Lyn on top of the world
GOLD Coast is now home to Australia’s highest ranked tennis player.
Lyn Mortimer will enter 2018 as the no.1 ranked over 60s female tennis player in the world following a 2017 campaign that included four victories from five of the biggest senior tennis tournaments from around the globe.
The 63-year-old Nobby Beach resident has now vowed to defend her ranking next year, starting with the Australian Individual Seniors Tennis Championships, to be held here on the Gold Coast from January 14-19.
“That is my plan – to try and retain the no.1 ranking,” Mortimer said.
Mortimer will warm up for the event by playing in the Australian Seniors Teams Carnival, to be held a week earlier at various Gold Coast tennis clubs.
Mortimer travelled to Europe to play in the highest ranked senior tennis competitions in 2017, a move that enabled her to shed the no.2 ranking she has had in recent years and take up the mantle as the best in the world.
The Gold Coast Seniors Tennis Club player won the Australian Individual Championships in Adelaide, Oceania Regional Seniors Tennis Championships, JSH Hotels Collection Championship in Italy and European Senior Open in Germany in 2017.
Mortimer’s only other tournament was the German Seniors Open where she made it through to the semi-finals. Only a shoulder injury stopped her continuing to compete in the second half of the year but her early success was enough to take top spot.
Mortimer may not play professionally but she doesn’t mind the sound of being Australia’s best ranked player.
“It sounds fantastic when you put it like that,” Mortimer told the Bulletin.
“It’s a little bit surreal because you just play your tournaments month by month or season hoping to do your best. I have put effort and time in to it this year so I feel satisfied that I have achieved something like this.”
Mortimer first picked up the racquet as a child in Geelong and has played tennis for 55 years. She went in to the senior ranks at the age of 47 and hasn’t looked back, winning four world doubles titles.
“Tennis has been a big part of my life,” Mortimer said.
“I’ve travelled the world so it’s been a great experience.”