Thursday evening in Trakai the first indoor tennis court "Trakė tennis club" was opened. The occasion was also accompanied by the conclusion of the support project dedicated to the world's greatest tennis player, Leonidas Stanislavski event.
The representatives of business, sports, politics and the Trakai city community who gathered at the celebration shared their love for tennis, many claimed that it is more than a sport. L Stanislavskis supports this statement like no one else, he is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest tennis player (99 years and 8 months). The man still plays tennis every day and claims that this activity is his whole life.
Inspired by his energy, L. Stanislavskis came to Lithuania from war-torn Kharkiv a little more than a year ago. Currently, he needs all kinds of physical support and health care, so Leonidas has been living in Trakai nursing home "Addere Care" for almost a year. Apart from his extremely modest pension, Leonidas has no other means of living. Therefore, when necessary, the tennis community hastened to lend him a helping hand - at the urging of coach Simos Kučs, people donated to Leonidas' livelihood in Lithuania and benevolently contributed to the support project.
"When Leonidas arrived at the nursing home in Trakai, he regretted the most that he would not be able to play in the arena, as he had been doing in Kharkiv or while living in Vilnius for a while. And now he can do it every day, because the new tennis courts are part of the infrastructure of Addere Care and everyone is welcome here. Leonidas was the first evaluator and advisor of the court we built," says Raimonda Krisčiūnė, manager of the first indoor tennis court in Trakai.
During the evening, she congratulated those gathered and expressed her hope that the new space will become a center of attraction for the city community. "We want to show that tennis is not very expensive, only a sport for a narrow group of society. Therefore, I invite everyone to feel free, take up the racket and try," said R. Krisčiūnė.
The coaches S. Kučas and L. Stanislavskis, who established a beautiful friendship, shared stories about tennis and life. This almost century-old man thanked the Lithuanians for their support and also sang the Ukrainian folk song. And then, of course, everyone present was invited to try out the tennis courts in practice, setting an example by playing a short "match" with coach Vitalijus Dūdas, who faithfully visits Leonidas in Trakai to cheer him on with a game on the court.
