For this year’s Hall of Fame induction, the U.S. Tennis Association Hawaii Pacific Section chose two very different forces of tennis nature.

The late Sinclair Bill, who reached 37 national age-group finals, will be honored with the Player Award at Saturday’s annual banquet. Jane Sakakihara, the behind-the-scenes soul of Maui tennis, will receive the Service Award.

Anne Sinclair Knudsen "Sinc" Bill, who died last November at 71, will be there in spirit. She won the last of her 18 "gold balls" — national age-group titles — when she turned 70.

Bill’s father started her in the game growing up on Oahu. No one stopped her the rest of her life.

"She was a very good, crafty player," recalls Hattie Somerville, who knew Bill "since we were babies" and was inducted into the Hall five years ago.

"Her father wanted ‘Sinc’ to play, and her brother. It really caught on with Sinclair and she was a natural. She loved it."

Bill moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., to teach, coach and train relentlessly for national age-group events.

She ultimately won 18 "gold balls" and 19 "silver balls" in singles and doubles.

Longtime doubles partner Cathy Anderson lived down the coast, in Del Mar, and the two traveled the world to national championships and to represent the U.S. in international events. A highlight came when they reached the final of the World Senior Championships in New Zealand.

Both were small, extremely talented and the perfect complement on court and off.

"It’s hard to find doubles partners, and doubles partners who are friends, too," Anderson says.

"She was the bigger hitter and I was the steadier one. Sometimes that’s a good combination."

Somerville, whose daughter Betsy was inducted last year, remained a life-long friend. She and Bill traveled on a troop ship together to the West Coast — "17 days in blackout" — during WWII. They played tennis at Punahou and tested their games on the mainland back when that was a big deal.

"Then I got married and had four children," Somerville says. "They were always running around at Punahou interrupting me. I’d say, ‘Go sit on the bench, Mommy is going to play.’ Sinc would say, ‘How come you had four children?’

"As time went on she was in her second marriage. She already had two children and had two little boys in her second marriage. She brought them home to visit and they yelled and screamed and had drooley noses. Sinc kept running off the court to take care of them. I said, ‘Sinc, how come you have four kids?’ "

Those kids and the ensuing grandkids, along with husband Michael Bill, were the loves of her life —along with tennis. She and Somerville started the Muriel Osborne Hawaii Tennis Fund with Osborne’s twin daughters, in memory of another Hall of Famer. Funds help elite Hawaii girls with travel costs.

Jane Sakakihara’s daughter, Lori, was one of those elite girls. She was brought up in the family-friendly Wailuku Junior Tennis Club and eventually played for Baldwin and the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

"Because Lori grew up loving tennis we enrolled her with Wailuku Juniors and all the families there are really tight," Sakakihara says. "I was helping coordinate tennis events, lots of family tennis."

Then mom began to play. "It was perfect," Sakakihara says, "because after a while we wore the same size shirts and shoes and everything."

Playing and planning grew into coordinating and officiating.

She was captain of her first "novice" team. The title has stuck and she is now the evaluator and scheduler for 17 Maui officials.

She coordinates the island’s league tennis, which has mushroomed, and she still plays as much as four times a week.

And, oh yeah, Sakakihara stores all the league tennis balls in her garage.

"Working for Wailuku Juniors is like giving back because Lori came through the ranks," says Sakakihara, a "semi-retired" teacher. "For the leagues, I just enjoy helping people. I try to mentor other coordinators and help schedule all the sectional championships no matter what island they are on because I’m on the Hawaii Pacific Section Adult League Committee. It’s never ending.

"It’s the satisfaction of seeing happy faces and trying to keep tennis’ playing field where everybody is happy with the outcome. We have to smooth out the rough edges of matches and do it diplomatically."

Sakakihara’s personality is ideal for that.

"Now that her daughter plays adult tennis, Jane sort of submerses herself in the world of tennis," says USTA-Maui District President Chris Scharein. "It’s a passion. She’s very passionate about tennis and being involved and helping people. Her temperament is very even-keeled. Things don’t rile her up. She has a great personality for resolving issues and conflict.

"She is someone very special for the community because not a lot of districts and communities have people this dedicated to growing tennis and helping others."