94-year-old Korean War vet Dale Trinka continues to show love for tennis

Nov. 11 is a day to honor those who have served our country. For this year’s Veterans Day, USTA St. Louis is featuring Korean War veteran and tennis player Dale Trinka.

In 1954, one year after the war ended, Trinka was one of many soldiers who traveled to Korea.

“I was sent to Korea for 13 months after the Korean War. I wasn’t involved directly in the war, but I am still a veteran,” Trinka said. “There was a time where my group got attacked by North Koreans, but luckily it wasn’t a big one.”

Trinka now resides in Illinois and plays tennis at St Clair Tennis. He has played many sports throughout his life but found tennis was the one that stuck.

“I played golf, basketball, tennis and baseball,” Trinka said. “All those days are gone, but tennis was the one thing I could continue to play as I got older. Because of my mobility, tennis is a great way for me to stay sharp and keep competing.”

Along with playing tennis, Trinka also has a long history of captaining and co-captaining local USTA teams.

“My USTA career was really interesting. I joined the tennis club years ago and was recruited to join USTA in the mid-’90s,” Trinka said. “My team won the St. Louis district tournament five times and advanced to regionals. I am 94 years old now, and my USTA days are over!”

Trinka recalled one of his favorite parts of being a captain: recruiting.

“I loved recruiting for my team,” Trinka said. “One time I tried recruiting two men, and I told them matches were on Sundays. They told me they couldn’t join because they were Catholic priests. I thought that was pretty funny.”

Recently, Trinka organized a group of seniors to play at the tennis club. They have a group of 20 rotating players who meet up twice a week, always at 1:00 p.m.

“I enjoy the fellowship tennis gives me,” Trinka said. “My group often talks about all of our good ol’ days.”

The group is always open to having new players. They play on Mondays and Wednesdays at St Clair Tennis, and Trinka encourages interested players to reach out.