They represented New Zealand at the world tennis games in Perth nine years ago and both came home with bronze medals.
Stuart and great mate Bill Roberts were the district’s top men’s doubles combination for many years — arguably the best of all time.
Bill still joins the Robbs for their weekly games.
Stuart’s representative career started when he was 20 and continued to 50. Along the way he amassed 22 New Zealand veterans’ titles.
Janette herself won an estimated eight New Zealand vet titles.
Her husband started his tennis on two hard courts at Patutahi at around 10 years of age.
“Mum and Dad played a bit,” he said. “Back in those days tennis was what we did each summer and we played rugby in winter,” Stuart said.
He “vividly” recalls one rugby match.
“I’d asked Janette to come down and watch me play but I got so badly injured I had to be carted away in an ambulance.”
Stuart played his footy for High School Old Boys and, before that, for Patutahi in the Ngatapa competition.
'We’ve both loved our tennis all our lives'Janette’s winter sport was netball. She played goal shoot for High School Old Girls.
“I also loved swimming when I was young but I came to love tennis and badminton more,” Janette said,
Her first taste for tennis was as a child hitting a ball against the tank stand at her home. It grew quickly from there.
“We’ve both loved our tennis all our lives, and still follow it closely,” she said. “We love it for the sport it offers and for the exercise.”
They also enjoy watching it on TV — describing themselves as a couple of night owls.
“We watch it all the time, late into the night and sometimes into the early morning,” said Janette.
That no doubt applies to the latest edition of the Australian Open currently on in Melbourne.
The pair have been to the Australian Open three times,
“The modern game is very fast, much faster than when we played. It’s unreal,” Stuart said.
“It’s a lot to do with the rackets they use today.
“The players are better equipped, fitter and stronger . . .They’re also paid a lot more,” he said wryly.
“In our day we played competitive tennis because we loved it.”
Stuart strung rackets for Guy and Dunsmore for 15 years before he retired. He still strings his own rackets and for others when asked.
The couple are unanimous in agreement about their favourite player.
“Federer is the best tennis player who ever walked,” Stuart said.
“The likes of Rod Laver in our day would not have been able to stand up to him.”
The Robbs are life members of Gisborne Tennis Club.
Their three daughters — Adrienne, Carolyn and Lynda — all played the game.
Carolyn, who headed to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open earlier this week , still plays “a good game of tennis.”
As to their secret to 64 years of happy marriage.
“Give and take as a couple that’s for sure,” they said. “It certainly helps to play a game together that you both love, and we consider ourselves so lucky to still be able to play it.”
