Missouri Valley / Oklahoma

Celebrating Black History Month

Emmy Hufnagel | February 09, 2022

First Serve OKC is proud to be a "National Junior Tennis & Learning" chapter, supported by the USTA Foundation. The NJTL program was co-founded by Arthur Ashe, whose humanitarian legacy lives on through the 160,000 youth who now have access to tennis through their local chapters. NJTLs across the country offer free and affordable tennis, education, and life skills programs to youth who may not otherwise have found the sport.

 

Because of Arthur Ashe, we have players like Francis Tiafoe, an NJTL prodigy. Tiafoe is the son of immigrants of Sierra Leone and grew up playing tennis at College Park in Maryland, where his father was a janitor. Ashe's legacy continues to shape the future of our sport and the diversity we are seeing in it. 

In Ashe's own words, "I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments. That's no contribution to society. [Tennis] was purely selfish. That was for me." 

 

Mr. Ashe, because of you, we can play. Because of you, we have this opportunity. Because of you, we have this family and this community.  

 

Thank you for all that you gave so that we could enjoy so much. 

 

First Serve OKC, Executive Director

Emmy Hufnagel

 

International Tennis Hall of Fame: Breaking the Barriers

 

NJTL and the Legacy of Arthur Ashe

 

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