June 2021 President’s Letter
At this time one year ago, tennis leagues and tournaments were just starting back. Fast forward to this month and the Governor plans to lift the mask mandate and allow 100% capacity at events and venues. As a result, we are now able to hold tennis tournaments and leagues without restrictions which is welcome news to the tennis community.
I was able to attend the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournament this past week and it was wonderful to catch up with tennis friends from across the state, many of which I hadn’t seen for two years since the high school tournament was not held last year. The tournament was held this year at the University of Kentucky and Top Seed Tennis Club. Please join me in congratulating St. Xavier and Sacred Heart Academy in winning the state teams titles for boys and girls respectively. Congratulations to our state singles and doubles champions-Eli Stephenson of St. Xavier, Carrie Beckman of Sacred Heart Academy, Ty Bush/Patrick Johnson of St. Xavier and Reagan Mangan/Willow Renton of North Oldham! Last but not least, the Kentucky High School Tennis Coaches Association named a senior boy and girl to receive the Mr. and Miss Tennis Kentucky award. Kudos to Zach White of Tates Creek High School and Carrie Beckman of Sacred Heart Academy on this prestigious honor!
The KYHSTCA also named Larry Heflin from McCracken County High School as
Girl’s Coach of the Year and Tim Dethridge of Greenwood High School as Boy’s Coach of the Year. Congrats to Coach Heflin and Coach Dethridge! High school tennis is one of the best avenues to expose juniors to our wonderful sport and schools are always looking for coaches. Please consider giving back to tennis and your local high school next year by offering to coach tennis. You will find it very rewarding!
We are returning to our usual schedule for adult league state championships this month. The 55 and over state championship was held in Henderson and later in the month, the 18 and over state championship will be held in Louisville. The champions of these tournaments will be able to once again advance to the Southern Championships and hopefully the National Championships. It is also nice to see the return of the 35th annual Louisville Boat Club Ed Rhawn tournament and Helene Spencer tournament this month
We continue to see lots of new and returning players on our courts. In an effort to assist local organizations in their outreach and programming to these players, the USTA is now offering
$3 million for the “Grow the Game Grant” between May and November. Please Click Here for more information,
It is fantastic to get back to a sense of normalcy and I hope everyone is enjoying playing and competing in our state tournaments.
At Your Service,
Mike Eden
USTA KY President