Hard Work Brings Padron to Joplin

She served as vice president of USTA Missouri for a term in 2010 prior to being named district president in 2011. She held that role for two terms until 2014. Padron received the 2008 and 2017 community service excellence awards from the USTA. She credited the organization with assisting her in the advancement of her career.

“The USTA helps out a lot of people directly and indirectly,” Padron said. “They have a lot of aids to improve your knowledge of the game. Also to help with the managerial aspect and workshops. And the USTA offers many, many angles to people. They are there for you.”

While competing for FAU, Padron had a blank wall in one of her rooms she wanted to decorate with something. She made her way to a local thrift shop and decided to purchase a wooden tennis racquet. Doing so prompted her to learn a bit about the history of the sport, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

That led to Padron buying another older racquet and researching the game further. Months later, she snagged yet another racquet. Rinse, repeat.

A couple decades later, Padron estimates she has accumulated a jaw-dropping 4,000 wood and metal tennis racquets. She houses the impressive and well-organized collection in her 1,000-square-foot basement. Padron belongs to the Tennis Collectors Society, where she connects and shares information with other collectors around the U.S. and globe.

The oldest racquet in Padron’s stockpile is an 1890 Slazenger Fishtail, which doubles as her favorite racquet of the collection. The pursuit of adding to her assortment has likewise pushed Padron to continue educating herself about the sport, making her a tennis historian of sorts.

“I have many places where I get them,” Padron said. “Thrift stores, antique stores. People are aware I’m collecting, so they give it to me. I have purchased people’s collections because they didn’t know how to store them. I have racks to store them. I have them in carts with wheels so you can move them around.”

Padron — who speaks both English and Spanish — is grateful for her diverse upbringing. With tennis being an international sport, she said her exposure to different life experiences has aided her in coaching players with all types of backgrounds. She called her diversity advantageous in the same way that speaking multiple languages can be beneficial.

“It allows me to understand and be thankful about the opportunities the United States gives to players and not to take it for granted,” Padron said. “Here in the U.S., you have so many beautiful opportunities. It would be not very smart to not take advantage of them."

“I was able to make a career out of it. I am extremely thankful to live here in the U.S. Tennis has given me my career. I cannot say a bigger thanks than that. I am extremely grateful and thankful about it.”