Teresa Banks is turning tennis courts into inclusive spaces

But I have to be honest, my tennis origin story is not all sunshine and roses. Tennis illuminated my anxieties and insecurities as a kid. 

As a perfectionist Black girl who had no clue she was also a neurodivergent, queer kid, tennis was activating, to say the least. The lackluster performance when it was time to compete, the mini skirt uniforms, the pressure to be as “good” as people expected someone with my athletic aesthetic to be, losing regularly to players I was more skilled than, and the isolation of being the one Black kid at lessons and camps… It wasn’t what I signed up for. 

Now I recognize the uphill battle that’s required for marginalized identities to thrive in spaces like tennis. I often wonder how much more fun and competitive success I would have experienced if I felt seen, valued and connected at practice. I longed for the goodness, connection, joy, fun, physical release and reprieve that being a sportsperson promises. These are nonnegotiables that should be a given when you play a sport.  

I might have had an anticlimactic competitive career in high school and college, but I’m thankful I still kept up with the sport all these years. Tennis continues to humble and invigorate me with its lessons every time I hit a ball.

As luck would have it, and through my professional journey as a strength and conditioning/performance coach, I’ve had the opportunity to train WTA pros and elite juniors. Doing this work reminded me how much I missed being on the court myself. This inspired me to start an Instagram group chat seeking out fellow Chicago queer Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) tennis enthusiasts who might want to hit and play tennis casually. This small step and curiosity to integrate tennis back into my life later transformed into the First Serve Tennis Club, co-created and co-facilitated by Jah @jah_m3dia.