A Message from our President
The Racquettes were “born” in 1962 when a young woman and lover of tennis, Hazel Cook, in St. Petersburg called some female friends to meet on Friday mornings to play at the St. Petersburg Tennis Center at 650 18th Avenue South. The response was overwhelming, and the membership soon grew to 100 members.
The group organized and declared their purpose to be twofold: (1) To promote the enjoyment of tennis among women; and (2) to support the endeavors of the St. Petersburg Tennis Center. All women, regardless of level of play, were welcome to become a Racquette, and the annual dues remain at $15 per year.
Membership soon swelled to nearly 200, at which point, due to court limitations, new memberships had to be limited to only those sponsored by an existing member. That is no longer the case.
Throughout their 56 years, the Racquettes have enjoyed great tennis on Friday mornings at 8:30, and, more importantly, have gained and maintained lifelong personal relationships with their fellow Racquettes.
In addition, the Racquettes have supported the St. Petersburg Tennis Center’s endeavors in several ways: by providing annual scholarships to promising young tennis players; by providing supplies and equipment as needed at the tennis center; and lastly but not leastly, literallly , over the course of many years and many many tournaments held at the center, the Racquettes have baked at least a million cookies for the tournament players there! In fact, many male players have been heard to say that the cookies baked by the Racquettes are the main reason they entered the tournaments at SPTC!!!
So come one, come all, female tennis players, on Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m. at St. Pete Tennis Center, 650 18th Avenue South, from October thru May, for great tennis and warm friendship. Just come and join us when you can.
Anita Knapp
President
