge has really increased.
“I think there’s less people looking for, say, the secret pill and more people who are just consistently eating better and consistently taking better care of themselves.’’
Rust or rest?
Eric Cressey, who runs high-performance facilities and works with major leaguers, cites the importance of load management.
That has become a controversial issue in the NBA with fans complaining after buying game tickets only to discover star players are on the bench. But James, for one, has embraced the need for more rest and recovery.
Then there is extended rest.
Pacquiao said his four-year layoff left his body fresh during his return. Williams looked fresh despite not having played a singles match since March 2024. Instead of rust, fans may have seen the benefits of rest.
The value of rest may be eclipsing the fear of rest.
“When you see these aging athletes, the number one thing that kind of comes down to is volume management,’’ Cressy said, referring to limiting the stress put on an athlete’s body.
Then, during a recent three-day span, Williams, Hill and Pacquiao seemingly turned back the clock.
“I don’t think these things surprise me, just because you do see players doing it at the really high level,’’ Cressey said, “and there’s just going to be more and more of them.’
If Father Time is undefeated, as James likes to say, you might as well push it to the limit. See if you can’t extend Father Time to extra innings, overtime, another round, or in the case of Venus Williams, one more set.