Missouri Valley

Tennis trailblazer Jean Larrick celebrated at US Open as Champion of Equality

Josh Sellmeyer | September 05, 2025

In the midst of her 45th year as a tennis teaching professional in Springfield, Missouri, Jean Larrick has received a trio of distinguished recognitions in 2025. After being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in February, Larrick collected a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Springfield mayor in April.

Larrick’s most recent laurel was one of the biggest of her career. On Sept. 4 prior to the US Open women’s semifinal matches in New York, Larrick was recognized alongside 15 other women—one from each USTA section—as a Champion of Equality. As USTA Missouri Valley’s selection for this prestigious honor, Larrick was celebrated for her leadership and trailblazing efforts in gender equality.

“This means a lot because mainly it’s diversity, color barrier—it doesn’t matter what it is—so many things have happened,” Larrick said. “Everybody has had things that are not really good that have happened in their life. You know, things are tough. That doesn’t really change. I hope I’ve helped children, helped adults. I know I have.”

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Nearly every high-level junior player to emerge from Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield has been coached at one point by Larrick. She has taught more than 30,000 students during her illustrious career.

She started with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board in 1980 and continues to coach there part-time. She teaches children on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as well as adults on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“I’ll tell you what, if anything, it gets you out of bed probably is the best thing, and it keeps you moving along,” Larrick said. “I have a really good business. Once that kind of deceases, I don’t know. It just keeps moving on. I’m kind of known around here.”

Decades of Competitive Success

In addition to coaching players of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, Larrick has had a remarkable playing career. She has competed in tennis for about 72 years and has captured over 200 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions.

Jean Larrick (back row, second from right) was one of 16 individuals from USTA sections to be honored as a Champion of Equality.

Jean Larrick was recognized on Sept. 4 prior to the US Open women’s semifinal matches in New York.

Jean Larrick has had a lot to celebrate in 2025, including induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

She played for three years at Missouri State University in Springfield—a city she has lived in for the past 56 years—after one year of tennis at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, her hometown. That came after she didn’t have the opportunity to play tennis in high school as there were no girls’ sports teams offered.

Larrick earned four National Public Parks Tennis titles and has been the No. 1-ranked singles and doubles player in USTA Missouri Valley. She has coached and played on numerous USTA League championship teams. She has also worked as a tournament director for 40-plus years in addition to serving as a league verifier and USTA official for over 20 years.

“Just no matter what’s happened to you, if you’re helping somebody—it doesn’t really have anything to do with keeping scores in tennis or anything—it’s just about life and how you can deal with life,” Larrick said. “You can help a kid. Sit them down, talk to their adults. Just do anything that is very helpful.”

Larrick’s passion for coaching tennis stems from her love of teaching in the classroom. She taught K-12 special education and adaptive PE for 25-plus years before retiring in 2009. On the tennis court she champions equality by working with some of her favorite athletes, adaptive tennis competitors.

Celebrating a Legacy

Additional recognitions for Larrick include induction into the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. She earned the Women’s Intersport Network Women’s Senior Sports Award in 2007 and the National Public Parks Tennis Championships Perry Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

The 2025 US Open is celebrating Althea Gibson, who broke the color barrier at the U.S. National Championships—the US Open’s predecessor—75 years ago. Larrick met Gibson at the US Open in the early 1990s on the grounds at Louis Armstrong Stadium. She also watched her play on TV, in black and white.

“Fifteen minutes is what she got on television winning the US Open or Wimbledon,” Larrick said. “I never forget—she was the most beautiful, beautiful player. Oh my god, she was tough. I don’t know if she lost two matches in her whole freaking life. She had to get a job; she didn’t have any money.”

Larrick was honored at the US Open the same year Gibson was in a neat full-circle moment. Larrick has attended the US Open about 40 times and went with her son this year.

“I’m just really thankful for the USTA Missouri Valley and the USTA,” Larrick said. “Because somebody cares. That’s the key. Somebody cares.”

Check out additional USTA Missouri Valley connections to the 2025 US Open by visiting this page.

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