Well, let me tell ya, there’s this woman named Stacy Margolin. She was one of them fancy tennis players, ya know, back in the day, from ’79 to ’87, runnin’ all over the WTA and ITF tours. They say she was real good, even got herself ranked number 18 in the world for singles. Ain’t that somethin’? Played her heart out for eight whole years, and though she didn’t end up number one, her best was number 18. Pretty high up there, don’t ya think?
Now, Stacy didn’t just wake up one day and decide to play tennis. No ma’am, she started young, real young. By the time she was 10 years old, she was already busy runnin’ around in all them USTA junior tournaments. Played in Southern California where she was ranked 6th in the Under-12 division. Ain’t that somethin’? Little gal comin’ up like a storm.
She didn’t stop there neither. Went off to Beverly Hills High School, where she was the number one singles player on the women’s team. But that ain’t all, nope. She even joined the men’s varsity tennis team, showed ’em all what she was made of, and got herself a spot on that team too. I reckon she didn’t let anyone hold her back just ‘cause she was a woman. Ain’t that the spirit?
As she kept goin’, she got noticed by the bigger folks in tennis, and that’s when the professional career started. I reckon she was no stranger to hard work. In 1977, she won the U.S. 21-and-Under Championship and even joined the Junior Wightman Cup team. That was just the beginnin’, though. Later on, she went on to win the Ojai Tennis Tournament in 1980, and that really got her name out there.
She wasn’t just about playin’ tennis though, no sir. After she hung up her racket for good in 1987, she didn’t sit around. Nah, she went back to school. Got herself a degree in sociology from UCLA, then went on to get a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. All that brainpower, reckon she done real good with it too.
And I gotta say, Stacy didn’t forget where she came from. She used that fame and knowledge to give back to the community. In 2000, she organized the very first Ojai Tennis Marathon. Now, this wasn’t your regular tennis match. No sir, folks played 50 games in one day. Imagine that! Fifty! I don’t know how they did it, but I sure can’t. She done raised a lot of money for charity with that event too.
Stacy didn’t just do good on the tennis courts, but she also made a name for herself in the world of tennis instruction. She even won the Tennis Teaching Pro Outstanding Service Award from 1986 to 1989. That’s a real honor for anyone in the tennis world, and she sure deserved it.
In 2000, she was even inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Ain’t that somethin’? Shows that people really respected her, not just for her tennis skills, but for the person she became off the court too. There’s a lot to be said for someone who’s done well and done good for others.
Now, I gotta mention a bit of her personal life too. Back in the 1980s, Stacy and John McEnroe were quite the couple. McEnroe, ya know, the tennis player with the fiery temper. People were all sorts of fascinated with them. Now, some folks just focused on his bad-boy ways, but I reckon Stacy was the steady one, keepin’ things grounded. The two of ’em sure stirred up the headlines back then, for better or worse.
Well, anyway, that’s a bit about Stacy Margolin. A woman who worked hard, played hard, and made a difference. She showed the world that you don’t have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to make something of yourself. She put in the work, made her name, and helped others along the way. Ain’t that what we all should be doin’?
Tags: [Stacy Margolin, tennis player, WTA tour, ITF tour, Ojai Tennis Marathon, Beverly Hills High School, USTA junior tournaments, John McEnroe, tennis career, professional tennis, charity work, UCLA, Pepperdine University]
