Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/315708
8 ITFWORLD SPRING 2014 A life in tennis Heide Orth will receive the ITF Seniors Award for Outstanding Achievement in June. Sandra Harwitt talks to her about a tennis career which continues to flourish into her eighth decade. I t is often said that tennis is a sport for a lifetime and no one is likely to agree more with that determination than Heide Orth. The 71-year-old Orth, born Heide Schildeknecht in Essen, Germany on August 10, 1942, started playing tennis when she was 13. And now that she's reached her enriched golden years Orth can still be found spending much of her time on a tennis court. Not surprisingly, Orth found a path to tennis in the same way many people gravitate to the sport. "I started playing late at 13 years and in today's world that would be very late," said Orth, talking by phone at the Florida vacation home she's retained for years with Ludwig, her husband of 49 years. "I started because my father was playing tennis and I started to do the same. I never expected to be a good player, but it comes like it comes and I enjoyed tennis very much." In just a short time, the young Heide was playing junior tournaments, progressed from there to the women's tour, and eventually became an incredible player on the international senior scene. In fact, Orth is considered the most successful woman in the history of senior tennis. And in honour of that distinction, Orth will become only the second-ever recipient of the ITF Seniors Award for Outstanding Achievement, which she'll receive at the ITF World Champions Dinner held during Roland Garros. HEIDE ORTH Orth in action in Umag, Croatia in 2012, where she won her tenth ITF Super-Seniors World Individual title