Susan Mehmedbasich-Wright grew up in Nor. Cal. and began playing competitive tennis at eight years old. During her junior competitive years she was consistently highly ranked both in Nor. Cal. and nationally. At seventeen years old she turned professional and competed on the Women’s Professional Tennis Tour (WTA). At nineteen years old she decided to quit the professional tour and tennis altogether. Twenty-five years after leaving the sport she began to play and compete again. She started back playing some state tournaments in Colorado where she now resides with her husband. Since refocusing on tennis this time as a senior player Wright has won more than 50 U.S.T. A. senior championship titles in singles and doubles.
In 2011, she was a member of the winning U.S.A. Bueno Cup W/50’s, and this year was a team member for the U.S.A. on the winning Maureen Connolly Cup W/55’s played in San Diego in February. Wright won the “Gold Slam” in 2007, and 2008 winning all four national doubles championships in a calendar year. Wright was ITF World Doubles Champion in 2005, 2009 and 2012. She finished 2011 ranked second in the United States in singles winning two national singles tournaments. She is currently ranked number seven in the world in women’s 55’s.
SZ: What were the events that brought you back to the competitive arena?
SW: I moved from California to Grand Junction, Colorado. My dad lived there and I didn’t know a soul when I moved except for my dad and his wife. When my dad invited me to come and hit with him it was a natural way to spend time together.
SZ: It was a way to acclimate to the community and meet new people?
SW: Yeh. I didn’t know a soul in Colorado when I moved there. I moved in November and began hitting with my dad. In April there was a tournament about 300 miles away from where I was living but I didn’t know it was that far away. My dad was going to play in it so I entered it as well. I drove myself and I began to think to myself that I was driving to another state because it took me five hours to get to the tournament.
SZ: Was it physically challenging after putting tennis aside for twenty-five years to begin running around on the court again?
SW: I began playing people at whatever level I began at and it was hard. I don’t have a specific memory but people say when they come to Colorado with the thin air and altitude it’s a little harder to breathe. But I got back into tennis slowly. It wasn’t like I went from not playing very much to a high tournament level.
SZ: A year after restarting tournaments you played the National Hardcourts at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
SW: I couldn’t really walk for about a week after I played that tournament.
SZ: You put a lot of effort into it?
SW: I played a match against the first seed in the quarter-finals and lost 6-3, 7-5 which surprised me. Although the opponent I lost to didn’t win the tournament. I went into the back draw and lost in the first round. I remember that night I couldn’t put the sheet over my toes they hurt so much. My feet were just throbbing. All my toes, the toe nails everything was just throbbing. At first I didn’t put the two together I didn’t know it was because of playing the matches. I just thought this was really odd.
SZ: You didn’t make the connection between your playing and your body's pain.
SW: It was really bad. I had driven from Colorado and when I got out of my car after driving home it was about ten days before I could function again.
SZ: How long did it take for you to know you were going to remain in senior tennis and at what point did you discover you enjoy playing?
SW: I don’t really know that there was a point. The first year back playing I played some tournaments in Colorado. I played a few national tournaments and the following year I only played tournaments in Colorado again.
SZ: What age group were you playing in?
SW: It was my first year in the W45’s. I played a category two national tournament in Marin, CA. and my husband came along so we played mixed doubles. I won the singles. I wasn’t in great playing shape so it was tough in that I couldn’t put the ball away. In the finals I thought I was going to die because I was running all over the court and my legs were tired and I was out of breath. But I won.
SZ: But you didn’t quit.
SW: No, I didn’t quit.
SZ: A lot of people would have given up. But you have a stick-to-it-ive-ness.
SW: You mean during the match, or quit tennis afterwards?
SZ: Many people would have gone “this is too much work.” But you have this wonderful stick-to-it-ive-ness.
SW: I was hanging in there. Because of that tournament win I was chosen to play on the Margaret Court Cup Team for the W/45’s. I kept playing national tournaments and began playing better and getting physically back into it. That was kind of the beginning. I was married on a Saturday in 2003, and left on Wednesday for the Margaret Court Cup in Germany. Becoming a member of the Cup Team was a pivotal point because now I was competing with the big girls (world players). I was beginning to meet people and was reaching the semis and finals of tournaments. In 2003 at the Indoors my doubles partner at the time Phyllis Zilm from Colorado and I won the tournament and that was my first gold ball as an adult.
SZ: For ten consecutive years you’ve been selected to the International Tennis Federation Seniors World Team Championship representing team United States. What the best part of competing for the United States?
SW: It’s really cool when everyone is wearing their uniform it’s kinda like the Senior Olympics. We all work together as a team. The Cup is probably my favorite part of playing now.
SZ: Does participating as a member of a team have unique challenges different from competing as an individual?
SW: I enjoy that my team members are on the side-lines watching and pulling for me. Team members also serve as coaches. They can talk with you during change-overs. Sometimes they offer advice. Sometimes we chat about whatever. It’s just really fun.
SZ: You experience the team as all benefits.
