Tennis has been a part of Dave and Karen Benishs life for more than 25 years, and they say their love for the sport hasnt diminished a bit.


The couple, who recently celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary, opened a specialty tennis shop here, named Tennis of Spokane, in 1995 after moving from southern California. Since then, they say theyve built a loyal clientele, comprised mostly of people they know by name, and Karen Benish says that due to their advancing age and the shops popularity, Customers come in and say, Dont even think about retiring.


They opened the shop in a roughly 900-square-foot space in the back of the former Lou Lous Ski Shop, at 428 E. Pacific, then moved it earlier this year into the front portion of the building, which is about the same size, but is more spread out, she says.


The shop appears to stock just about everything connected with tennis, including racquets, apparel, shoes, bags, balls, and books. The walls are lined with new racquets, many of which will remain unstrung until theyre sold. Dave strings racquets in a small workshop located near the front door, where anyone can watch him work. Karen says the racquets the store sells, which include used racquets, can range in price from $25 to more than $200.


The business allows customers to take a racquet out of the store and onto a tennis court to see if they like it before they purchase it, and has more than 100 demo racquets, Karen says. If youre going to spend $165 on a racquet, youd better like it, she says. Customers can take a demo racquet for up to three days for a charge of $1 a day.


The store also offers equipment repair and maintenance services, and Karen says those services account for about 75 percent of its revenues. The most widely-used service is racquet restringing, which can cost from $18 to $65, depending on the quality of the strings, says Dave, who is certified by the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association. He says that most customers spend about $25 to have their racquets restrung, and it takes him about 30 minutes to restring one. Customers also can have racquet parts such as bumpers, butt caps, and grips replaced at the store.


Karen says business started off slowly this year due to the unfavorable weather, which kept players off of the courts. Then, a revenue upswing during the second quarter put the business slightly ahead of where it was at the same time last year, she says. About half of the shops customers play tennis year-round at indoor tennis facilities, and the other half play only on outdoor courts, many of which are located at schools and parks throughout the Spokane area.


She declines to disclose the businesss annual revenues, but says the shop has shown a roughly 5 percent increase in revenue each year since opening. She says the first year in business here was rough, due to the initial challenge of making people aware of the shop. No one knew we were here, she says.


Dispelling the idea that were an elitist shop is a continuing challenge, Dave says. He suspects that some recreational players may go to larger chain sporting goods stores for tennis equipment because they think their skill level doesnt warrant going to a specialty shop, but Tennis of Spokane serves customers from all walks of life, skill levels, and tax brackets, he says. Dave says tennis is a great game that can be enjoyed by anyone, and people who work as lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, and waitresses all patronize the store.


The Benishs operate the store mostly by themselves. During the busier summer months, Dave hires a part-time employee to help out around the shop and restring racquets. He says he usually hires a high school- or college-age student with a passion for tennis, and teaches them how to service tennis equipment properly.


Before the sport of tennis became their means of making a living, Dave and Karen were teachers in Orange County, California, for more than 20 years. Dave, who began teaching in 1958, says the summers off were perfect for playing a lot of tennis.


He says hes been competing in amateur tennis tournaments since the 1960s and had traveled frequently through the northwestern U.S. and Canada on the tournament circuit, often stopping in Spokane for a match or two. His wife and their daughter, also both avid tennis players, often would accompany Dave during the summer.


In 1981, a tennis equipment shop in their California neighborhood became available for sale. Dave says he and his wife were looking to do something besides teach and felt that it was an opportunity they couldnt pass up. Dave says they made the risky move of pulling money out of their retirement accounts early and bought the business for around $100,000.


Dave continued to play in tennis tournaments and travel through the Spokane area, and says the couple always had intended to move to the Northwest at some point and finally made the move 13 years ago.


Now weve been tennis shop owners longer than teachers, Karen says.


During some of their time away from the shop, the Benishs serve as board members for the Tennis Association of Greater Spokane, a nonprofit group that organizes tennis leagues for spring and summer play for participants of all ages and skill levels. The group, which goes by the name TAGS, also offers tennis scholarships to high school kids in the area who have a demonstrated love of the game, but dont have the financial resources to join a tennis club during the winter months.


Recipients of the scholarships receive access to a tennis club for four months as well as instruction to improve their play. Dave speaks fondly of the young athletes who have participated in the program, and says many have gone on to compete in high school tennis tournaments at the state level. He says working with young people has been his most rewarding experience since moving to Spokane.


As for retirement, the couple says they toy with the idea from time to time, but feel the shop serves too great a need for tennis players in the community for them to shutter the shop completely. We cant just walk away and close the door, says Karen, adding that they dont plan on putting their racquets away anytime soon.


Contact Ben Rascoff at (509) 344-1260 or via e-mail at benr@spokanejournal.com.