Meet the 79-year-old tennis icon taking on teens in search of just one more professional win
Gail Falkenberg, also known as tennis pro who took on Taylor Towensend 10 years ago, is still going strong and has no intention of stopping.So much so, the 79-year-old just lost a qualifying match at ITF W35 in Orlando to 19-year-old Duke star Aspen Schuman, who ranked No.1 nationally in the class of 2026 on Tennis Recruiting Networking, by a convincing 6-0.
6-0.Her knees may wobble and her power may lack behind that forehand, but Falkenberg doesn’t let anything get in the way of her passion for the game and her goal to win another pro match again before turning 80 in January.If not, she will keep trying as long as she stays healthy, which has brought her to where she is.“I’d like to win another one before I hang it up,” Falkenberg told The Post in a phone interview Wednesday.
When would that be? The New Jersey native doesn’t know.“Age doesn’t bother me because as long as I’m healthy.If I can play, I’ll play,” she said.
“I’m not injured so I’m going to go out there, but I need to work on just competing and practicing with players as good as the ones that are out there like the gal [Schuman] I played.That level is really, really good.”In 2016, a 69-year-old Falkenberg won a professional match against 22-year-old Rosalyn Small, 6-0, 6-1, which made her the oldest winner of a match on the ITF circuit.“No one said anything to me…and then when I got to the club the next day, I was bombarded with interview requests…I was almost late to my match,” she said.
The match was a second rounder of an entry-level pro tournament in Pelham, Alabama, which grants winners a chance to play in the main draw.She faced off against a 19-year-old Townsend and didn’t win a game, but won 12 points when the betting line thought she would only win seven, she claimed.The one win, though, led to interviews with the Wall Street Journal and she appeared on an episode of the “No Challenges” podcast hosted by Ben Rothenberg and Courtney Nguyen.
The Tenni...