Wally Masur joked that being included in Tennis ACT's Walk of Fame just means he's old.
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Masur headlines a trio of Canberra tennis legends inducted into Tennis ACT's Walk of Fame alongside Ken Willis and the late Keith Carnall.
The three will be honoured with inscribed pavers at the entrance to the Canberra Tennis Centre – a facility Masur believes could hold major events in the coming years.
"[Keith Carnall] is no longer with us so maybe it's a sign that I'm on the wrong side of 50," Masur said.
"It's probably a coming of age for tennis, sport and the city of Canberra.
"I guess we've been on a bit of a journey, and that facility is absolutely world-class. A next-generation gym combined with the tennis centre and the indoor facility is just fantastic.
"That's what tennis needs in this country, and the nation's capital deserves a centre of that magnitude to hold events. I suppose the Walk of Fame is something for Tennis ACT to showcase some of the people that have been involved in the sport, different facets of the sport, and tie it in with this brand new centre."
The recognition allowed 53-year-old Masur a moment of reflection on his days as a youngster looking to make a mark in the game.
"It's always been a pretty vibrant tennis scene in Canberra," Masur said.
"I was fortunate as a junior that the tennis scene – the A-grade scene and the junior scene – in Canberra at the time in the '70s was very strong, and I was lucky to be a part of that.
"That was reflected around the country – tennis was pretty popular. Canberra was like a big country town at the time, it was was easy to get around, plenty of competition and I was pretty fortunate."
Tennis ACT chief executive Ross Triffitt believes finding three candidates from vastly different eras is a nod to Canberra's lengthy production line.
"They're all outstanding candidates," Triffitt said.
"It's an exciting time and it's probably a good time to ensure that we capture the history. Hopefully moving forward there's going to be a great chapter with a great venue, boost in participation, and amazing individual performances.
"Some of our players are doing great things, so it's certainly a great time to ensure that we're capturing great things that happened in the past, and it looks very bright in the future."
