Being an elite athlete requires mastery of mind, body and, occasionally, some unorthodox skills. As part of the December 2024 Total Athlete issue, SI explores how today’s complete competitors are expanding what’s possible with new fitness frontiers, cutting edge technology, mental training and more—from the behemoths of the NFL’s offensive line, to a versatile WNBA veteran, to a special group of athletes who forgo the fundamentals and go against the grain.
Back in the olden times—by which we mean the early 2000s—a retired tennis player could join the senior tour upon turning 35. The rationale: He was sufficiently old to be a nonfactor on the ATP Tour; but sufficiently young to be somewhat immune both from irrelevance and lower back pain.
