Elizabeth Henderson began playing tennis at the age of eight when she participated in the last few minutes of her older brother’s tennis lesson. Within a couple of years, Henderson began traveling throughout Tennessee playing in tournaments, and by the time she was 12 years old, Henderson was participating in Southern and National tournaments. Her highest Southern ranking was #1 in the Girl’s 14s and Girl’s 16s, and the highest National ranking she achieved was #9 in the Girl’s 14s and #16 in the Girl’s 16s.
After leaving the juniors, Henderson joined the women’s tennis team at University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC). The UTC team played SEC, ACC and Big Ten schools because a conference format for women had not yet been established in the mid 1970s. Henderson was an All-American on each of UTC’s three AIAW Small College National Championship teams from 1977-79. As a senior at UTC, Kathy Kolankiewicz and Henderson finished third in the AIAW Division I National Doubles Championships. Henderson began her college coaching career as an assistant at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
After two years at UNC, she moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, to become the head coach at The College of William and Mary. In 1983, she moved to Knoxville as the head women’s coach at the University of Tennessee.
After four years at UT, Henderson decided to lighten her schedule to meet the demands of raising a family. She was able to turn a summer tennis program into a year-round program at the Peninsula Club, a small swim and tennis club in Knoxville. Working at the Peninsula Club awakened Henderson’s true passion and talent- teaching at the grass roots level. She continues to teach at the Peninsula Club and entered her 30th year of work there in 2010.