Called to the Mission Court?  By Steven James

The first time Bethanie ever swung at tennis ball, hit it. The second time she swung, switching her grip to backhand, she returned the ball so hard she knocked her dad over. He staggered to his feet and stared at her in amazement.  Bethanie was only 5 years old at the time!

Four years later she was holding her own in a match against the top-ranked female tennis player in the world, Monica Seles.  Now, at 14 years of age, Bethanie is one of the top 14-and-under female tennis players in North America.  “My dream is to someday hold the Wimbledon trophy,” she says.  But if Bethanie wins that trophy someday, don't expect her to take all the credit for getting there.  She's got a different message she wants to spread.

5 1/2 Hours of Tennis a Day:  Its 6:45 a.m. and Bethanie’s alarm goes off.  Time to get up for another day of school.  It isn't far to walk.  Bethanie, her two brothers Chad and Andrew, and her sister Alison have school in their living room, taught by their parents, Tim and Heidi.

Every morning she has a Bible study with her father.  They also study mental toughness and sports psychology in addition to typical high school courses.  Then, at 10:30 a.m. school lets out and tennis begins.  Bethanie plays for an hour and a half each morning and trains for four more hours every afternoon at an elite tennis academy in southern Florida.

Her brothers and sister are supportive of Bethanie and her tennis, and she supports them as well. She tries to spend time each day with them, and on weekends she attends their soccer games or goes with them to watch a movie.

When I asked her if they ever resent her corporate sponsorships (Nike, PowerBar, Prince racquets) and all the free clothes, tennis racquets and the health bars she gets, Bethanie snickered, “Probably when my Nike stuff comes. So I give them a hat or T-shirt or something. Then its cool.”

But playing tennis for a living isn't all fun and games. She has a packed schedule and needs to work out nearly every day.  And every couple of days she's out running a mile and a half.  Even some of Bethanie’s friends from church don't understand what it's like.

Bethanie explains, “I don't have many Christian friends. I don't go to many houses or parties. Some girls don't get it.  I have to watch my eating, keep my muscle mass and weight up. Some girls don't understand at church.  That's tough sometimes.”

To cope during those tough times, she's learned to focus, relax and take a break. “I just try to forget about it. I do a hobby.  I read, listen to music or take a break.  I like to read a lot of things, like ‘Nancy Drew’ mysteries.”

Then, at 6:30 p.m. it's time to eat and go to bed.  But . . . only after she's done 200 sit-ups and 100 push-ups.  “Its tough getting up each day,” she admits. “Sometimes I sleep in.”

Early Success: The day Tim Mattek decided to throw a few tennis balls at his daughter was one of the blackest days of his life. He'd been ignoring his family and knew God wanted him to refocus.  “At the time I was looking for direction for myself and my family.  One of my children called me ‘Bye Bye Daddy.’   That was my name,” he recalls.

“Right before we started playing tennis I knew I had to make changes.  I was burned out and stressed out.  It was a hard time.  My mother-in-law had just passed away.  My wife had a miscarriage and almost bled to death.  The same day I had a phone call that my father had cancer.  I was drifting.  I was going after worldly things.  God crumbled my life.  I wasn't pushing forward for His glory, I was pushing forward for mine.”

So Tim decided to devote more time to his 5-year-old daughter.  Little did he know how much his life and his family was going to change as a result of that decision.

Bethanie began practicing with her father nearly every day.  She loved tennis and couldn't get enough of it.  And she was good, with natural quickness and timing.  Bethanie started winning. And winning.

“It was an exciting time!” Heidi, Bethanie’s mother, remembers.  “She had to play older girls to find competition.”

Eventually, Tim had taught her everything he knew.  He needed to find a coach that could take her to the next level.  Soon, he located Irena Bulychova, a Russian former professional tennis player who was living in the Midwest, looking for part-time work.

To the Matteks, Irena was a godsend.  She taught Bethanie to play offensively, to attack the ball. That early training has helped Bethanie develop an aggressive playing style that some people are calling “the game of the future.”  She calls it “Strike Tennis.”  She tries to attack the ball before the other girl can strike.  No waiting.   She hits the ball on the rise, not as it's sinking, by rushing the net.

For four years Bethanie competed in national tournaments, and by the time she turned 10, she was seeded third in one of the country's premier tournaments, held in Key Biscayne, Fla.  That year her family moved from Rochester, Minn., to Appleton, Wis., to be closer to their extended family.  At 11, she was competing in tournaments for girls 16 and under.  She started playing in international competition for girls 14 and younger when she turned 12.  Even though most of the girls were bigger and stronger, her aggressive style caught people's attention.

