Jan Wells was born in the Inglewood section of East Nashville, in 1932, and is living proof that Tennis is a sport for life. She and her husband moved to Michigan in 1958. Originally a swimmer, she started playing tennis after the birth of their first child. After a full day of teaching computer science, she and her husband would spend evenings practicing tennis. . She also played organized inner club matches in Michigan for years. When asked if she prefers Social or Competitive Tennis, she answered without hesitation, “Social! I’m not necessarily a competitive minded person at heart, although I love a good competitive game.”
Jan has always loved the outdoors, the sunshine, and staying fit. “Having a good tan was always my goal, although, my freckles never ran together for that tan when they should have!”
In 1995, at the age of 63, retirement brought on a move to Hendersonville, where Jan started competing in NALTA, with her best tennis friend, Sue Briner. Their team, from 1995-2012, “Networkers” is still going strong today, long after Jan stepped away. She still enjoys meeting former teammates for after match lunches.
A favorite tennis memory was a match she was playing with partner Sue, against a fellow church member. The match lasted 4 hours, from 9:00am to 1:00pm. “I was not going to let her go back to Sunday School with braggin’ rights! After all, she was much younger than me. Maybe I am a little competitive after all”
Jan currently organizes a tennis group of about 20 friends to play 3 days a week at Memorial Park in Hendersonville. She communicates reminders by email on Monday night to the Tuesday group, Wednesday night to the Thursday group and Friday night to the Saturday group. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, when Jan is not on the tennis court, she plays competitive Bridge at Vanderbilt. Jan rests on Sundays!
Jan doesn’t even consider retiring from tennis. “It’s my outlet and fun, my people, my exercise.”
We asked Jan a few questions:
TN: What advice or message do you have for someone just starting to play tennis?
JW: HAVE FUN! Just pick up the racket and play.
TN: Who are your favorite male and female professional tennis players?
JW: Male: Alexander Zverev.
Female: Coco Gauff
TN: Do your children play tennis?
JW: My grandson, Alex Wells plays. Keeping the tennis family tradition alive!
