At 79 years old, Gail Falkenberg faced 19-year-old Aspen Schuman in the qualifying rounds of an ITF

At 79 years old, Gail Falkenberg faced 19-year-old Aspen Schuman in the qualifying rounds of an ITF tournament in Orlando, Florida, falling 0-6, 0-6.

Einen Sieg will ich noch, bevor ich aufhöre, Falkenberg told the New York Post, stating her desire to secure one final professional victory before hanging up her racket.

She would like to reach this goal before her milestone birthday in January. She admitted that her knees cause her trouble, but she relies on a varied arsenal of shots. Ich kann den Ball auf alle möglichen Arten schlagen, she added.

She explained that age does not bother her and she is not injured, but she must work and train with players as good as Schuman, noting that this level is really, really good.

Following a previous match, after losing 0-6, 0-6 to Taylor Townsend—then already a French Open third-round player and later the world No. 46, in a match where she missed just one point for a game win—media worldwide wanted to speak with her.

Falkenberg turned professional in 1985, the birth year of Stan Wawrinka, whom people thought of as an eternal professional after his recent retirement at age 41. As a self-taught player putting everything on one card, she returned to tennis around age 35, a time of life when most professionals’ careers are already over, finding satisfaction after several coaches made it clear to her that her technique would never allow her to achieve anything.

Those were remarkable successes because her path into the tennis circus was unusual. She entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2016 by winning an ITF Tour match at age 69.

Outside of her own matches, Falkenberg works as a tennis instructor under the Florida sun. Ich geniesse nicht nur den Wettkampf, es hält mich auch jung, wenn ich mit jüngeren Menschen zusammen bin, she said.

More on this story: Gail Falkenberg, 79, Faces Aspen Schuman in Orlando ITF Qualifying