MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) – At the Miami Open, a group of ball boys and girls are proving that age is just a number.
Ballpersons working at the Miami Open are known as the Silver Streaks. They are all 55 and older, with no plans for retirement yet.
“You use it or lose it, right? And we are huge tennis fans, we try to stay active ourselves,” said Alyssa Griffn.
Griffin, 55, and her 60-year-old husband, AJ Russo, are in their second year of working matches together.
“The mental aspect is really, really tough about it, and if you don’t stay focused on the court, you’re gonna make a mistake,” said Russo.
The job of a ballperson is more than just handing a player a ball or holding an umbrella during a break in the set. Just ask 69-year-old Maureen Olson.
“There’s ball rolling, there’s presenting and tossing the ball,” said Olson. “To roll a ball, it’s amazing how many people cannot roll a straight ball, and it doesn’t have to be really fast, it just has to be accurate.”
These ballpersons can work up to 12 hours a day, being on the court for several matches.
Marc Adler, the director of ball persons, has an intense training tryout before anyone is selected for this job, regardless of age.
“As long as you can come out, go on the court, run, show us that you’re able to, you know, hold up like everybody else, no matter the age you are, perform the way we expect of you, be fast, be focused, be mature, then we will give you that same opportunity,” said Adler.
Sixty-year-old Robert Williams has worked the U.S. Open, so he knows the demands of working a match at his age.
“When it’s 95 degrees outside, and you’re running for six to eight hours a day, it can be really difficult,” said Williams.
James Blake, a former player who’s now the Miami Open’s Tournament Director, said he knows the value these veteran ballpersons bring to the game.
“They’re volunteers, and it gives them something positive to do something where they do make a difference,” said Blake.
The Miami Open gets upwards of 1,000 people that have an interest in being ballpersons for the tournament.
If you’re interested, a beginning of November, go to the Miami Open website and apply.
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