In their own words: Lena Litvak on the positive impact of tennis

As we celebrate Women’s History Month throughout March, we look toward leaders in tennis who are working to spread this sport far and wide. This month, you'll meet leaders who are telling their first-person stories and who recognize the influences family, friends, players, teachers and coaches have had on the direction their lives and careers have taken—and how that direction is positively impacting the newest generations. Today, meet Lena Litvak.

I love being part of the USTA volunteer community—which truly feels like an extended family for me. As an Elite Athlete, I’m honored to serve this industry as the chair of the USTA National Grievance Committee, a group I’ve been a part of since 2017. Our committee, as you can imagine, has a lot to deal with, but we feel our contributions to this sport have been invaluable, especially in creating a safe and fair environment for all USTA participants.

I’ve also been thankful to have had the opportunity to compete as a junior, in college and on the professional tour. I was born in the Ukraine, but my family immigrated to the Bronx, N.Y., when I was 2. I was No. 1 in the USTA Eastern Section in the 12s, 14s and 18s, and top 40 internationally as a junior.

I took a break from junior competition at age 17, when I went to Harvard University, where I played for a year before going out on the pro tour, reaching a career-high singles ranking of No. 325 and doubles ranking of No. 228.

After five years on tour, I went back to Harvard, where I was a volunteer tennis coach for a year (since I was no longer eligible to play) and received my degree in Sociology in 2015.

As a woman in this industry, I’m thankful that women can make a career in tennis—although we desperately can use more women coaches and industry leaders at all levels. We’re well ahead of other sports, but we still have a long way to go, and thankfully the USTA and USTA Coaching recognize this and are taking steps to increase the number of women throughout this industry.

For all of us, Women’s History Month is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of women, both past and present, while also looking toward the future.

For a long time, the contributions of women have been underplayed, while at the same time, women have not been encouraged to openly talk about problems and personal challenges. It’s great that we are finally at a place where women publicly discuss how hard it is to balance everything, such as careers and families, as well as the many other hardships we often face.