The King and I: I Taught Him How to Serve

Maureen O’Keefe was a ranked California tennis player, and played on the Stanford University women’s team. She taught tennis for parks, tennis academies, and tennis clubs on both coasts. But by far her most famous pupil was King Hussein.

In 1980 her husband started his first posting with USAID. Within weeks, Maureen was taken to the Palace in a royal Mercedes and started what was to be an astonishing experience as King Hussein’s personal tennis coach. She taught him at his Amman palace as well as his weekend palace at Aqaba. She organized doubles games with his friends—other Heads of State. She also became the first national tennis coach for the Jordanian Tennis Federation, and developed a team which traveled to several Arab countries for competitions. O’Keefe will talk about this unique experience on Thursday, January 17 at the Rockland Public Library. “The King and I: I taught him how to serve” runs from 6:30-8:00PM and is free and open to all.

Co-Sponsored with the Camden Conference.