Pickleballer in the 808: Bernard Yuen

Hawai'i Pickleball NewsO'ahu Pickleball Players

Jul 30

97 year old plays pickleball in hawaii — *Pickleballer in the 808: Bernard Yuen*

Waipahu—Meet Bernard Yuen, the 97-year old pickleballer with a mean serve and a nasty backhand. (Yes, you read that right. Ninety-seven.)

I was at the baseline, receiving his serve, and got caught in that gnarly position where the ball is coming fast, bounces at your feet and is almost impossible to return.

I thought, this guy must have a tennis background.

So I asked him, “did you play tennis”?

He said, “for about 85 years.”

Bernard is one of eleven siblings. Raised in Nu’uanu, he lived one house away from the tennis courts. He became a tennis doubles champion and Captain of the tennis team at McKinley High School, where he graduated in the Class of 1944.

He grew up loving all sports, and now that his hearing is, by his description, “not good”, he watches sports on TV since he can watch the action without having to hear the commentary. He also was a 10-handicap golfer for around 50 years.

He started playing pickleball about nine years ago. Someone from the Waipahu City and County put together a pickleball program, Bernard started playing, and the rest is history.

*Bernard at the Courts with pickleball friends*

He bought a $70 paddle from a woman he played with, and plays with that same paddle today. Pickleball wasn’t very popular back then; there was no where to buy pickleball gear locally.

Now, he volunteers and helps out at the C&C pickleball program when he can. He plays three times a week, but said that he’d play everyday if he could drive himself!

*Bernard, with his 96th birthday pickleball lei*

When asked what he loves about pickleball, he said that anyone can play–-any age (as he’s proof of) and any gender. Everyone enjoys themselves, and you can go to the courts solo and meet friends, as opposed to having to be a part of a group, a foursome, or a team.

Outside of pickleball, Bernard spends time working in his yard. Over the years, he’s grown “everything”, from flowers, Hawaiian tropical plants, and fruits. At one time, he cultivated loads of flowers and donated them to his Church. Now, he tends to his fruit trees–mango, ‘ulu, papaya and lemon, and flowers—magnolia, gardenia and ginger.

What was the secret to his longevity and good health, I wondered? To that, Bernard answered, “have good friends and a good family life, don’t get stressed, exercise and stay active”, and added that he eats a salad every night with veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and tomato.

And finally, asked if there was anything else he wanted to share, he offered these wise words,

“if everyone played pickleball, there would be no war.”