Dorothy Kohl Future Star Award: Inside the Action 

Featured photo credit: U.S. Open and Caty McNally 

Caty McNally, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Reese Brantmeier, Caroline Dolehide, and Ellie Coleman. Some names you may recognize as new, up and coming American players on the tour, going head to head with some of the most recognizable names in tennis. But the others are just getting started with an impressive career ahead of them.

What each of these American juniors have in common, though, is their start in tennis from a young age. According to the Tennis Industry Association, the overall tennis participation in the United States has climbed to 17.9 million players in 2019, with a growth in junior tennis participation especially. Some, such as McNally, have been holding a racquet since the age of three. Others, like Di Lorenzo, started the game when they were a bit older at the age of 10. Each player experienced the start of their career a little differently, but one fundamental aspect holds true: tennis has taken each player to places they never thought possible.

The importance of encouraging junior tennis is not only a main goal of the USTA/Midwest Section, but also of Midwest Hall of Fame inductee Dorothy Kohl. From a young age, Kohl showed athletic aptitude for many sports, but chose to focus on tennis. Kohl became one of the top U.S. female players during the 1950s. Through her own experience as a top player, Kohl realized the demands the sport could take on a young athlete in the way of travel and training. Kohl created the Dorothy Kohl Future Star Achievement Award for this very purpose.

The award is provided to female players competing in the Girls’ 14, 16, and/or 18 divisions at the national level, ITF level and/or professional level. A major part of the award is the promise of funding for everything from tournament entry fees to travel.

McNally, Di Lorenzo, Brantmeier, Dolehide, and Coleman are all recipients of this prestigious award and agree that without it, their games would not have developed as well as they have.

“Receiving the Dorothy Kohl Award gave me the chance to travel internationally and have the funds to bring a coach with me during my senior year of high school,” said Di Lorenzo.

“It [Dorothy Kohl Award] helped develop my game and helped me develop into the player I am today,” added Dolehide.

Using the award as a vehicle to enter into tournaments across the world that might not have normally been a possibility, some recipients have been able to follow their dreams of going pro.

For Dolehide, tennis was not an avenue she believed she wanted to explore at a professional level. As a kid, she remembers watching her older sister train for hours on end at their local club in Illinois and starting the sport herself. But at 15, Dolehide realized she had all of the necessary tools to take the leap.

With a laugh, she remembers coming onto the professional scene and qualifying for her first junior US Open without anyone really knowing her name. Since then, she has found success at the Pan Am Games, as well as reaching the semifinals of the 2019 US Open in women’s doubles.

Di Lorenzo, on the other hand, decided to take the college route, playing two years at the Ohio State University before declaring her intent to play professionally. Di Lorenzo said forgoing her final two years of eligibility and moving on from the safety net of college was one of the hardest decisions she had to make, but with the support she received through the Dorothy Kohl Award, she was able to make the transition by playing internationally.

While some of the younger players have not turned pro yet, receiving the award has elevated their training and helped prepare them for the next step.

Brantmeier recently won the USTA Girls’ 16s National Championship, a goal she has had for many years now.

“To win the prestigious Billie Jean King Nationals was something truly special,” said Brantmeier. “It is my favorite tournament of the year, and to receive the trophy from Billie Jean King herself was surreal.”

Coleman has also seen success as a younger junior player, traveling to the US Open this year and competing in her first junior slam.

While each award recipient is at a different stage in her career, a common theme that runs deep is that of mental toughness and sportsmanship, something that Kohl holds in the highest regard.

“Sportsmanship is huge in tennis because it shows the kind of person you are,” said McNally. “Being a good tennis player is awesome but being an even better person is more important.

“The way you act on court and towards your opponent also shows the way you have been raised.”

Coleman went on to add that tennis tests your limits, so it is important to build the mental game.

“You are out there by yourself, and you have to figure out what you need to change and what you need to fix,” said Coleman. “I think that’s a huge part of mental toughness.”

By developing mental toughness, elite players are separated from those around them.

“At a certain level, everyone can hit forehands and backhands,” said Brantmeier. “What truly sets players apart is their mental toughness in difficult situations.”

It is the idea of sportsmanship and mental toughness that junior tennis thrives on. McNally might not have reached a point where she was able to square off against Serena Williams at the 2019 US Open without these two crucial pieces.

As an elite junior player, the pressure is always there to perform. But with the guidance of coaches, support from family members, and the ease of travel and match play with the assistance of the Dorothy Kohl Award, the Midwest is beginning to show an aptitude for producing top-rated players.

But it all starts with a junior player picking up a racquet.

“I personally believe tennis is a great sport for all ages,” said McNally. “However, for younger kids it is great because it’s a way to stay active, it hopefully is fun, it makes you problem solve on your own and you get to compete.”

With junior tennis on the rise in the United States, new players starting the game each day and interest at an all-time high, there is no limit on what players are able to accomplish, much like junior players who have come before them.

“Life is stressful enough, so to really love something and to go out there and try to get better at something and have that motivation to get better is a quality I love to see in other people,” said Dolehide. “So, just find something you love to do, even if you aren’t good at it, that’s an opportunity to get better.”