Meet the Mailes: Married 30 years, doubles partners even longer
One of the keys to being successful in doubles tennis is finding the right partner.
Dennis and Carol Mailes from Joplin, Missouri solved that equation very early. They’ve been married for 30 years and have been doubles partners even longer.
“We met on the tennis court,” Dennis said. “We’ve been playing tennis together ever since.”
Tennis has been a part of their lives longer than they’ve known each other. Carol has been playing since third grade, including playing in father-daughter tournaments. Both Dennis and Carol played tennis in high school.
They pointed to each other when asked who the better player was. Dennis was quick to point out playing in college was something only Carol did. He also mentioned she won a national championship in a mother-son competition with their older son, Alex.
She is more of a grip-it-and-rip-it player, while Dennis is more of a strategist.
“He figures out what we need to do to win,” Carol said. “I just like to hit the ball.”
“I love the competitiveness of it and the fact that you’re always trying to solve problems,” Dennis added. “It keeps me stimulated mentally, while at the same time you get physical exercise.”
Learning from Each Other
Dennis and Carol are both retired, Dennis from manufacturing and Carol from several decades in elementary education. He said her educational background continues to help him.
“She’s always teaching me things,” he said. “But I learn more when I keep my mouth shut.”
Dennis and Carol Mailes met on a tennis court and have competed together as a doubles tandem ever since.
Carol Mailes and her son, Alex, won USTA Gold Balls together at a mother-son national tennis tournament.
- Dennis and Carol Mailes met on a tennis court and have competed together as a doubles tandem ever since.
- Carol Mailes and her son, Alex, won USTA Gold Balls together at a mother-son national tennis tournament.
He’s passing along what he’s learned by serving on the USTA Missouri Board this year. He loves giving back to provide for others the same opportunities he’s had.
But mostly, Dennis and Carol enjoy playing tennis together. They play between 15 and 20 tournaments a year and in USTA Missouri leagues. They enjoy combining tennis and travel. Of course, when you’re successful it makes it more enjoyable.
They’ve finished second in one husband-wife national tournament. They’ve also finished third on five different occasions.
“We usually have something coming up,” Dennis said. “We’ll travel all over the U.S. to play tennis and get our points so that we can qualify for national tournaments. We played in San Diego in an Over-55 NTRP national tournament. We played singles and doubles over two different weekends.
“We were able to get a place near the beach and enjoy a week in San Diego together. But at the same time, you want to do the best you can at the national championships. Win or lose, you’ve got to realize that there are 30 or 40 people there trying to do the same thing. You’ve got to do the best you can and then try again next year.”
A True Tennis Family
Dennis and Carol were two of several USTA Missouri competitors to qualify for the NTRP National Championships a year ago. Dennis noted a top ranking within USTA Missouri Valley is necessary to make it to that stage.
“So it takes a lot of work just to get there,” he said. “There are a lot of players who are a lot better than I am. I just have the persistence to keep putting myself out there.”
Dennis and Carol have two sons. Alex was the USTA Missouri Player of the Year when he was a kid, and he was the Southeast Missouri State Boys’ Player of the Year in high school. He played Division-I tennis at the University of North Dakota where he followed in his parents’ footsteps by meeting his wife, Kaede, on the tennis court. He is now the director of tennis at McPherson College in Kansas.
The younger son, Nick, is more of a casual tennis player, though he did win a state medal in high school.
Whether it’s competing for national championships or playing recreationally on the weekends, you can easily call tennis a family obsession for the Mailes crew.
Check out additional USTA Missouri stories by clicking here.
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