By Frank Johnston, September 30, 2015 — As far as I know, neither of my parents played tennis but had my elder sister taught by a professional, believing it was a good, wholesome, social game for her. My father knew the owner of a company which made tennis rackets, and so when he bought her racket, my brother and I also got one. They were made of plywood and so didn’t warp. However, we still got wooden frames to keep them in just in case. They were heavy and had small, standard-size heads.
I was about six when I started hitting balls with my sister at the convent school court. Her coach was a good player, but my sister was not very athletic. However, she did learn to serve correctly, and I learned from her. Everybody played right-handed in those days, so that is what I did. I played other sports left-handed, and this may have kept me just a mediocre tennis player.
Two major events in my life involved tennis. The first was my selection at about age 16 to play in the senior interclass championships. Each member had to do duty as umpire which I took very seriously. I was acutely aware of the importance of making correct decisions, mostly close line calls on hard courts which left no marks. Our club courts were red clay which we called “en tout fas” which means we could play in the rain. Umpiring was the most important thing I had ever done, as well as traveling with the team had an influence on me. About one year later, a second event found me playing mixed doubles as usual, selected at random by the club captain. I was impressed by the appearance of my first opponent. She was crouching low awaiting my serve which she whacked back for a clear winner. Next day walking to the tram stop, I asked my friend if he knew the curly brunette who was always laughing and lived in the adjacent parish. His reply cemented my interest in her, “That would be Jeanne McKenna. She’s an animal!” That tennis moment changed my life!
And now, 72 years later, I’m still enchanted and fully challenged by my best ever tennis partner!