Fresh off a pair of tournament triumphs in South America, King Van Nostrand was honored by the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation last month during a tennis fundraiser at Sea Oaks.
Next week, four months after sweeping the singles, doubles and team titles at the Super Senior World Championships in Croatia, Van Nostrand’s storied tennis life will be celebrated at Grand Harbor, where he and his wife have lived full-time since 2001.
“What he has done in tennis – all the championships, playing around the world, being ranked No. 1 in his age group – is incredible,” said Grand Harbor resident Ann Faunce, who organized the event, which will be held Tuesday at the community’s River Village clubhouse. “His accomplishments deserve to be celebrated.
“People here are thanking me for doing this,” she added, “and they want to thank him for what he has done for tennis.”
They’re in good company.
It was at the International Tennis Federation’s annual World Champions Dinner in Paris last year that one of the game’s all-time greatest players showed his appreciation for the 82-year-old retired teacher from New York.
Van Nostrand was invited to the prestigious, black-tie affair – among those attending the May 31 gala were then-reigning world champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, the Davis Cup-winning team from Great Britain and the Fed Cup victors from the Czech Republic – where he received the Senior Award for Outstanding Achievement.
“It’s essentially a lifetime achievement award,” said Van Nostrand, whose list of accomplishments includes 11 age-group world championships in singles, seven in doubles and 17 in team competitions, as well as more than 40 national titles. “I was very honored and humbled to be recognized with all those great players.”
What happened afterward, though, meant even more.
Shortly after the banquet ended, as he accepted congratulations from others in the ballroom, Van Nostrand noticed a familiar face moving toward him.
“I saw this older gentleman shuffling through the crowd, working his way towards me,” he recalled. “He finally gets to me, grabs my hand and says: ‘I want to shake your hand. You are an inspiration to all senior players. I’m proud to meet you.’ “
The gentleman was Rod Laver, the two-time winner of tennis’ Grand Slam who is considered by many to be the sport’s all-time greatest player.
“Rod Laver wanted to shake MY hand,” Van Nostrand said. “Can you believe that? He’s not just a great champion; he’s a class act. It wasn’t just an honor. It was truly a thrill.
“It was the highlight of my entire tennis life.”
Van Nostrand began his tennis career as a star player at Bay Shore (N.Y.) High School and went on to play at Cortland (N.Y.) State, graduating in 1956 and serving in the U.S. Navy before returning home to spend 30 years teaching junior high and high school mathematics on Long Island.
He won his first United States Tennis Association national championship in the men’s 35-and-over division in 1971, when he was 37.
But it wasn’t until he retired in 1989 that he stepped up his commitment to competitive tennis and embarked on a senior and super-senior career that has produced more national titles than he can remember – literally.
“When you win a national championship, they give you a gold ball, and I’ve given a lot of them away,” he said. “I’ve kept a few, but I honestly don’t know exactly how many I’ve won. Singles and doubles combined, it’s somewhere between 40 and 60.”
One world championship that Van Nostrand won’t forget came in 2004, when he won the men’s title and his wife won the women’s crown, both in the 70-and-over division.
“I taught her to play, and all of our kids played, too,” Van Nostrand said. “We’re a tennis family.”
All four of Van Nostrand’s children went to college on tennis scholarships. Two of them, John and Molly, became All-Americans who went on to play on the pro tours.
It was Van Nostrand’s desire to play tennis outdoors on softer clay courts on a year-round basis that brought him and his wife to Vero Beach in 2001, when he embarked on a remarkable streak during which he won more than 50 consecutive USTA singles tournaments in his various age groups.
And the older he gets, the more dominant he becomes: Rarely do his matches reach a third set.
“It’s getting harder to find competitive matches,” Van Nostrand said, “especially here in the States.”
He continues to train hard – on the court, where he still enjoys running down opponents’ shots, and in the gym, where he lifts weights and works out on the elliptical machine.
“I hate the gym, but I love tennis,” said Van Nostrand, who, despite a sometimes-achy left hip, compressed spine and a pair of knees that have been replaced twice, continues to play and win into his 80s. “It’s a big part of my life. I have my family and my game.”
Barring a physical setback, Van Nostrand plans to defend his title and his No. 1 ranking in the ITF’s men’s 80-and-over division next fall, when the world championships come to Orlando.
He’s also looking forward to next week’s celebration, which Faunce said will be a “causal event” with hors d’oeuvres and Van Nostrand’s favorite beverage – Stella Artois beer.
“I really wanted to do something so the tennis community at Grand Harbor could show it’s appreciation for all he has done, but when I first suggested it last summer, King didn’t think anybody cared,” Faunce said. “So, at first, I had to talk him into doing this. But, all of a sudden, he’s gotten excited about it.
“We’re going to have a tremendous turnout.”