Captain, coordinator, official: Carol Rollins answers the call for USTA Missouri

One of the best ways to determine who’d be a good leader is to see who’s demonstrating leadership tendencies long before a title is bestowed on them.

Carol Rollins has been a USTA competitor for almost two decades, often taking leadership roles whether designated that way or not.

Just in the past few years, she has captained several USTA Missouri league teams. That includes a 55 & Over 7.0 team, which combines the levels of both players, and a 40 & Over 3.5 women’s team. The 40 & Over 7.0 mixed team she captained advanced to nationals last year, and the 55 & Over 7.0 mixed team she led qualified for nationals in 2024.

“I enjoy doing it,” Rollins said. “It’s a challenge to get the right people together to play.”

Rollins likes playing tennis as often as she can. She usually plays on the teams she captains—when the opportunity is there—and enjoys captaining squads and playing on them equally.

She keeps herself in excellent shape—thanks in large part to the health benefits of tennis—so she doesn’t see herself stopping with the sport anytime soon.

“I’m doing a lot of things to keep my body in shape, to continue playing,” she said. “But I can’t foresee quitting. I guess if there were an injury, I’d have to consider it. We all age, you know.”

Rollins also has stepped up to chair the USTA Missouri Awards. That also just happened; she wasn’t looking to add another arrow to her quiver of work.

“Ann Vogel was the chairperson of that,” Rollins said. “She asked me if I would help her out with that. I assisted her for two years before she retired. Leslie Echols, our executive director in Missouri, asked me if I would chair it. So I’ve chaired the last couple of years.

“I enjoy going through the nominees and seeing the recommendations from different people—coaches, parents and other players—and getting insight on the participants. That’s especially true with the juniors, because I don’t get to see the juniors that much. It’s heartwarming when you see a coach talking about their players and what they’re achieving.”