Many strings to champ’s racket
Wendy Jambor keeps it all in balance
Whanga¯ rei’s Wendy Jambor has had a busy year balancing motherhood and her podiatry business with sweeping up national tennis titles.
The 37-year-old WJ Podiatrist owner has garnered three gold medals across separate Pascoes tennis seniors national championships this year.
Jambor’s first big wins came in February when she claimed the 35-plus women’s doubles victory with partner Casey Tarau, from the Bay of Plenty and the 35-plus mixed doubles with James Wilce, also representing the Bay of Plenty.
And in April she claimed a top podium finish in the 35-plus teams event — representing South Auckland in lieu of the presence of a Northland team.
“A big part of it for me, is that I’m just happy and excited that I can play and do really well at this level. It’s encouraging for me to want to go to more tennis,” she said.
The mother-of-one was bucking a trend in tennis where women, who played as youngsters, came to abandon the sport as they entered the workforce or juggled families.
Jambor’s 5-year-old son Aiden often joined her courtside as she travelled to tournaments or her supportive husband Jason Jambor opted for dad duty when his shift work allowed.
“Aiden loves to come down and watch and play with the other kids whose parents also play. The tennis community feels more like a family most of the time as you get to know each other,” she said.
While the Waipu¯ Tennis Club has been Jambor’s home club for the past four years she travels to Auckland every Saturday to further her sport.
“I don’t tend to train as much as it’s pretty tricky with a 5-year-old and running your own business but by going to Auckland I’m able to get high level match experience.”
Jambor’s tennis success began early, earning a tennis scholarship at the University of Hawaii post-high school.
There was also a long-running — but “good” — family rivalry on the court between herself, dad, sister and brother.
With fewer senior women staying in the sport, Jambor has put the challenge out for everyone to pick up a racket and give it a go.
“You’ll never know how much you enjoy it until you try it out.”