Love of tennis serves up fun for Meadows couple

THE MEADOWS — For three days, Sally King sat in a lawn chair with her eyes on the tennis court.

Every now and then, the part-time Meadows resident would glance toward the scoreboard before reverting her attention to the match at hand. After all, this wasn’t any ordinary match.

It was the semifinals of the Men’s 80 singles, and her husband, Bill King, was on the court for the third time in the USTA Super Senior Grand Prix, which ran Feb. 21-26 at The Meadows Country Club.

“He likes having me watch,” Sally King said. “That’s mainly why I come.”

Between serves, Bill King would look back toward his wife and smile.

“I’m glad when she comes,” Bill King said.

The 80-year-old Bill King began playing tennis 50 years ago. A natural athlete, Bill King began looking for something to keep him active and occupy his time.

“I’ve just always liked sports of any kind, but when you’re 30 (years old), tennis is the easiest thing to play,” Bill King said.

Bill King began playing tennis with some friends in his hometown of Warsaw, Va.; and shortly thereafter he taught his wife how to play. Although, Sally King admits she isn’t nearly as competitive as her husband.

“He taught me how to play when we first got married, but I wasn’t a very good student,” Sally King said. “He’s nice enough to let me play. We’ll go out and hit together sometimes.”

“She plays a lot less than I do,” Bill King said. “She’s alright, but she’s never considered herself competitive.”

Today, Bill King competes in about six tournaments throughout the year, splitting his time between Sarasota and Virginia. This past fall, the couple bought a condominium in the Meadows, allowing Bill King to get out on the courts more often.

“We like The Meadows because of the tennis and because of the way the developer laid it out,” Bill King said. “There are so many interesting people that live here.”

When the couple is living in Sarasota, Bill King tries to get out on the court at least six times a week. Back home in Virginia, Bill King travels about 50 miles to Richmond once or twice a week to play tennis.

“We live in a little town with tennis courts, but they aren’t very good,” Bill King said. “Richmond has nicer tennis courts and the country club.”

In addition to playing singles, Bill King also plays men’s doubles. Bill King and his wife also play mixed doubles with some friends in Virginia.

“There’s a group of us in our little town that play Mixed doubles,” Sally King said. “We got out and play, but it’s not very serious.”

Prior to competing at the Meadows, Bill King competed in the USTA Super Series Grand Prix event Feb. 14-19 at Payne Park in Sarasota where he reached the quarterfinals in Men’s 80 singles.

Bill King isn’t sure whether or not he’ll compete again before heading back to Virginia, but he is certain about one thing. His age hasn’t stopped in from playing and he doesn’t plan on letting it any time soon.

“I hadn’t really noticed it getting harder,” Bill King said of playing tennis now that he’s older. “It’s fun. I have no intentions of quitting now.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].