Missouri Valley / Missouri

Marianella Padron: 5,000 vintage racquets, one lifelong love of tennis

David Smale | August 27, 2025

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month taking place Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States, USTA Missouri is featuring tennis coach Marianella Padron.

While Marianella Padron was a student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, she was driving across the southern part of the state from one coast to the other. She pulled up to an antique store that appeared to be closed.

An elderly lady was sitting in a rocking chair outside the shop, so Padron greeted her and asked if the shop was going to open soon.

“No, it’s closed,” Padron recalled the lady saying. “It’s been closed for the last 20 years. I can’t walk upstairs anymore. But if you would like to, you can go upstairs and see if you can find anything that you would like.”

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There, Padron found a racquet that was called ‘God’s Racquet’ by Prince. It was made as a promotional idea with a very small head.

The promotion never gained traction, partially because the commercials got banned from TV. Apparently, the television networks believed it was promoting a religious theme.

Padron went back downstairs and asked the lady if she could purchase the racquet. The lady said: “No, thank you. You can have it. You sat down with me and chatted. I enjoyed the conversation with you. I would like you to have it.”

Padron knew the item was valuable, so she insisted to pay for it. Finally, the lady said, “OK, if you would like to pay for it, I’ll sell it to you for $1.”

That is just one story about the vintage racquet collection owned by Padron, the director of tennis at Millennium Family Fitness in Joplin, Missouri. How many stories does she have? Oh, probably around 5,000, because that’s how many racquets she has in her collection.

“When I was in college, I wanted to have one or two vintage racquets in my room,” Padron said. “One led to another, which led to another. Slowly, I started researching antique racquets and the history of the game.

“I have racquets that are more than 100 years old. I not only collect tennis racquets—I also collect books and different memorabilia. When people see the racquets, I would like them to be able to find a little bit of history of the game and the racquets in the books that I own.”

Marianella Padron serves as the director of tennis at Millennium Family Fitness in Joplin.

In addition to her vintage tennis racquet collection, Marianella Padron collects books and other tennis memorabilia.

Marianella Padron has about 5,000 vintage tennis racquets in her collection.

What started as a fun hobby has developed into a lesson in the history of tennis for Marianella Padron and others who view her memorabilia.

Marianella Padron serves as the director of tennis at Millennium Family Fitness in Joplin.
In addition to her vintage tennis racquet collection, Marianella Padron collects books and other tennis memorabilia.
Marianella Padron has about 5,000 vintage tennis racquets in her collection.
What started as a fun hobby has developed into a lesson in the history of tennis for Marianella Padron and others who view her memorabilia.

Lifelong Tennis Journey

Padron is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, where she took up tennis at the age of 16. She was successful immediately and earned a tennis scholarship at Florida Atlantic. She’s been enjoying the sport for the past 40 years.

“Tennis, to me, is a healthy sport where I can meet healthy and beautiful people,” she said. “With tennis, I can share my favorite sport. I enjoy playing with them and now using tennis as my work. I’ve truly enjoyed the transition from playing to teaching tennis.”

Padron focuses much of her attention on growing tennis in Joplin and the surrounding area. Millennium is celebrating 25 years in business, providing an elite tennis and fitness facility to the community. On Aug. 16, Padron orchestrated a vintage tennis day at Millennium, with participants wearing old-school tennis apparel and competing with wooden racquets.

In fact, under Padron’s leadership, Millennium has hosted several tennis tournaments this year. The facility reconnected with USTA Missouri and hosted its first junior tournament in January. An indoor and outdoor facility, Millennium has hosted multiple tournaments at different levels.

That was by design.

“I got together with a representative of the Cooper Tennis Complex and Leslie Echols of the USTA,” Padron said. “The three of us put up an aggressive schedule. We want to promote tennis, with the idea of giving kids the chance to play as much as possible.”

The tournaments hosted by Millennium draw participants from both Missouri and Kansas, which is about 10 miles to the west. But Padron and her staff also welcome guests from as far away as Bentonville, Arkansas—which is about 60 miles away—and from Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is about 120 miles away.

Closer to home, Padron is also connected to the high schools in the Joplin area. Padron can be described as a tennis lifer. Her work-life is all about tennis. And when she returns home at the end of the day, she has that collection to remind her of her passion.

“I have been collecting for about 35 years,” she said. “My racquets don’t have a dollar value. My racquets have sentimental experience. As soon as the racquets get under my guidance, they lose their financial value, at least in my mind.”

Check out additional National Hispanic Heritage Month feature stories from across USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.

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