She may be 41 and a mom, but Tracy Austin still has the moves

Austin was at the Marco Island YMCA on Nov. 7, playing with members of the Health Distributors Management Association, which was holding a conference at the Marco Island Marriott Resort.

Those playing made a donation to the HDMA Foundation, which helps people who cannot afford their pharmaceuticals, said Mike Baker, chairman for the mini-tournament. Austin played four games with each doubles team.

She still plays tennis three times a week at her club in Rolling Hills, Calif., but says her three boys are her full-time job these days.

"Dylan, 7, Brandon, 5, and Sean, 2, are my full-time job," she said. "And it is exactly what I want to be doing, spending time at home."

Austin plays a few exhibitions a year and is a broadcaster for the BBC at Wimbledon. She and her brother John became the only siblings to win the Wimbledon mixed-doubles title in 1980.

At 14 she won her first professional event, the Avon Futures Tournament in Portland, Ore., in 1977. The same year she was the youngest entrant in the history of Wimbledon and the U.S.

Open, and the youngest to be ranked among the top 10 U.S.

players.

Austin was named Female Athlete of the Year in 1979, when she won the U.S. Open at 16 years, 9 months -- another record. She also won the clay- court title at the Italian Open that year, ending Chris Evert's string of 125 consecutive clay- court victories.

Back problems sidelined Aus tin until she made a triumphant return at the 1981 U.S. Open, beating Martina Navratilova in the finals.

Continuous back and neck problems limited her competitive ability by 1983. She said she retired at age 30, but she already had been inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame at 29 -- the youngest player to receive that recognition as well.

Austin played in an exhibition match with Navratilova in March.

"Martina is absolutely phenomenal," she said. "She is in great playing shape and says she wants to play for another year and a half. She is amazing because she still has the desire to be disciplined after so many years. The weight room, the diet, stretching, playing, it is constantly on your mind when you are competing."

Venus and Serena Williams have had their ailments of late, and Austin hopes they return to the court soon. She also thinks that Jennifer Capriati's comeback has been phenomenal.

"The power in today's game is incredible, along with athleticism," Austin said. "The Williams sisters raised the bar, and Andre (Agassi) continues to amaze. They changed the grass at Wimbledon to slow down the serves, and the last couple of years it seems the groundstrokers are doing better.

That's why Lleyton Hewitt won it last year."

She thinks that similar work will be done to slow down other surfaces, and she bemoans that there are few volley-and-serve players in the game today.

"In the women's game there is not one volley-and-serve player, while the men's side has few. There's no Pete Sampras and few quick points. But the game usually takes care of itself."