In the early 2000s, Melanie Clayton won ITF World Women’s Tennis tournaments in the US with prizemoney totaling $35,000. Almost a quarter of a century later, she remained a standout player in the SA’s Metro League Division One competition.
Such is the nature of the sport, despite its vigorous physical demands, that tennis players seem capable of playing competitively for several decades.
Serena Williams, for example, retired from the world tour at age 41. Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon mixed doubles at 46. And Venus Williams says she intends playing Grand Slams until she’s 50.
In the early 2000s, playing on the ITF World Women’s Tennis Tour, Melanie Clayton won the San Antonio Tournament in the US, carrying prizemoney of $10,000.
In the weeks following, she also won the $25,000 Mt Pleasant Tournament in the US.
Almost a quarter of a century later, Melanie Clayton remains a standout player for the Memorial Drive Club in the SA’s Metro League Division One helping the team to back-to-back premierships in 2021-2023.
Melanie Clayton and Melissa Beadman, both in their 40s, are mentoring and coaching younger team members on how to cope with pressured moments on court.
When she and Alicia Molik were both 16, and playing alongside Lleyton Hewitt’s younger sister Jaslyn, the SA team beat NSW in the final of the Wilson Cup. It was SA’s first win in the Wilson Cup since it began in 1931 and gave great optimism for the further development of women’s tennis in SA.
That was in 1998, and decades later, Melanie Clayton is now well equipped to pass on a lifetime of learning of the physical and mental obstacles of elite tennis.
Through her years on the WTA tour, evidence suggests she had found the resilience and resourcefulness to cope with momentum swings within matches and to manage the emotions of the wins and inevitable losses.
Armed with that knowledge, she and Beadman have steered the club to a powerhouse position in the Metro Division One League for many seasons.
Melanie Clayton has been inducted into the Tennis SA Legends Club.
