Meet Gail Falkenberg: A Relentless Professional Tennis Player At 69
Gail Falkenberg entered the International Tennis Federation's professional circuit and lost to a former junior world No. 1, half-a-century younger than her
- Sandip Sikdar
- Updated: April 13, 2016 10:53 AM IST
Highlights
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Gail Falkenberg plays professional tennis at 69
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Falkenberg was tennis coach at University of Central Florida
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She had not won a match since 1997
When American tennis player Taylor Townsend entered the $25,000 International Tennis Federation Pro Circuit event in Pelham, Alabama, the former junior World No.1 had no idea that she would be facing a 69-year-old opponent in the second round of qualifying. (Read more tennis stories here)
Yes, that's true! At 19, Townsend is surely accustomed to playing against older challengers but facing a 69-year-old Gail Falkenberg is another thing. Expectedly, Townsend, who is a 2012 Australian Open girls' singles champion, breezed past Falkenberg 6-0, 6-0 in 36 minutes.
At an age when most people prefer living a relaxed retired life, a persistent Falkenberg does not stop playing the game where her passion lies, despite having a very poor record, according to the ITF.
Falkenberg played a few pro tournaments in the 1980s and then commenced a stop-start comeback in the mid-1990s. Prior to the Pelham event, she had not won a match since 1997 and her win-loss record was an abysmal 0-64 since her most recent return in 2011.
Falkenberg eventually managed a win when she defeated 22-year-old Rosalyn Small, who is 0-25 in ITF events, in the first round of qualifying. Her tenacious career had more or less gone unnoticed until this tournament.
Falkenberg was earlier the tennis coach at University of Central Florida, and according to a 1985 article, she was the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Public Parks champion in 1983.
After conquering what was undoubtedly the most uncommon win of her career, Townsend is surely prepared to take on former World No.43 Lindsay Lee-Waters, a 38-year-old mother of two and her likely opponent in the next round.