One day, Bethanie’s father got a call from John Evert, brother of Chris Evert, inviting them down to the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla.  Bethanie’s mom recalls the move from Wisconsin to Florida: “It was a tough decision to move.  We prayed about it a lot.”

For Bethanie, it was exciting.  Even though she misses her friends, now she has more time for tennis.  “I didn't like going to my school,” she says.  “I could only play an hour a day.  I think it was a good move here.”

Paul Wilde, her tennis coach in Wisconsin and a member of her church, accompanied the family to Florida.  Hess excited about Bethanie’s success and her attitude.  “God is doing some amazing things both in Bethanie’s life and through her in the tennis community,” he says.

A Dream Confirmed: Moving across the country to allow your daughter to play tennis might cause resentment in some families, but the Matteks believe God is using Bethanie and her talents for something special.  “God gave me a vision back when Bethanie was 5, and when you know the vision, the decisions are easier,” her father says.

But the vision wasn't always clear: One discouraging day while they were still in Minnesota, Heidi and Tim wondered if God really wanted them to continue.  Bethanie’s lessons were getting expensive, time on the court was limited, and other players were jealous of Bethanie’s talents.  They prayed that God would show them a sign to continue or to stop.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Bethanie, Monica Seles is here!”  “Yeah right,” said Tim.  None of the Matteks could believe it. Why would the top-ranked out at a little club in Rochester, Minn.?  But it was true.  A few minutes later, Monica walked by on her way to the court.  Bethanie grabbed her racquet, and Tim got permission for her to hit a few balls to Monica.

Within 35 minutes of their prayer for a sign, their 9-year-old daughter was returning the serves of the No. 1 female tennis player in the world.  Monica met Bethanie at the net and shook her hand.  “You're very talented and you should keep working hard,” Monica said.

That day, Bethanie’s family became convinced that God wanted her to play tennis.

At peace With Her Purpose: Ephesians 4:11 explains that God has called some people to be apostles, some to be prophets, others evangelists, pastors or teachers.  But does God call some people to be tennis players? The Matteks think so.

Sure, Bethanie enjoys winning, but she doesn't view her involvement in tennis as just a chance to win trophies.  She sees her success in tennis as an opportunity to tell people about her Savior.

On a recent visit, Bethanie’s grandmother whispered to her father, “Bethanie really seems at peace with her purpose.”  And what is her purpose?  “My purpose is to get pro and win those Grand Slams so I can spread God's Word through my life and when I give speeches.  When they ask me questions, I’ll tell them about God.

And she isn't waiting until she's famous before influencing her friends toward Christ.  Even now she tries to set a good example on the court and witness to the other players through her conduct and attitude.  In 1996 she was awarded the Sportsmanship Award at the United States Tennis Association Western Indoor Closed Tournament.

She and another Christian girl have invited their friends to church, given away Bibles and followed up with questions.  And prayer is a big part of Bethanie’s life. “I pray to God when I get up and when I go to bed. On court I rebuke some things in the name of Jesus  like when other players swear or throw their tennis racquets or something.”

Going Against the Tide: Already she has met or played against some of the biggest names in tennis Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Jana Novotna and she is good friends with Chris Evert.  Yet it isn't easy being a Christian in the world of professional tennis.  The Matteks live in southern Florida, where pornography is one of the major industries and topless beaches sprinkle the shoreline.  Many of the professional athletes she meets are not Christian and have completely different priorities.

“Its tough to be a Christian,” Bethanie says.  “There are a lot of temptations in tennis.  If you hang around that, you'll start doing it.  Sometimes I just wanna break my racquet.  My biggest struggle is dealing mentally with all the other players out there.  None of them really act like they should.  Mentally they will be pretty mean and they'll call you a cheater or something worse.  And you're thinking about it and then you have to put it out of your mind.”

Bethanie says that there is no secret to success, it's simply a matter of setting goals and working hard to reach them.  “Short term and long term goals,” she says.  “Like make it to a playoff. Going pro and winning Wimbledon.”  One of her goals is to turn professional in the next two or three years.

When she isn't on the tennis court, Bethanie can be found drawing, listening to music or reading Brio.  When asked if she had a special message for her Brio Sisses,  she says, “Just trust in God and try not to stay around negative people.  If you hang around negative people then you become negative, and you'll probably become like them.”

Rising Star: Keep an eye out for Bethanie Mattek in the next few years.  But also keep an ear open to her message.  She wants people everywhere to know God loves them and has a special plan for their lives, both on court and off.

This article appeared in Brio magazine. Copyright © 1999 Steven James.
If you've like to send a message to Bethanie, we will be glad to forward it to her.  Send it to  Mattek@tennisministry.com and we will forward it on to her.  Please include your name, age and mailing address.
Love to Serve Newsletter Copyright 2000

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