In nearly everything Ken Koelling does, he does it from and for the heart. 

By day, the 58-year-year old Meridian resident works as a perfusionist, where he operates the patient heart-lung machine at Anderson Regional Medical Center during surgeries.

When Koelling isn’t at Anderson, he’s at local tennis courts playing the game that stole his heart years ago. He’s been selected as Mississippi’s player of the year on separate occasions, and he’s ranked in the top five nationally.

“I think it was Ben Hogan who said when he played golf if he hit a ball just right, the electricity went up his arm and into his heart,” Koelling said. “Well, in tennis, you get to do that. In golf, it’s once every three minutes that you get that chance. In tennis, you get that feeling once every two or three seconds.”

Koelling is coming off of two major tennis wins this summer, as he placed first (7-5; 6-3) in the men’s 55 singles in the Atlanta Senior Invitational in May. In June, he was the first-place finisher (6-3; 3-6; 10-8) in the men’s 55s singles in the Tennessee Valley Open Championship, held at Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Manker Patten Tennis Center. 

Koelling’s Tennessee Valley Open Championship carried added significance, as he played college tennis at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 

“I like to go to that tournament because I have friends and (I get to) to go up and see them,” he said. “It’s a great venue. It’s a club that’s right on the Tennessee River, so it’s a great tournament for me to play.”

In college, Koelling and his teammates won four Southern Conference championships, and as a sophomore, he individually earned a No. 1 singles ranking and a conference title. He finished at No. 2 in singles during his senior season.

Koelling earned a mechanical engineering degree from Tennessee-Chattanooga and worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority for a handful of years before the nuclear plant he worked at was shuttered. He used the opportunity to hit tennis’ satellite circuit.

“I had always wanted to give the circuit a try, and I have saved a little bit of money and I was still young and stupid,” Koelling said with a laugh. 

Koelling competed on the circuit for 18 months, where he played in tournaments around the country and abroad attempting to accumulate Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) points to move up the leaderboard. He accumulated enough points on one circuit to where he would have received enough ATP points to get a world ranking with one more win, but ultimately fell short. Still, he cherishes the experience.

“It was a dream of mine to play, so I’m glad I did it,” he said. “It afforded me a chance to travel, too. I got to play some circuits in Hawaii and Australia. It was great.”

Although Koelling’s satellite circuit experience ended after a year-and-a-half, his competitive streak has not waned, as evidenced by his continued dominance. Northwood Country Club tennis pro Kevin Gillette routinely practices with Koelling and commented on his practice partner’s skills. 

“We play all the time, and he’s fabulous,” Gillette said. “As you get to be seniors, obviously it takes a little bit more wherewithal to keep competing at a high level. He just really truly loves the sport and works at it really hard. I value playing against him because he pushes me so hard that I have to work really hard, and it keeps me in shape.”

Koelling, who moved to Meridian in 1998 following a career change to perfusion, has no plans of slowing. He plays tennis five times a week, and when asked how much longer he will continue to play, he offered: “All my life  — never say die.”