Missouri Sports Hall of Fame recognizes tennis leader Sharman Paine Walker Bennett

Sharman Paine Walker Bennett was honored by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame earlier this spring for her lifetime of involvement in tennis as a player and coach. Her reach actually extends beyond her own lifetime.

It began with her father, who played high school tennis in Monett, Mo. He was pretty good at the sport. When he and Bennett’s mother got married, he convinced her to let him teach her the sport. He helped found the Springfield Tennis Association along with Gerald Perry and Roger Holstein.

When Bennett and her three siblings were young, their parents took them to the courts at Southwest Missouri State University, where they’d watch him instruct his wife. Eventually, he taught them to play.

Bennett and her brother, Scott, both took to the sport quickly. Scott won some junior tournaments and eventually played collegiately at the University of Missouri.

Bennett’s first husband, Dan Walker, got certified as a tennis professional and was hired to be her assistant instructor. Their kids — a son and daughter — grew up around tennis and went on to become tennis teaching professionals. They’re now teaching Bennett’s grandchildren to play tennis.

Her first husband died suddenly in 2010. Her current husband, Andy Bennett, actually played mixed doubles with her when they were in eighth grade. Later, when Bennett was leading the tennis program at Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield, Mo., he played in that program where they resumed their “doubles” game.

Roots on the Court

Bennett attended Parkview High School in Springfield, where she excelled at tennis. She played junior tournaments in Missouri and throughout the USTA Missouri Valley, long before the USTA juniors program was as robust as it is today.

She stayed local for college, attending Southwest Missouri State, where she lettered all four years. She helped the team win the MIAA all four years and qualified for the national tournament during her junior and senior seasons.

“We went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, one year. And we went to Auburn, Alabama, the other year,” she said. “None of us did anything great. I think my partner and I won one doubles match, but it was an incredible experience. It was exciting.”

Bennett was inducted into the college’s athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. After graduating college, she taught school for a year before moving back to Springfield and a job at a local country club. She then got a job at the Sunshine Indoor Tennis Center. It didn’t hurt that the club pro’s daughter was one of Bennett’s college teammates.