Kate Purpura’s first tennis racquet was a Dora the Explorer signature. When Purpura, now 4, saw her first tennis ball, she "crushed it."

Like mother, like daughter.

Betsy Somerville Purpura — otherwise known as Kate’s mom, Mike’s wife, Hattie and John’s daughter and Hannah, Jim and Henry’s sister — will be inducted into the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section Tennis Hall of Fame on Oct. 1. It is part of the 25th annual Tennis Weekend. Hattie, matriarch of one of Hawaii’s most revered tennis families, was inducted in 2007.

In a career in which Betsy "crushed" many, many tennis balls, she won three Hawaii state high school championships. Her final junior tournament was the 1986 Olympic Sports Festival, where she captured the doubles title. In her sophomore year at University of Arizona, Purpura and Sue Russo won the ITA Rolex Indoors in the fall to soar to a No. 1 national ranking they held until the NCAA tournament in the spring.

After Purpura received her degree, she played on the pro tour two years, getting into all four Grand Slams. She won in the first round of the French Open and might have reached the third round if an out ball — headed straight for the Banque Nationale de Paris sign on the back wall — hadn’t hit her partner.

She was ranked as high as fourth nationally in the 12s, in the top 50 in 14s, 16s and 18s and had a collegiate singles ranking of No. 29. On the WTA tour she got as high as No. 129 in doubles and 400-plus in singles.

"I have a natural feel at the net, the anticipation is there. That’s more natural," says Purpura, who teaches at the Oahu Club, where brother Henry is head pro. "I was OK in singles, did reasonably well in school, but I always had a much better feel for the doubles court."

Maybe it was because she could "crush" the ball more often. She won her first Silver Ball from the U.S. Tennis Association at age 11 when she reached the Girls 12s National Hardcourt Doubles final. She won her last Gold Ball five years ago, taking the USTA National Super Senior Mother-Daughter Grass Court Championship with Hattie.

Betsy has never strayed far from the game and never will. Neither will her family. The kids grew up on Maui, Hawaii and Oahu, while their parents worked as tennis pros at Royal Lahaina, Mauna Kea and Waialae. Hannah was a ranked junior and twins Jim and Henry both turned pro, and dominated local doubles.

The kids dabbled in other sports, most notably surfing, but tennis was always their priority and passion.

"I accomplished individual things. I was happy, I love the game. I still play," says Betsy, 43. "Within that context I’m happy with my achievements. Within this context our family … I think our parents just made it very fun. They had a really good disposition about keeping it fun within our family. My sister is extraordinarily competitive and she is the oldest. Then my brothers are competitive and close to my sister’s age. I was just competing to keep up, 31⁄2 years behind my brothers. It was kind of neat, but more so because my parents made it fun."

Her thoughts about the game now are less about Grand Slams and strategies and more about Dora the Explorer racquets and the social aspects of a game that claims it can be played for a lifetime, or at least enjoyed.

Betsy met husband Mike, a partner with high school tennis sponsor Carlsmith Ball, on the tennis courts at West Point.

"I said, ‘Gee, nice volley,’ " she recalls. "He said, ‘Thanks’ and thought I was flirting with him."

When she worked for "number crunching" Nielsen in New York City, Purpura became good friends with former mayor David Dinkins, who liked the way she "crushed" the tennis ball, especially when she was his partner. She was the Seton Hall head coach for four years and still lights up when she talks about the thrill of the recruiting chase.

When Mike was hired in 2007 as associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Betsy went from "knowing nobody" in Arlington, Va., to creating her own ohana by playing in tennis leagues.

Now they are back home, watching Kate "crush" the ball. If she becomes skilled enough "just to be able to play," the Purpuras and Somervilles will be ecstatic.

"Once you have that skill set, you understand how you play the game, then you don’t have to be a world-beater," Betsy says. "You can go out there, enjoy it and it opens up a world that is great. Tennis communities in different areas, whether it’s here or on the mainland … when you get to a place, you have a tennis racket and you ask ‘Does anybody want to hit?’ It’s amazing. It can totally open up the entire world."