To give you a (better) sense of how deluded I am, I swear I feel a greater kinship with the people in these photos Tracy Austin posted from Indian Wells than I do with anyone from my upcoming 40th high-school reunion(!).
Growing up in tennis facilities, Inside Women's Tennis was the "school paper" my friend Greg and I read religiously -- not the Dobson Mustang -- and it felt like Tracy and Pam were our older classmates while Martina, Chris, Rosie and Billie Jean were celebrated alumni. (Andrea Jaeger was my troubled big sister and Kathy Rinaldi was basically my twin.)
To me, 1981 was the greatest year in women's tennis history -- a rare occasion when all four majors were won by different (non-fluky) players and the No. 1 ranking was on the line at the year-end championships.
It also marked the beginning of all the players competing Down Under every season, something that hadn't been done in the past. (After a disappointing season, Martina was determined to take home a Grand Slam title that year, so everyone followed her to Kooyong Stadium, forever putting the Australian Open on equal footing with the other majors.) That Tracy came out on top -- only to essentially have her career end after an injury-plagued 1982 -- made it all the more monumental.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at this WTA Class of ‘81 reunion. I have much fonder memories of these guys and a million more questions than I do for anyone from back "home" -- starting with this:
Do you think Tracy ever hooked up with post-divorce John Lloyd? (Her autobiography makes it clear she was boy crazy after basically retiring at 21.) I remember they teamed up for a mixed-doubles event in 1988 against Peanut Louie (in for an ailing Stephanie Rehe) and a 17-year-old Pete Sampras and I've always wondered if there was more to that story!
They also paired for the World Doubles Cup held in Edinburgh in 1995, although Tracy was married by then.
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