A Discussion on Women's History Month with Mary Buschmann

The final installment of USTA Missouri Valley's celebration of Women's History Month focuses on someone near and dear to all of our hearts: Mary Buschmann. Mary has been involved with tennis since she was a girl and has made a great impact on the game everywhere she has gone. We sat down with Mary to discuss the impact tennis has had on her life, as well as what it's meant to her to see so many women impact tennis in such a big way. Lastly, we discussed her vision for the section moving forward.

What has the game of tennis meant to you?

"Tennis was not something that was necessarily on my radar. I loved it growing up, played it. My dad always used to tell me to stop beating the boys. That wasn't a good thing. But I said, 'Well dad if I can beat them, I will.' But as I moved and relocated growing up, and in my professional life, it became a source of opportunity for me to help organize things. And it just kind of fell into the tennis realm. And it really got started in Iowa, in Des Moines. And when we moved back to St. Louis, I continued forward and they happened to be looking for a League Coordinator and that's where it all began."

What has it been like to see so many women take leadership roles in tennis?

"It's been interesting to watch and observe. If I look at section leadership, not just Missouri Valley, but across our sections, we do have an increase in female leadership out there which is good. We're slowly making a difference out there. And I think that's important for everyone to see, the young girls growing up. We're engaged here locally with WIN for KC, which is all about women in sport and how sport can breed leadership."

How do we continue to inspire girls and young women to strive for more leadership roles?

"I think today's young women are seeing almost a revolution. You're seeing a lot of very proactive women, whether in sport or in business, making a difference, not being silent. And that's really setting the stage for success so that hopefully we can get past the inequality of pay with women versus men in some cases and move forward with that. If you look at the USTA and the US Open, we've had equal pay out there for a while and that's been so important. And then you've got Billie Jean King who will always be first and foremost. And while we know her as Billie Jean King in tennis, she has done so much for women in general and is a huge voice that we have to continue to capitalize on.

What are your goals for the section moving forward?

We will continue to do a better job of engaging the various diverse communities across our five-state area. And they are all very different and we just want to make sure that everybody feels welcome, which means that we have to continue to develop our relationships. We need to continue to make sure that there's a welcoming environment for everybody along the way. If there's one thing that I want everybody to really take on is to be really good listeners. That's the only way we're going to improve and grow."

Do you have any final thoughts relating to Women's History Month?

"Women have contributed a lot to the history of our country and how it was formed. Back in the day, they were more behind the scenes. It's so nice to be close to getting that equal footing because it's all about the human spirit, not necessarily your gender."

Mary has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to everyone she crosses paths with. USTA Missouri Valley, along with the rest of the tennis world, is so lucky to have her. We look forward to seeing her continue to be a trailblazer and make tennis more welcoming to all!

Click here to watch the full 10-minute conversation with Mary.