Women’s History Month: Connie Robertson’s dedication to tennis in Kansas is admirable

Our second Women’s History Month feature is on Connie Robertson, who has dedicated much of her life to bringing tennis to communities across Kansas. That dedication, partnered with her selfless spirit, easily earned Connie the 2023 President’s Award.

Keep reading to learn more about Connie, from her early introduction to tennis to her incredible works across the state.

“I learned to play tennis in St. Louis from my uncle, Earl Buchholz, who was a pro at Tower Grove and AAA and I taught tennis for the Jefferson City Parks and Rec while in high school,” Connie said. “ When I moved to Kansas City, I helped my uncle by hitting with some of his players. Then, I moved to Topeka, where I taught at Sherwood and ran Hughes Courts for a couple of years.”

“I was working at Woodvalley when I was asked if I would like to coach tennis at Hayden High School,” she continued. “I was there through the 1999 season, working with the boys and girls [teams]. We went to State every year!”

“In that spring, I applied for a job with the USTA to work in the Kansas district,” explained Connie. “At this time, thanks to a lady named Joyce Ritchey, I was working with the Boys and Girls Clubs and Community Centers in Topeka. Each year, we would have a big get-together with all of them, and one year we had about 500 kids. Thanks to Alex, Ron, and Fred Johnson, they all got some tennis in!”.

“I enjoyed traveling the state, and when I went through a town that had courts, I would stop by the school or local Parks and Rec [department] to see if the USTA could be of help,” said Connie. “One of the towns I went to was Independence, and Ken Brown… I'm so proud of what he has done. When I left our district, I had more members of the USTA than any other district in the [Missouri] Valley!”

An advocate for adaptive tennis, Connie was instrumental in bringing the sport to Fort Riley. “One of the things I am proudest of [in my career] is working with the Warriors in Transportation at Fort Riley. We even got the general to come down and try out the wheelchairs!”

Connie is also involved with bringing tennis to Native tribes across Kansas. “The way I got involved with the Native tribes was when Topeka hosted the [USTA] National Tournament.  While with the USTA, I went to all the Native Boys and Girls Clubs and they were all interested in tennis, but didn't have anyone to teach it, so it seemed like the natural thing to do,” Connie said. “[It’s] still going today with the Iowa tribe. We ran a tournament for a couple of years doing drills with all three Boys and Girls Clubs. We had one boy from the Kickapoo tribe who went to the clinic at the National Tournament [in Topeka] and even got his whole family to try it!”  

In all, Connie’s life in tennis has brought smiles to the faces of others, as well as herself. “This has all brought me great joy and a lot of new friends who have made this life great,” she said.