At any major tennis tournament, you can expect to see a handful of teenagers acting as ball boys and girls volunteering their time to keep the event running smoothly and efficiently.
At the Dallas Open though, for one ball boy age is just a number.
Tony Downer has been volunteering as a ball boy at tennis tournaments nationwide for years. For the Dallas Open, the minimum age to serve as a ball boy or girl is 12. Downer is 66.
Jim Moortgat, the ball kid coordinator, remembers receiving the initial email from Downer about volunteering for the tournament.
He told NBC DFW, "I got an email saying, 'Hey, I'm Tony Downer. I'd like to be a ball kid. And by the way, I'm this old.' I asked Peter, 'Do you know this guy?' He goes, 'Yeah, he's a ball kid.' I said, 'He's a ball kid?'"
Downer began serving as a ball boy at the 2016 U.S. Open following his retirement. Moortgat says that he's become a mentor to the younger ball kids and will assist with coordinating duties later in the tournament.
The Dallas Open runs through this Sunday at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow 100.3 JACK-FM
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
