Article 06 Jun 2022

Tennis proves a sport for life at ITF Seniors World Championships

Ross McLean

06 Jun 2022

When 87-year-old King van Nostrand claimed his record-breaking 43rd world title in Florida last month, the sense of pride will undoubtedly have rivalled that felt by Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek following their weekend triumphs at Roland Garros.

In short, irrespective of whether a player is competing at a 30+ event or a 90+ tournament – or any ITF Seniors Tour age category in between – when silverware, ranking points and prestige are up for grabs, minds are focussed.

That was certainly the case at the two ITF World Championships held so far in 2022 – the ITF Seniors and Super Seniors World Championships – when competitive juices were most certainly flowing.

At the same time, however, the founding principles of Seniors tennis – healthy competition, camaraderie, fitness benefits, travel opportunities and sheer enjoyment – were firmly on display and visible at every turn.

Tennis once again proved itself a sport for life, a notion reinforced by competitors at both events taking time from their on-court pursuits to share their stories and profess their love for a sport which has given them so much.

While a flavour of those thoughts and recollections are detailed below, the full video can be viewed here.

John Shannon (IRE)

“I was in my late thirties, and I was a Gaelic footballer before I was a tennis player, but I just fell in love with the game instantly,” he said. “I play religiously to this day, probably three times a week, and I just love the game.

“I also read somewhere that people who play tennis have a good chance of living 10 years longer than anybody else so, if that’s the case, why not play tennis?”

Dana Gill (USA)

“I started playing when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old,” he said. “I loved baseball but I found that tennis gave me the opportunity to be involved in every shot – or every other shot I suppose you could say – and I loved that individual element.

“It’s been my life for 45 years and has shaped who I am. The people, contacts, friends, my wife – I met my wife through tennis – so I am all in when it comes to tennis.”

Stephen Dance (AUS)

“You can be as competitive as you want to be,” he said. “Of course, it brings out those feelings that you had years and years ago, being able to play amongst like-minded people in a competitive way. It’s great.”