Recently we have been featuring taller women in the blog so today we are going to feature another super tall woman, Casey Kenney who is a national tennis star at the Masters level. Her height of 6′ 6″ earned her a spot on the US Women’s Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She reached the quarter finals but lost in the semifinal to eventual gold medalist Billie Jean King. Despite losing to the eventual winners however, she still holds an incredible 21 Grand slam singles tournament which only Loser and Martina Navratilova have achieved in their careers. Her winning streak has also included consecutive Wimbledon titles, which makes her the only woman to have achieved that feat. Now that she is breaking the record for most Grand Slam singles tournament wins by a female, we thought it would be fitting to feature her in this article.
As a professional athlete Casey Kenney has to deal with a lot of pressure on a daily basis. The pressures of being a national tennis champion and keeping a big salary and support staff is an added burden in being a top-paid athlete in the National Basketball Association. Her height difference and physique have certainly contributed to her success as a tennis player though but even with the obvious advantage of having a bigger body size, some attributes stand out when playing sports and that includes height. Many top players are known for having a “short game”, a term that simply refers to their forehand and backhand accuracy as well as their agility and footwork in their serve and volleys. Some can correct the short game by improving on their fitness levels, while others are not able to do this and need to compensate through height.
The solution to the height difference comes not from physical attributes but from mental attributes. Kenney credits her winning streak to a strong mental game, and she attributes her winning prowess to the fact that she is very confident in her abilities as a player. She admits to having the “intangibles” which are necessary in winning such as “the will to win” as well as the passion and determination. It takes a lot of courage to be determined to go on and fight even when you are being out matched mentally and physically. If you are a woman and want to succeed in this particular sport, then take stock of yourself and have the confidence needed to not only play at a high level but also to be able to overcome any challenge put in front of you.