Linda Ruddy, tennis

Linda Ruddy first set foot on a tennis court in 1950.

Learning to play in high school, Ruddy has been playing ever since and although her competitive days are over, she is still enjoying every stroke she takes.

She graduated in 1959 from Edwardsville (Ill.) High School, at a time when most schools' athletic programs didn't come equipped with a tennis team. Instead, Ruddy competed in the Girls Athletic Association (GAA), a non-school organization that gave females the chance to play competitive sports that weren't established at high schools.

"We would get together after school and compete with each other," Ruddy said.

Ruddy's parents spurred her interest in the sport, although neither one was that interested in the sport at the time.

"My mother had played a little when she was a kid but not a whole lot," she said.

Her dad, George Musso, on the other hand, was more interested in football. In fact, Musso was a tackle/guard for the Chicago Bears and was later elected into the National Football Hall of Fame.

"I was just a good athlete," she said. "My parents were interested in me trying it and I was interested in trying it."

After high school, Ruddy headed off to Milliken University and stayed involved, gaining tips from the senior boys.

"I played at Milliken but it wasn't real competitive," Ruddy said. "We didn't play a whole lot of schools. It wasn't a real organized team."

The true competition began when Ruddy moved to Cape and became involved in the tournaments that were held around the area.

"I got into it when I moved here, I met some people who played and we started playing a lot together," she said.

Ruddy first played with some women from Sikeston, Mo. The girls got to become good friends between matches.

But during matches, it was all game.

"Any time I played, I played to win," Ruddy said. "There was some real good, competitive women's tennis going on at that time."

Soon after, a decline in the sport's popularity among women began and tournaments dropped drastically.

"I don't play in tournaments like I used to," she said. "There aren't that many women that play anymore."

Ruddy still does. Every Tuesday and Thursday she takes the court with a new group of women. The group plays doubles at the Universal Health and Fitness Center in the winter and at the University courts in the summer.

Ruddy has three children, two of whom are interested in the sport.

"I got two of our children interested when they were young and they played in high school," she says. "I haven't got to play with them much lately because they live so far away."

Daughter Maggie now lives in Boulder, Colo., while son Fred resides in Corona, Calif.

She has one child who has stayed near home, Elizabeth Toftemark, who has twins.

When Ruddy isn't playing tennis, she is teaching it.

A physical education teacher at St. Vincent Grade School, she enjoys teaching her students fundamentals of the game in hopes of sparking interest.

She used to also give lessons at the Southeast Missouri State University tennis courts and later in Sikeston.

"I love to teach tennis," she said. Hopefully somebody will enjoy it and take it a step farther."

Ruddy hopes to see tennis back on the rise with the latest superstars hitting the scene. But will tennis become what it used to be around this area?

"I hope so," Ruddy said. "There was actually a time when a lot of high school kids were playing, and were actually meeting up at the Southeast courts just to hang out."

Ruddy also plays racquetball and golf when she gets the chance, although she prefers tennis any day of the week.

"I am going to play as long as I can," she said. "Tennis is a great game."

-- David Unterreiner