A love match: Brandi & Wojtek Bratek repeat in mixed doubles at ITF World Tennis Masters

Currently, Wojtek Bratek is the director of tennis for Bluegreen’s Bayside Resort and Spa, while Brandi Bratek is a cognitive performance specialist with the U.S. Air Force and Army. The couple has moved five times in the last 10 years as a result of Brandi Bratek's career, and tennis has helped them lay down roots wherever they may be. 

"Tennis has provided an easy way for us to quickly connect with people around the world in new communities with those who have a similar interest," she said. "Tennis players are typically very social and are accustomed to meeting and getting to know new people. Communities around the world are always excited for new players to join their circle of players to learn from, play with and form new friendships.

"It is definitely special to share a common love for each other, for the same sport and to both be competitive at a similar level. It is also special that, at 45, we both still love to compete and both prioritize traveling to play tournaments. Luckily, we both understand the effort it takes to be competitive on the national and international stage so we are very understanding when one of us spends an afternoon playing tennis with someone rather than with each other."

Those connections were obvious for the couple in Turkey, where Brandi Bratek used her expertise to advise her teammates at crunch time. In Antalya, U.S. teams competed in team and individual events in the 30-, 35-, 40-, 45 and 50 and-over age groups, and in addition to the Brateks' title, Americans claimed the silver medal in both the men’s 30-and-over and women’s 40-and-over divisions, as well as a bronze in the women’s 30-and-over bracket. 

A recent study found that tennis players live, on average, 9.7 years longer than those who live a sedentary lifestyle, and that the sport offers numerous other health benefits, both in the physical, and the social and emotional. The Brateks are living proof of this study, and the epitome of how tennis is a lifetime sport.

"After playing in college, I was definitely burnt out and by the age of 30 I was probably in the worst shape of my life," Wojtek Bratek said. "I can honestly say for myself that getting back to competing at a high level changed my life completely. Getting back to competing changed our lifestyle, making us way more focused on eating healthy, staying active, and getting the right amount of sleep. 

"The social aspect of competing is also a huge part of why we do it. We are not only able to connect with a lot of like-minded friends in our community, but we were also able to make friends with players all over the world through competing at different tournaments. It definitely fuels a fire every time you compete at a bigger tournament and see how fit one has to be to get through one or two weeks of competition."

"Last year, I met and befriended a lovely woman from India who is approximately a 3.5 [NTRP level] player," Brandi Bratek added. "She only started playing tennis five years ago, but loves the sport and thoroughly enjoys combining her love of travel with playing tennis and meeting new people. She is a role model in India for moms to get out of the house and be active, and has even been featured on the news there.

"You don’t have to be a world-class player to sign up and get the experience. Once you get knocked out of the tournament, you can travel or stick around and watch some phenomenal athletes up close and personal without having to purchase a ticket for it. You truly are never too old to start playing, and there are always opportunities to compete."

For more information about USTA adult tournaments, and senior international competition, click here.