Happy New Year from USTA Missouri!

We are also thrilled two of our adult teams won USTA Missouri Valley Section Championships and earned the ticket to nationals! Debbie Pell’s 40 & Over 3.5 women’s team traveled to Tucson, Arizona for the USTA National Championship in October. Ann Vogel’s 65 & Over 7.0 team will be heading to Surprise, Arizona in January. We are so proud of the hard work and determination of these players.

Everything we have accomplished so far is because of individuals in our district who have captained a team, served on a committee or simply asked a friend to play. Thank you all! I also want to give a special shout-out to Larry Holmes, who recently stepped up to serve as our Junior Competition Coordinator. And Mallory Weber, USTA Missouri president, who works so diligently behind the scenes to support junior and adult tennis.

As we look forward to the 2024 season, I would like to share some exciting new opportunities to grow the game in Missouri. First, we are increasing our district grant budget to help individuals and communities jumpstart tennis programming to reach more players. Next, we are expanding our fundraising efforts and offering incentives to give back to the individuals and programs promoting those efforts.

To encourage more adult players to serve as team captains we will host some fun captain information socials, and we will offer league registration discounts for co-captains. We will also launch a good sportsmanship program. It will work in conjunction with the USTA Missouri Valley program and will offer even more chances to receive USTA swag and league discounts. These are just a few of the things we have in store for 2024. I can’t wait to share more as the year unfolds.

I love the love of tennis in USTA Missouri. We are not growing for the sake of growing. We are growing because we love the game, and we love sharing it with others. If you would like information about getting involved, please reach out to me at ustamissouridirector@gmail.com. 

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2024! I can’t wait to see what we accomplish this year!

Leslie Echols

USTA Missouri Executive Director