Al Schallau tells me his sister, Anne Guerrant [formerly Mona Schallau], was recently inducted into the United States Tennis
Association's Southwest Tennis Hall of Fame. She was introduced by her husband Terry Guerrant. It was my pleasure to write the story when she was named to the paper's Sports Hall of Fame. Here's a copy of the July 14, 1996 story [headlined: Schallau and tennis: a match point], with a drawing of her by Mark Marturello:
By RON MALY
Register Staff Writer
Don Klotz said he will never forget the day.
"We were having a tournament in Iowa City, and three little girls showed up for one of the divisions," the 90-year-old former Iowa tennis coach said.
"Two of the girls had been given lessons, and the third was this skinny kid named Mona Schallau.
"I thought, well, 'she doesn't know much about tennis.' I had never heard of her. So I sent her to a distant court to play a 10-game pro set with one of the other girls. Before I knew it, Mona was back.
"I asked, 'Who won?'
"Mona said, 'I did, 10-0.'
"So I sent her out to play a second match. She won that one, 10-0, too. By that time, I was wondering where she had come from."
Soon, it wasn't so much where she had come from, but where she was headed.
Today, at 47 years of age, she becomes the 148th member of the Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
Mona Schallau, once of Iowa City, is now Anne Guerrant, of Scottsdale, Ariz. She is married to Terry Guerrant, and they have a son, Danny, 14.
"Actually, my proper first name is Ramona, and Anne was my middle name," she said. "I've gone by Anne for about 10 years."
Starting with that first tournament in Iowa City, her tennis got steadily better. So good that it produced big-time victories, rankings, world travel and money.
In 1976, she was ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 11 in the world. That year, she teamed with Ann Kiyomura of San Mateo, Calif., as the nation's No. 1 doubles team.
"My best year in professional earnings was 1976, when I made $103,000," Guerrant said.
"I made between $75,000 and $100,000 for four or five years."
It started with an 11-year-old Mona Schallau asking her mother, Elsie, for a tennis racket. Her mother obtained one using S & H Green Stamps.
"She decided she wanted to be a tennis player," Elsie said. "So I saved my Green Stamps to get her a racket."
The racket, Guerrant recalls, was one of those old-fashioned wooden types.
"It weighed 12 3/4 ounces, and the oversized graphite composite racket I use now weighs 10 ounces," she said. "Today's rackets are much more powerful."
She credits her brother, Don, for her early tennis knowledge.
"He played tennis with me and showed me how to keep score," Guerrant said.
But it was Klotz who had a big role in moving her up the ladder.
"She was part of our junior program in Iowa City," Klotz said. "She's a tremendous natural athlete, and she has great desire."
The desire to play tennis - and succeed - was evident when she was a junior at City High School.
There were no sports for girls, but that didn't stop the 5-foot 4-inch competitor from pursuing tennis.
"I went to the school board meetings by myself and sat for 1 1/2 hours to ask if they'd join the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, so I could play in the state tournament," she said. "I ended up getting all the votes."
She won state titles as a junior and senior, and she said she would have played more girls' sports in high school had they been available.
"As a senior, we did get a team at City High, and 30 girls went out for it," she said.
She went on to play regional and national events and got a No. 20 junior ranking.
"No big deal," Guerrant said. "I was such a late bloomer."
Young tennis players from cold-weather states - especially those with professional aspirations - often are urged to head for places such as Florida, Arizona and California so they can play outdoors as often as possible.
Guerrant chose Florida. After graduating from City High School in 1967, she headed for Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.
"I was a pretty good player in those days," she said. "I made the semifinals of the national intercollegiate tournament and was picked to represent the United States in the World University Games in Turin, Italy, in 1970.
"I also was on a doubles team, with Margie Cooper of Florida, that was the runner-up at the national intercollegiate tournament."
When she graduated from Rollins, the Virginia Slims pro tour was just getting started. It was something that attracted Guerrant.
"I went to play the Australian circuit," she said. "I started with $5,000 and decided I would travel the world and play tennis."
Travel the world she did. Guerrant made it to such places as China, Russia, Japan, England, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and New Zealand in addition to Australia. She played in some of those nations many times.
"I played at Wimbledon six times," she said. "That was a dream come true. There's lots of energy in the air and huge crowds."
Guerrant said she won 15 professional doubles titles, including six with Kiyomura.
"We were playing against the best in the world," she said. "In singles, I won some smaller tournaments."
Guerrant teamed with such players as Billie Jean King and Rod Laver in World Team tennis competition in the 1970s, and she played on U.S. Wightman Cup teams in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
The money has gotten much better than when Guerrant was a pro. She said her achievements likely would be worth $600,000 to $700,000 a year now, but she said she doesn't regret playing when she did.
"The competition is much tougher now," she said. "I might not do as well."
Guerrant said she plays tennis mostly for fun these days, but still is good enough to win championships.
"I still weigh 115 pounds, but I'm not as fast as I used to be," she said. "I play United States Tennis Association age-group competition and won the national 45-and-over singles title in 1994. I earlier won the national 35-and-under title."
Guerrant describes herself as "a pretty solid all-around player. I like to go to the net. That's my strength."
Husband Terry continues to be amazed at her ability.
"I'm very proud of what she has done," he said. "I was a club player, and I used to think I was pretty good. Club players sometimes imagine they could be a little competitive with the pros, but they're dreaming.
"I've never beaten Anne, and never will."
Looking back, Elsie Schallau still is somewhat amazed at what her daughter has accomplished on tennis courts around the world.
"I never thought she'd become the great tennis player she is, and I don't think she did, either," Elsie said.
"But she has lots of determination. When she decides to do something, she does it."
