Jade’s Story
Every so often, a person comes along who exemplifies an organization’s purpose and a community’s highest aspirations.
Jade Flores is one of those people.
Raised in Lancaster, Pa. by her mother who emigrated from Peru, Flores discovered tennis at 6 when her mom introduced her to Tennis Central, a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) chapter in Central Pennsylvania.
“Jade’s mother was a single mom who didn't speak English well, and she brought this lovely little 6-year-old girl to us because she wanted to give tennis a try,” recalled Delaine Mast, Executive Director of Tennis Central.
Flores was instantly hooked. She loved tennis and it made her feel confident.
“That was the beginning of her journey,” Mast said. “Her mom tried her best to get her to everything she could, and our community picked up the rest.”
Over the next decade, Tennis Central became Flores’ second home. She learned to play the game, but more importantly, she developed a deep commitment to service, leadership, and academics. She joined the NJTL’s leadership team, volunteered to coach younger players, played violin for the Lancaster Symphony, participated in mock trials, and mastered multiple languages: including fluent Spanish, French, and German.
Her journey, however, wasn't without obstacles. During the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Flores experienced depression that caused her grades to suffer. It was tennis, and the unwavering encouragement of Mast and her family, that helped bring her back.
Flores funneled that difficult period into a powerful essay for the 2025 USTA Foundation National NJTL Essay Contest. Out of more than 400 entries nationwide, Flores was chosen as one of eight national winners and honored in New York City during the US Open.
Now a rising freshman on the women’s tennis team at Allegheny College, where she is double-majoring in political science and international studies with plans to become an attorney, Flores reached another milestone when she was named a recipient of a USTA Foundation College scholarship.
Soon after, she learned her award was sponsored directly by the Frances Tiafoe Fund, established in 2023 to support student-athletes from diverse backgrounds.
The honor culminated in a dream moment at the 2026 US Open, where Flores was invited onto the court for an unexpected hitting session with Tiafoe himself.
“I had no idea I was going to play with him,” Flores said. “He came up to me and said, ‘So, are you ready to hit?’ The first thing that came out of my mouth was, ‘Yes, I am!’ It really did feel natural. I thought, ‘I belong here.’ That feeling drove me. This is where I belong, this is what I want to do, and this is what I want to keep working toward.”
USTA Middle States Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Renée Bridges, has witnessed Flores’ journey first hand while collaborating and working closely with the network of Middle States NJTL Chapters.
"Jade is a remarkable example of the positive impact that belonging to an NJTL chapter and fully embracing all that it has to offer can have on a young person’s life,” Bridges said. “Special recognition goes to Tennis Central NJTL, and especially to its longtime Executive Director, Delaine Mast, for the steadfast nurturing, support, and guidance she personally has provided Jade throughout the years.”
For USTA Middle States, Flores represents the ultimate expression of what community tennis can accomplish when opportunity meets dedication.
“Everything comes from watching my mom growing up and seeing everything she did for my brother and I to have a successful future,” Flores said. “I just want to make the best of it and let her know that her work wasn’t in vain. I want to make her proud.”
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