The New “3 R’s” for the New Year: Remember, Revitalize, and Rejoice

Remember: This time of year always invokes happy memories of childhood and family celebrations, and it fosters many contemplative new year’s resolutions. We ask that you all think about the first person who introduced you to tennis and remember the joy you felt when you first discovered this “sport for a lifetime.” With that warmth and happiness in mind, go a step further and pledge to be that spark to some new prospective tennis player, whether they are an adult or a junior. If any of you are like me, the spark for me was so many people including: a pair of gentlemen I randomly met who played tennis at the park near my house and let me play with them and gave me a racquet; my high school tennis coach, who had the best windshield-wiper volley technique and a deep love of the game; and several tennis officials who took the time to explain the rules to players even when we weren’t playing matches. Remember your “spark” and pay it forward!

Revitalize: One of the major obstacles that our sport is facing is having enough tennis courts and keeping the ones we have in good condition. This is particularly difficult for outdoor courts. What can you do?  Here are just a few ideas: support your local Parks and Recreation departments and schools in any efforts they may be doing to raise funds to resurface or repair courts; go to city council meetings and express your passion for keeping the tennis courts in good repair (we have access to getting some notices of city meetings which have something about tennis courts on the agenda and will hopefully be able to organize tennis enthusiasts in those cities to attend the meetings to show that tennis is still a beloved sport and that the tennis courts are very important to their communities); make sure to take care of the courts and equipment on the courts when you use them (i.e., clean up any trash, treat the on-court equipment with respect and care, and don’t use the courts for activities that they are not designed for, such as biking, skateboarding, etc.) 

A second area we need to build up are our volunteer ranks. The USTA has benefited from a large network of volunteers for decades. Volunteers have carried the “tennis torch” to all areas of our communities and fostered new programs and many new players over the years. We need more volunteers for many roles that vary from one-day commitments to annual appointments, including but not limited to junior tennis tournament court monitors, board members, committee members, event staff to help tournament directors and event managers, clinic and schools program assistants, etc.  

Umpires are another depleting resource that is vital to tennis and assisting in fair play and rules education. There are currently less than 19 certified officials in the USTA HOA district area, many of whom can only work occasionally due to other work commitments. I have officiated since 1989 (I know, hard to believe since I am only 35 years old).  As a line, roving, and chair umpire or referee, I have had closer-than-front-row seats to many amazing tennis matches, including matches at high school state championships, USTA tournaments, ITA college duels and championships, WTT professional matches, Senior Tour with Chang, McEnroe, Lendl, and Courier, Davis Cup, and other professional events. The USTA has hired staff members, called Officiating Growth Managers, to help recruit and train new officials. Please contact Micah Matthews at micah.matthews@usta.com for more information on how to get started as a USTA Tennis Official.  There are many introductory videos and other resources to help you become an official, and we have a district chairperson with US Open officiating experience who helps mentor new officials. Please help us revitalize all these crucial resources–tennis courts, volunteers, and officials–for the growth of tennis in the USTA HOA district and throughout the country.

Rejoice: Get out and play tennis! Celebrate the many benefits that tennis brings to all of us, including improved physical health and longer lives; improved cognitive health; and amazing friendships. Thank your team captains, tennis-teaching professionals, high school and college coaches, teammates, and anyone else connected to your tennis community. For me, I am adding a special thank you to my many doubles partners who have responded to my pleas for “help” as a lob goes over my head, or called “yours” when there’s a dropshot that my feet just don’t seem to be able to move to get.  Thank you all for playing tennis and for you continued support of USTA Heart of America tennis programs.  

Going into the new year, I invite you to pick one or more of the 3 R’s above and commit some of your very valuable time to growing participation in the game to which we all owe so much.

Happy holidays and have a wonderful New Year!