2025 USTA Eastern Tennis Woman of the Year: Simone Spigner

Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program (HJTEP) Director Simone Spigner has been named USTA Eastern’s 2025 Tennis Woman of the Year for her passionate advocacy of the game, commitment to her community and nearly 20 years of service introducing the sport to juniors across New York City.

Spigner, who grew up in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, hails from a family of tennis enthusiasts—and one, it should be noted, that received USTA Eastern’s Tennis Family of the Year distinction in 2012. Indeed, Spigner can’t remember a time in her childhood when she wasn’t hanging out on a tennis court somewhere in the city.

“My father used to drive around with a net in his trunk,” Spigner recalls now with a laugh. “And if there were poles, he would put the net up and we would just practice anywhere. He could find courts in places where you never even knew they existed!”

Of course, given the fact that the sport was very much a parental pastime, Spigner herself didn’t necessarily enjoy picking up a racquet at all those makeshift venues. It wasn’t until she was around 11 years old and joined the Youth & Tennis group—a junior program based out of Liberty Park in Queens—that she realized how much she did, in fact, love to play.

“When I received my letter of intent, my mom made me realize how big a deal it was,” Spigner says. “She said, ‘Do you know what this means? This means they are paying for your college education.’ I thought about that moment when my daughter received her own letter of intent. I got the same feeling that my mom must have gotten for me.”

After four standout years at South Carolina State, Spigner worked for a period for the New York City Board of Education. Still, she wanted to give back to the sport that had granted her so many gifts. She began coaching part-time for the New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL), a community-focused tennis program. A new mom, Spigner liked the flexibility coaching offered for her family and eventually accepted a fulltime position with the organization. A few years later she migrated over to HJTEP after the then-newly installed Executive Director (and future USTA President) Katrina Adams saw Spigner hitting on the courts at HJTEP’s location and inquired whether she might be interested in joining their staff. It was a homecoming of sorts for Spigner, who spent time refining her game in the HJTEP program during her junior days.

“We would come from Brooklyn right after school and run laps upstairs,” Spigner recalls. “My parents used to play at the armory [on 143rd Street where the program was based]. I knew every nook and cranny of that building, even the places we weren't supposed to go!”

Back in that building as an adult, Spigner flourished. Owing to both her own past as a New York City junior, and the fact that she had two young children of her own at home, Spigner found herself uniquely qualified in both relating to her young students and getting them to find their best form.

As Spigner has ascended to the role of program director at HJTEP—where she now oversees programming for the 165 kids enrolled in their classes—she has championed collaboration with USTA Eastern, including organizing Junior Team Tennis for her students. And her tennis-loving family continues to stand alongside her, figuratively—but also literally. Her brother Brian now coaches for HJTEP, while her mother and father serve as volunteers. Both of her children, Shayna and Donovan, developed their own games through the organization and—just like their mom—received college scholarships; Shayna played for Morgan State University, and Donovan is currently competing for Rome City Institute in Italy. Her nephews and niece are currently participants in the program, extending a Spigner legacy in the sport that began on local NYC courts all those years ago.

“We owe a lot to tennis, and to HJTEP,” Simone says. “My kids have gotten to go all over the world playing tennis. And to this day [staff from HJTEP] check in on them. Whenever they walk into the armory, they’re treated like superstars! So this is home. And it’s a great place to be.”