Interview with Justine Gurliaccio
by Tina Davitt

Q: How long have you been playing racquetball?

A: Since 1980. Right after I got married I started playing with some friends.

Q: Were you hooked right away?

A: Yep.

Q: Do you have a specific “win” that meant the most to you?

A: For me, winning is immaterial. Don’t get me wrong, I like to be competitive but it is more of a social thing. Look, I finished playing at noon and I’m still here and its 6 pm.

Q: Do you prefer singles or doubles?

A: Doubles.

Q: Is Ann Stark usually your partner?

A: Yes, she and I have been playing together since about 1990. She’s hurt this weekend, though.

Q: You play well together. I know that there has to be some sort of rapport with a doubles partner.

A: We do well together. We just clicked right from the start – I have the power and she has the finesse.

Q: Have you ever had a broken bone?

A: Yeah, but not from racquetball. I had a dislocation from racquetball, but the broken bone was from when I was hit by a car.

Q: What happened with the car?

A: I was 7 and my sister and I were walking to a diner. There were actually 3 of us there. We were crossing a street, and we usually crossed at the corner. Well, I decided that I wanted to beat my sister and her friend so I crossed in the middle of the block. I didn’t make it. I broke my thigh bone and I was in a body cast for a while.

Q: That’s a big deal – do you still have pain from it?

A: Not my hip, no. But my knee was affected, both my hands, my shoulder.

Q: Do you speak any foreign languages?

A: Just bad words in Italian.

Q: What is the first thing you notice about people?

A: Their clothes. And their face.

Q: Do you untie your sneakers before you take them off.

A: No.

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: A teacher.

Q: Did you ever get in a food fight?

A: No. What do you mean, like Joe Camiolo’s? They have pie fights from what I understand. But, no, I’ve never been in a food fight.

Q: Do you have any special "pre tournament" diet?

A: Medication (laughs). No, I don’t.