Serving up Victory with Donna Fales

Tennis Player

At 83 years old, long-time Gables resident Donna Fales has now been playing tennis for a whopping 73 years — and shows no signs of stopping. Back in the 1960s, Fales was a Top 10 U.S. player, playing with and against stars like Billie Jean King and winning the U.S. Clay Court singles title in 1962. In 1966, she also won the U.S. mixed doubles championship. Today, Fales continues to play, racking up wins in her age category and keeping active every day playing golf at the Riviera Country Club and tennis at the Biltmore.

Latest Achievement

In October, Fales set a record by winning the International Tennis Federation World Championships in women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles for her age group. “I’ve won the world championship in every age group,” she says proudly. “But the distinctive part now is that I have won three titles each year for the last three consecutive years.” Not many players play all three events, especially in their 80s, which means Fales’ record may never be broken — at least, that’s not likely for a long while.

What She Says

“Exercise has been a part of my life forever. I’ve figured out how important it is to keep moving because we all age differently. The older you get, the more important that becomes,” she says. “We all have little injuries, so you never go out without something not being quite right. It’s just really how you adjust and adapt to it. But the most important part is moving and not being so sedentary.”

Read about other notable Gableites in our People section.