Meet: Arlene Nelson-Donders, USTA Midwest's new Diversity Committee Chairwoman

As we celebrate Black History Month, we look toward leaders in tennis who are working to grow the game, supporting our players at every level. Today, meet Arlene Nelson-Donders, a USTA Midwest volunteer and our new Diversity Committee Chairwoman. In her own words, Arlene shares with us her tennis journey—recognizing the impact family, friends and coaches have had on her life, and how she's using that direction to positively influence current players and generations to come.

I have been a life-long tennis fan since the '70s, but I did not start playing until 2009 when my daughter played tennis at her high school. So I decided to take some lessons and have been playing ever since. 

Through my daughter I met a friend, Newlyn Wing, the former USTA National Coordinator of Tennis On Campus. At the time, Newlyn was a high school tennis player who eventually participated in Ferris State University's Professional Tennis Management program. He got me interested in sponsoring one of their tennis events called The Bulldog Club Tennis Tournament in fall of 2012. 

With Newlyn, I was also involved in starting a scholarship called the Jamel Embree Tennis Scholarship, which was created to continue the spirit of Jamel Embree, Newlyn Wing's former high school coach. 

Coach Embree believed in giving back to the sport by supporting less fortunate players and giving them opportunities that would not otherwise have been accessible. Coach Embree's enthusiasm for tennis and his teaching of principles is something that players took with them even after their season ended. 

I was inspired to volunteer for USTA Midwest in 2018 and joined the organization as a volunteer and became a member of the Diversity Committee, which also included wheelchair and adaptive tennis.

I was asked if I wanted to chair the current committee starting this year and I jumped at the chance.