National

Super Senior players share their love of tennis for a lifetime

March 09, 2021


Tennis is often called the sport of a lifetime, and for three Super-Senior players from around the United States, this is certainly true. 

 

For this Women's History Month, we caught up with 85-year-old Bea Burnette Herrick (Tarboro, N.C.), 89-year-old Margaret Canby (San Antonio, Texas) and 86-year-old Rose Yurek-Austin (Naples, Fla.) to learn how they got started in the game, the changes they've seen and their hopes for the future. 

The best from our Super-Seniors:

 

Burnette Herrick: "I'm 85, going on 19... what I've learned in the camaraderie of it. Making good friends, socializing, sharing. I think it's healthier than bridge or whatever else you've got in mind, but it's just great to be out there playing."

 

Canby: "I first started playing tennis in 1940. My sister is six years older than I am, and she was going into high school on the tennis team. I thought, 'Hm, that seems like a good thing to do.' I talked my mother into giving me a racquet, my sister into giving me some balls, and I went over and started hitting against a wall." 

 

Yurek-Austin: "Tennis is my third-favorite thing. I have my faith, my family and tennis. That's it!"

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