Jayhawk Tennis Center, Plaza Tennis Center host inclusive events for Pride community

June is Pride Month, and USTA Heart of America is highlighting facilities and programming that cultivate fun and inclusivity for members of the Pride community and allies to play tennis.

Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kansas and Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City, Missouri are two facilities within USTA Heart of America that have hosted—and will continue to host—tennis clinics and events for the Pride community.

Jayhawk Tennis Center 

Jayhawk Tennis Center, which is a USTA Premier Facility, hosted a Serving Pride event in April. Tennis pro Alexis Jourden said she hopes to make the clinic a monthly event.

“The clinics themselves are a one-hour class where anyone part of the LGBTQ+ community is welcomed and encouraged to join, no matter previous tennis experience,” Jourden said. “The class is a mix of learning and working on skills coupled with playing games and just having fun.”

Jourden is from Sweden and moved to Lawrence at the beginning of 2022. She started working at Jayhawk Tennis Center in the spring of 2024 and has played tennis for 20-plus years. As an advocate for the Pride community, Jourden understands the value this type of programming brings.

“The clinics are incredibly important because they give LGBTQ+ members a designated safe space in sports, which is not always the case,” she said. “Our goal at JTC is to grow the clinic and spread awareness that there will always be a safe place here. I’m also a part of the LGBTQ+ community, so this clinic and everyone in it is very near and dear to my heart.”

Keep an eye on the Jayhawk Tennis Center website for updates on programming, including Serving Pride.

Plaza Tennis Center 

Plaza Tennis Center hosted a Pride event on June 18. The event, run by USTA Missouri Valley and USTA Heart of America, served as a kickoff-of-summer programming for the Pride community. Attendees got their adrenaline pumping with cardio tennis drills and tennis triples. Click here to learn more about the event.

Nonprofit Stonewall Sports Kansas City also hosts a league at Plaza Tennis Center for the LGBTQIA+ community on Wednesdays that started on June 18. The league began right after the Pride event wrapped up. Registration is still open; click here if you’d like to sign up.

Plaza Tennis Center hosts ongoing open play for the Kansas City LGBT Tennis Alliance throughout the year. All levels of play are welcome to join Sunday nights throughout the month of June and beyond.

Check out other Pride Month articles from USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.