Rita Price, Class of 2013

Rita is a multiple World Champion and a double-digit National Champion, despite being a bit of a late bloomer who picked up the game seriously when she was 62 years old. Her first tennis tournament was the 1978 Denver City Open. Price won her first major title at the Senior Olympics in 1991, capturing the title again 1995 and 1997. She won in mixed doubles in 2001 and in 2003. During that period, she also captained Colorado’s first senior league team to win a National Championship in 1992 (and again in 1994). 

She captured her first USTA Gold Ball at age 79 in the 75s division (2005 US Grass Court Championship). She then started to roll, winning the 2006 doubles title at the Japan Friendship Cup and adding a pair of national titles in singles and an additional doubles gold ball. Price won three gold balls in 2007, as well as the 2007 World Championship doubles title in Christchurch, NZ. She earned the singles and doubles titles at the Senior Olympic Games in 2008 and another gold ball in doubles, bringing Price her first No. 1 world singles ranking, in the ITF 80s division. In 2009 she won the singles title at the Perth, AUS World Championships.

In 2011, Price held the No. 1 singles ranking in the nation in women's 85 singles, earning three national titles. In 2012, Rita won five gold balls, and three more in 2013. In 2014, Rita completed a Gold Slam, winning the USTA 85s doubles championship on all four surfaces (including a singles championship on clay). She won a second Gold Slam in 2015. Price has been celebrating her 90s in style, sweeping doubles at every national championship since 2016 with her long-time partner Doris Lutz. She and Lutz have split the gold and silver balls at most of those events, with Price sweeping in 2016-17 and sharing titles in 2018-19.

The pandemic of 2020 was the only thing to keep Price away from a National Championship, having won a gold ball in 24 consecutive events. Dating back to her first year of competition in the USTA 85s, Price has won 43 gold balls in the last decade, 51 overall, in addition to her dozens of second place silver ball trophies.