US Edition
Grandma tennis duo set for Wimbledon debut aged 87 and 89
Octogenarians were paired just two weeks ago and have only played six games together
A tennis doubles team will make its Wimbledon debut aged 87 and 89.
Zovita Moon and Liz Simmons will compete at the British Masters Closed Grass Court Championships, hosted by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), on Saturday.
The octogenarians were paired just two weeks ago by Ms Moon’s daughter, and have only played six games together.
They applied for the tournament expecting to compete through the heats, but were fast-tracked straight to the over-85s finals.
It is the first time the pair will play at Wimbledon as a duo, with Ms Moon only having started to play the sport after retiring in 1998.
Ms Simmons, a former county player who has previously won a LTA indoor winter competition for over-75s, returned to competitive tennis this year after a quadruple bypass in 2015.
Ms Moon said: “I’m petrified, but my daughter says I will love it. She says, ‘How many people your age can say they’ve played at Wimbledon?’
“I suppose [playing at Wimbledon] is quite a cool thing to do. This is a one-off and I’m going to go there and enjoy myself… I just hope I don’t get too nervous, and I hope I hit the ball.
“I’ve never had any coaching and now it would be much too late to have any.”
Ms Simmons said: “We’ve tried to play a lot more tennis to prepare but that’s it really – I’ve tried not to overdo it.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve played competitive tennis – I’ll do a stretching routine before and be careful when I eat, and make sure I am well-hydrated.
“You have to familiarise yourself with everything that you can before the day as you don’t want anything to distract your attention.”
Off the court, the friends maintain an active social life by enjoying a coffee or glass of wine after games with other members from Limpsfield Tennis Club, Surrey, as well as having 18 grandchildren between them.
Despite being two months away from 90, Ms Moon said she thinks more older people should play tennis, adding that if someone can hold a racket, then they can go out and enjoy the sport.
Her tennis partner retains a similarly open-minded attitude towards the upcoming tournament.
“We get on well and enjoy playing together – we just want to see how we can do.”