THEY may not be as fast or hit as hard as they used to but for players at the Mildura Veterans Tennis Championships it’s experience that counts.
Almost 200 veteran players hit the courts at the Mildura Lawn Tennis Club yesterday for the annual three-day tournament and showed that you don’t have to be young, just young at heart, to enjoy a game of tennis.
Players range in age from the late 30s to late 70s, with 77-year-old Reg Gracie taking the title of the tournament’s oldest player.
The tournament is an International Tennis Federation sanctioned event, meaning players compete for rankings points.
Ranked number 65 in the world in the ladies 40-plus singles, Queenslander Karen Pearce is also the top ranked Australian and is in Mildura for this week’s tournament.
Another player enjoying the Mildura sunshine this weekend is former Australian professional player Michael Tebbutt.
The 38-year-old spent 10 years on the ATP tour and was ranked as high at 87 in the world in singles and inside the top 30 in doubles.
Since retiring from the tour in 2002, Tebbutt has taken up tennis coaching, but said he was happy being back on the court as a player in Mildura.
“It’s my first time playing in Mildura and I’m really enjoying it,” Tebbutt said.
For more of this story, purchase your copy of Thursday’s Sunraysia Daily 2/11/2009.