Tennis in the Parks Brings Tennis to Aurora For First Time

For the first time ever, the community of Aurora will now have a tennis program so residents don’t have to commute to Grand Island or Kearney to get tennis lessons. Thanks to a Tennis in the Parks partnership between the USTA and the Aurora community, balls will start bouncing this August.

“Providing access to affordable lessons/clinics within our community will increase access to the sport and will allow those who are already participating in some capacity to increase their involvement and love of the sport,” said Jennifer Dennis, one of the community organizers.

The clinics will begin this August and head into the fall, for kids starting at age five all the way up to 14-years old, as well as adults. They will be held at a newer four-court facility at Streeter Park in Aurora. Dennis hopes this program will start a new tennis trend in the community.

“To my knowledge, there has never been a tennis program here,” she said. “The high school also doesn’t offer tennis at this time, so I am really hoping this might spark more of an interest and, hopefully, in several years that may be enough interest to add tennis as a high school sport.”

Joachim Vandervelpen from Grand Island will be leading the tennis program, along with some volunteers as well. Dennis is excited to get the ball rolling on this program. 

“I was worried that living in a small community would prevent my kids from learning how to play tennis and growing an appreciation for the sport,” she explained. “However, we are extremely hopeful that our clinics will be a success and they will serve as a catalyst for continued tennis programming within our community.”

To register, please contact auroratennistournament@gmail.com. For more on the USTA’s Tennis in the Parks partnership, click here.