Despite the fact you state that the male participants are thirsty its STILL a better opportunity to meet quality women...
I agree with this but it's only applicable if a guy plays his cards the correct way.
Think about it: all it takes for the AFC participant is ONE woman whose single and somewhat in to him...and boom . Another woman = off the dating marketx another woman in a ltr that makes for example sosauve members wonder how the heck did AFC landed her...
Imagine you'd be a steadily participating with these sports for years...perhaps there would've been TONS of social circle-ish opportunities for you to meet or get introduced to quality women that wouldn't even acknowledge your existence in ANY other situation...especially OLD...
It's very difficult to swoop into a co-ed sports league for a season of the sport and walk away with some dates.
If a guy likes in a particular sport and does many league seasons of that sport (spanning multiple calendar years), he might be able to get either social circle-ish opportunities or a direct opportunity at the sponsor bar with a female playing on another team in the league. Same team random relationships also sometimes start, but are rare. Female teammates in a co-ed sports league might be able to give you introductions, which can be helpful.
Most co-ed sports league participants are under 35-40 and its more like under 36 for women.
Women 35+ do become available at private country and racquet clubs as a result of playing tennis, typically after a divorce. Never married, childless women under 35 are somewhat rare at country and racquet clubs. The highest probability girlfriend most men can get at a private club is a 35-50 year old divorcee with children. Even still, the middle aged women typically at country and racquet clubs playing tennis are far more likely to be married than divorced.
The most serious recreational tennis players are males. Despite its reputation as a female friendly sport, it really isn't in the most desirable age brackets.
Here's an experiment you can run for free.
Go to your public tennis courts and observe the players. You'll notice its a sausage fest. You will not see a lot of younger women playing singles matches against each other. When women are playing tennis, it is usually with a man such as a boyfriend, husband, brother, cousin, or any other male. Typically, it is a boyfriend.
While I have gotten dates from playing tennis, the number of dates I've gotten and the outcomes of these dates would not be a justification to play tennis.