Shelly Jones Earns League Sportsmanship Award

Some of Shelly Jones’s friends attended tennis drop-ins run by Scott Sisson in Branson and encouraged Jones to give them a try. Jones — in her late 30s at the time — dabbled in tennis as a kid, but the high school she attended in northeast Oklahoma didn’t have a tennis program. So even though it had been decades since Jones had played tennis semi-regularly, she jumped in at her friends’ urging.

“Scott was running a little group to teach people how to play tennis. I went and absolutely loved it,” Jones said. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so fun.’ That is really where it started.”

Save for a medical issue that forced Jones to take an extended break from the sport four years ago, she’s been competing in tennis ever since. During the past decade, Jones has played in one or two USTA Missouri leagues each year. She makes the 45-minute drive from her hometown of Branson to Springfield’s Cooper Tennis Complex to play every Wednesday evening in the fall, winter and spring seasons.

Jones typically competes on 18 & Over and 40 & Over 3.5 teams, and she’s played on Melissa Hartin’s 3.5-level squad the last couple years. Jones earned a League Sportsmanship Award from USTA Missouri Valley earlier this year after district player Tami Murphy nominated her for the accolade. Jones said her faith guides her to walk with character, integrity and sportsmanship on and off the tennis court.

“I’m a Christian, and I think it is my duty to be kind to everyone,” Jones said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do or how you lead your life. That’s not my place. My place is just to be kind and treat others how I want to be treated.

“Sports is taking your loss and not being mad. At one point with tennis if I didn’t win or hit the ball just right, I got irritated. It made it not fun anymore. I’m not going to play at the top of my game every game. I need to realize that and forget that last point or last game. And step onto the court ready, just thinking it’s going to be my best game again that time.”

Jones recalled fond childhood memories playing tennis with her Mom at their local courts during the summertime. Decades later after she picked up the sport again thanks to Sisson and her friends, some ladies noticed her playing and asked Jones to join their USTA 40 & Over team when she turned that age. A couple years later Jones proceeded to do just that and has enjoyed partaking in USTA leagues ever since.