Q&A with Marissa Moment Brown

In connection with Women’s History Month taking place in March, USTA.com is highlighting Marissa Moment Brown. Check out more Women’s History Month stories from across USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.

With Marissa Moment Brown preparing to celebrate her 20-year work anniversary managing USTA Missouri Valley’s community development and competition divisions, we sat down with her for a Q&A interview.

Brown—USTA Missouri Valley managing director, play and competition—began working for the section in June 2005 after a standout junior, high school and collegiate career and stint as a tennis teaching professional.

She volunteered for USTA Missouri Valley as an endorser in the junior competition space and served as USTA Heart of America president prior to starting her current role with the section. Brown noted she was also a ball person for the Virginia Slims Circuit and World TeamTennis, and she was World TeamTennis’s Curel Shot of the Day demo person.

Brown is a member of the Washburn University Athletics Hall of Fame after compiling a 94-9 singles record and 81-23 doubles mark during her four-year career for the Ichabods. She finished college ranked first in school history in both singles wins and doubles victories and holds three of the top-six single-season win totals for the Topeka-based school.

What are some of your responsibilities as managing director, play and competition?

I get to support both competition and community tennis. I help make sure our teams are able to provide tennis and support to our communities. At the end of the day our goal is: How do we make tennis accessible in all the areas where we have facilities or in places like gyms? That’s our biggest effort. I’m here to support the team.

I’m fortunate enough to also work in the player development space with our Team USA or player development camps. It’s exciting to see kids outside of the competition working together with their competitors in a camp environment a couple times a year. I get the opportunity to work as a coach developer with USTA, which is a new piece. As we’re trying to grow coaches, it’s an opportunity to help with that initiative we have with USTA.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I get to work with some great folks, be it tournament directors, our staff, volunteers. I love being able to still share my passion in tennis, but do it in a different role than being on court six days a week as a coach.

It’s exciting being a former Missouri Valley junior player; it lets me still be involved with junior and adult tennis. I have some players who were juniors when I first started who I now see playing leagues or they’re coaches at some of the facilities, which is crazy. It’s exciting to see they’ve stayed in tennis and are sharing their passion for the sport also.