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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jo Khan

‘Tennis repairs you’: the 101-year-old fuelled by iced coffee who still plays competitively

Henry Young at Memorial Drive Tennis Club in Adelaide
Henry Young at Memorial Drive Tennis Club in Adelaide as the 101-year-old continues to play competitively at the same venue for 30 years. Photograph: Sia Duff/The Guardian

Henry Young doesn’t mind being asked about his secret to a long, active life – it comes with the territory when you’re a 101-year-old competitive tennis player. It has its perks, like getting to play on centre court during the Australian Open, but what he does mind is that it’s considered so remarkable that he is playing at all. That he is seen as extraordinary and there must be some magic trick that keeps him going.

“What bugs me is that people give up their tennis when they have some kind of injury,” Young says. “I’m a monument to the medical profession because I’ve had so many injuries and I just persevere, and then tennis repairs you.”

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