For Thailand’s most successful female tennis player Tamarine Tanasugarn, the answer to all those who ask why she wants to continue competing at the age of 42 is simple. Tammy, as she is called by her family and fans, just loves the sport.

“I love tennis. I just love the challenge, that’s my thing. My goal is improve my world ranking and qualify for the Olympics next year,” she told The Jakarta Post recently.

“I’ll try. I’ll try. It’s not easy but I’ll try.”

Thailand’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTAT) convinced Tammy, a former world number 19, to come out of retirement for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines. Tammy’s last SEA Games was in 2015 in Singapore, where she bagged bronze in the women’s doubles.

Turning pro in 1994, Tammy decided to hang up her racket in 2016. That same year, she also joined the Royal Thai Police Force and focused on establishing her own tennis academy.

Earlier this year, Tammy, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2018, made her comeback, concentrating on women’s doubles. She proved that age really is just a number with a victory in Hua Hin, Thailand, in November.

Partnering with the Netherland’s Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, the pair won the ITF Cal-Comp and XYZ Printing ITF World Tennis Tour, beating China’s Zheng Saisai and Ng Kwan-yau of Hong Kong in the final.

Joining other Thai tennis aces like Lukshika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech in the SEA Games squad, hopes were high Tammy would help continue her country’s domination at the biennial event. Thailand cleaned up at the 2015 and 2017 SEA Games, winning six and four tennis gold medals, respectively.

Tammy was unable to reach these heights at the Philippines Games, but did net two silvers in the women’s and mixed doubles.

Playing with Peangtarn in the women’s doubles, Tammy lost the final in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to Beatrice Gumulya and Jessy Rompies of Indonesia on Dec. 7.

The universe did not align once again for the Thai star later the same day, as she and her partner Sanchai Ratiwatana were defeated in a thrilling final by Indonesia’s Christopher Rungkat and Aldila Sutjiadi in the mixed doubles, going down 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8).

“I think everybody tried their best. Everybody tried to win gold for their country. The two pairs, the women’s doubles and mixed doubles [of Indonesia], deserved it and they played very well, especially on important points. I congratulate them,” Tammy said humbly.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Southeast Asian tennis enjoyed a golden period, with players like Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia and Tammy breaking into the world’s top 20. When asked about the development of tennis in Southeast Asian, Tammy said five important elements were necessary to build a solid foundation for players to compete at the elite level.

“In tennis [what is needed] is teamwork. It’s not just one player. It’s the player, their parents, coaches, physical and mental coach [and] sponsors because [in] tennis you have to travel around the world.”

“You can’t just play in Thailand and Indonesia and do well, you know. These five pieces are really important. If you are doing well in all five things, it will give you an advantage to reach the top. They must all be strong and all come together,” she said.

At 309th, Peangtarn is currently the highest ranked women’s singles player from Southeast Asia, followed by her compatriot Nudnida Luangnam at 348th and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi at 363rd.

In addition to being a police officer and tennis player, Tammy also keeps busy as a sports commentator on television. Despite her hectic schedule, she is committed to doing her best at everything she does.

With her sights now set on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, the Los Angeles-born star is not placing any limits on what she hopes to achieve.

“I don’t want to count the number [of years before I retire] but I think it depends on my body. If I am enjoying my career, I’ll keep going,” she concluded.

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