SW: Yes. You’ve got people on the side-lines when you are playing and if you need ice, a towel, a banana the coach is running around providing whatever the player requests. 2005 was the first year that I played singles on a Cup Team and then I played in The Worlds which is an individual tournament the following week. It was a huge let down afterwards. After my first experience of competing with team members then returning to compete as an individual it was hard. One reason it was hard was because I was completely exhausted from The Cup Tournament. I hadn’t played two tournaments back to back since competing on the pro circuit. I had played five days in a row then to try and compete again at that high level the following week, I was mentally and physically exhausted.
That was 2005 and in 2006 it was a similar experience. I remember beating a player in three sets that I had beaten the week before during the Cup Matches. We were in South Africa playing on clay. At the end of the match there were about forty stairs I had to walk up from the court. I looked at the stairs and I put my tennis stuff down and almost began crying. I thought my legs would not get me up those stairs. I sat at the bottom of those stairs for about thirty minutes.
SZ: Had you experienced that level of physical fatigue as a junior player?
SW: No, that’s what I remember because I played all the time. I began playing at eight and there was no time to get out of shape. The last five years of competing have been easier for me because my play and physical conditioning have picked up.
SZ: As a junior player you played in multiple age groups and women’s tournaments occasionally at the same time. You can be described as having “heightened court sense.” Do you think this instinctual ability developed through the early coaching you received or through the variety and volume of matches you played in your junior years?
SW: It’s probably a little bit of a lot of things. A lot of people who play no matter how much they are coached their ability only takes them so far. There were lots of kids growing up that were good but in their heads they couldn’t do it. I think it’s a bunch of factors and you’ve go to have several of them to succeed. When I play father/daughter tournaments I can identify some components that will distinguish teams that are successful.
SZ: What are the components?
SW: Experience, physical mobility, age, physical ability - (shot production), chemistry between the father/daughter. Do they build each other up with their on court communication? Or do they become angry at each other or themselves? There is an intuitive sense I have for the court. When there is a space to hit into whether I am playing singles or doubles I just feel it.
SZ: You can tell if an opponent doesn’t have this intuition on the court. When you watch a match you can tell if the players aren’t clued in by the way they are handling the court.
SW: Players learn a lot of things when they are young. I played at least fifteen tournaments a year all through the juniors and into the pro’s.
SZ: In what ways had the game changed when you returned after twenty-five years that has made playing more fun or interesting for you physically, technically, mentally?
SW: The game today is just faster. Everyone is stronger, taller, fitter at least in the professional arena. We never went to the gym. All the gym work is making players faster and stronger.
SZ: Do you have a work-out program you do with a trainer?
SW: For ten years I went to the gym and just did a little bit. Everyone laughs at me, even my non playing friends. They would say, “ Are you kidding? That’s all you can do?” I used to think a trainer just sat there and counted reps or motivated you to go to the gym. Recently I hired a trainer and I’m giving it a good go this year to see how much stronger I can become.
SZ: How is working with a trainer going?
SW: It’s been fun. I didn’t think I would like going to the gym. The trainer makes these little programs for me that I do with him. I came home from the clay courts this year and I wasn’t really as tired as I have been.
SZ: Of the current top 20 WTA professional players pick one that you would love to play and why.
SW: Maria Sharapova. I would love to hit with her because we could hit the cover off the ball with each other. Have a slug fest. It would be really fun.
SZ: Which tournament win in recent years has had the most meaning to you and why?
SW: The Cup in New Zealand a year ago. We were there during the 6.3 earthquake. There were three different sites and we were not at the epicenter of the earthquake but we were walking down the street when the earthquake hit. Winning the Cup in New Zealand made the whole trip interesting and meaningful.
SZ: How many weeks out of the year are you traveling as you prepare and play?
SW: Last year I was away about 12-14 weeks. My next event is May 18th, the Chicago Indoors.
SZ: You are in business as a Mary Kay Cosmetics consultant and now sales director. How do you juggle playing the schedule you keep and your business career?
SW: There are not sales quotas at Mary Kay. It’s up to me to grow and sustain my business. There are no “have to’s.”
SZ: The job allows for flexibility.
SW: A lot of player’s are now using Mary Kay Cosmetic products. I bring product with me every where I go. Most player's know I am a consultant and if they show interest I connect with them at tournaments. Everyone needs sunscreen.
SZ: Do you find there is carry over in discipline/organization of work and playing?
SW: I’ve become much more organized in the last 7/8 years. Otherwise I couldn’t do what I am doing. I am away for a month playing then home for 2-3 weeks then leave again. The new technologies help. I have an I-phone that keeps me more organized.
SZ: Do you have any favorite quotes, tips, stories that have guided you on your senior tennis journey?
SW: I try to maintain a positive outlook on life. It all depends on how you look at things. On the court I just play each point. When I play each point I don’t have to pay so much attention to the score.
SZ: It keeps you focused.
SW: It’s been fun. Tennis has kept me healthy and strong.
Susan thanks so much for taking time out of your busy life to chat about your tennis playing days in the seniors
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @www.examiner.com
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