National Tennis Month wraps up with several exciting community events
May is National Tennis Month, and there were so many exciting tennis events that took place across USTA Heart of America. Thanks to all who coordinated and attended these events—your support helps our tennis community thrive.
Some highlights of this year’s National Tennis Month happenings included:
- Prairie Village City Council honoring National Tennis Month with an official proclamation on May 6.
- The Special Olympics Metro Tennis Skills event on May 7, where athletes worked on individual skills with their peers in a fun-filled atmosphere.
- The City of Gladstone declared a National Tennis Month proclamation on May 13.
- The 2024 Heartland Wheelchair Tournament took place at Elite Tennis and Wellness on May 10-11, and the tourney received local news coverage. You can view those televised reports here and here.
- A PTR Level 1 Coaching Certification Workshop was held May 11-12 at Overland Park Racquet Club.
- One Love hosted a special tennis event for kids from The Salvation Army Children’s Shelter in collaboration with the Rockhurst University men's and women's tennis teams at Macken Park on May 31.
Several proclamation ceremonies declaring May as National Tennis Month occurred within USTA Heart of America, including this one featuring Rebecca Falkner Axelrod.
For the full list of National Tennis Month events that took place in USTA Heart of America, click here.
Also, a tennis open house was hosted by the City of Bonner Springs in Kansas on May 29. The free event introduced kids to tennis and was coordinated by Tiblow Tennis and USTA Heart of America. It was held at the new Bonner Springs tennis courts and featured clinics hosted by Matt Dow, Bonner Springs High School tennis coach and owner/director of Tiblow Tennis.
Dow taught the basics of tennis to children placed into age groups of 5 to 7, 8 to 11 and 12 to 14 in order to ensure age-appropriate instruction. Racquets were provided for participants who didn’t have one. Afterward, participants chowed down on hot dogs and prizes were raffled off.
The event concluded with the City of Bonner Springs declaring May as National Tennis Month with a proclamation. USTA Heart of America Executive Director Rebecca Falkner Axelrod was on hand for the event and is hopeful for even more tennis programming coming to Bonner Springs.
“This event is just the beginning of tennis possibilities in this community,” Falkner Axelrod said. “We are so excited to see such a great facility addition in our area as tennis continues to grow within USTA Heart of America.”
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