Madatali, Pickering named USTA Missouri Valley SuperSport grand prize winners

Both Skye Madatali and Stacy Pickering earned a trip for two to the 2024 US Open as part of a grand prize package for winning the USTA Missouri Valley SuperSport Sprint campaign.

Madatali—a junior competitor from St. Louis—and Pickering—an adult tournament player from Lincoln—received the most SuperSport nominations on the Match Tennis App from Jan. 1 to July 31. As a result of their exemplary sportsmanship, both individuals received US Open ground pass tickets for two, $800 in airfare, a $500 hotel grant, a $30 gift card to the US Open Shop and a signed US Open poster from St. Louis-based artist Chelsey Farris.

“It’s just so exciting,” Madatali said. “It feels so surreal that I’m going to be able to go to New York. It’s actually one of my dream places to visit because I’ve never been there. It will be so exciting to see all the great tennis.”

“I am super excited and extremely grateful to USTA and also to the people that nominated me,” Pickering said. “ … I was shocked. I appreciate it. And I’m glad people notice that I am trying to go the extra mile to make everyone feel welcome.”

Madatali, who is entering her junior year at Ladue High School, is no stranger to collecting significant sportsmanship accolades. She was selected as the Girls’ 16s Sportsmanship Winner at the 2023 USTA National Winter Championships. Madatali also was chosen as the Girls’ 18s Sportsmanship Winner at the 2024 USTA Missouri Valley Rally in the Valley Championships.

“I always try to keep the line calls fair,” Madatali said. “Just making sure I’m being respectful, like giving the balls to them, saying ‘good shot’ if they hit good shots, because that’s how I would want to be treated on the court. So I always make sure I’m treating my opponents that way, too.”

Madatali credited her mom and dad, who doubles as her tennis coach, for instilling strong values in her.

“My parents have always placed an importance on making sure I’m treating people with respect on and off the court,” Madatali said. “It’s just so rewarding to see people are noticing that and voting for me.”

In addition to participating in tournaments, Pickering is a USTA Nebraska league player. She captains the Summer Slicers, a 3.5 women’s team that recently competed in the USTA Missouri Valley League Section Championships.

“As a captain, it’s important because it starts with us as far as the attitude of the team, how we present ourselves on the court,” Pickering said. “If we do not have that respect, then the people that are on our team are not going to think it’s worth following. It’s good to be a leader by example.”