KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A talented tennis player lives right in Luzerne County’s Back Mountain.
Don’t let her size fool you, she’s gifted and on her way to greatness. 7-year-old Thea Hockenbury is a rockstar tennis player. She got her start pretty young.
When Thea was 4 years old, she found one of her dad’s old tennis rackets in a closet, and the rest is history. The Shavertown girl practices two hours a day, six days a week with her coach she also calls her dad.
Thea puts her time in on the court whenever she can with the hopes of one day being a professional tennis player. Which also means she doesn’t play against just anyone.
You might recognize the name of the oldest person Thea played against, Nick Toma.
She was all smiles thinking about that mixed doubles match she won in the 40th annual 2022 Keystone State Games.
Thea recently took a break from practicing in Luzerne County and traveled to the 2022 US Open, hoping to learn from the best of the best.
Thea looks up to professional tennis player Madison Keys, who she first met when she was four. Now following in the pro’s footsteps being kind, on and off the court.
Thea says she can’t live without tennis and she works on setting different goals for herself. Thea’s dream is to win one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.
For anyone Thea’s age hoping to get into swinging rackets, she has some advice for you.
“If you like the sport, then if you want you can play it, and if you keep on doing it, you can get better, and better and better and better,” said Thea Hockenbury.
Here’s to you Thea.
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