ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Karen Warrack

Karen Warrack took up tennis while living in Toronto, when she was 25 years old. Warrack has been playing tennis for more than 25 years — 20 of those years have been spent on Longboat Key. She has now become a self-proclaimed “tennis addict.” Warrack spends five days a week at the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center and plays on one of the club teams.

Q & A
How did you get into tennis?
It’s sort of a funny story. I moved from the east end of Toronto to the west end of Toronto. I didn’t know anybody. I went to Hyde Park in the center of Toronto, and there were all these cute guys playing tennis. So, the next day I came by with a tennis racket, and finally one of the cute guys asked me to play tennis. 

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your game?
My strengths are, No. 1, my mental game. I firmly believe I have a good metal strategy and mental idea. I would say second is my fitness level. My greatest weakness, without hesitation, is my ball toss and my serve. 

Who are some of your favorite tennis professionals and why?
I am madly in love with Roger Federer, and if he knew me, he would love me also. Rafael Nadal is fantastic. I had the opportunity of playing with Martina Navratilova a couple of years ago on Longboat, and she is a great mentor. 

How often do you play tennis, and why do you enjoy being on a tennis team?
I’m at the tennis center probably five days a week. I play on the 4.0 Tri-City’s tennis team. It is a super bunch of ladies — I love them all. We actually won our division this year, and we were very, very excited about it. I don’t think we were expected to win, and we beat a lot of people who were a lot younger than us; we had a great time. They’re the nicest bunch of ladies I’ve ever been together in any sort of team format with. I really enjoy them all.