Ten days ago the fifth annual Stanley W. Pearson, Jr. Hardball Invitational came off in grand style in Philadelphia. This throwback, throw-it-back event, run by the ebullient Pearson clan, has done a ton to not only perpetuate hardball singles in the early post-switch era, but also it brings back the look of the eighties and early nineties. A lot of old tournament tee-shirts were in force (I proudly donned my 1984 Philly Districts shirt, forest green ribbing). In the finals, Eric Pearson faced off against Rich Repetto. Eric won in five (last year he won in four against Rich). Both players used Head SX2 racquets the entire tournament. This helps slow the match down a bit—using today’s racquets makes the ball fly too fast in the smaller court—and it helps remind everyone just how sweet those old racquets were. There is talk of someone re-issuing smaller head racquets like the SX2 again.