First Serve OKC brings tennis to elementary students through P.E. Takeover Days

First Serve OKC is introducing hundreds of Oklahoma City elementary students to tennis through its growing P.E. Takeover Days initiative.

During the 2025-26 school year, the organization partnered with nine Oklahoma City Public Schools elementary schools, taking over physical education classes for a day and transforming gymnasiums into tennis courts.

Designed for students in second, third and fourth grade, the program provides everything schools need for a successful experience, including age-appropriate equipment, trained coaches and a fun curriculum that teaches the fundamentals of tennis while emphasizing teamwork, movement and sportsmanship.

The P.E. Takeover Days program has expanded significantly over the past year. What was once offered only in the spring is now available three times during the school year, giving more students the opportunity to discover the sport.

“We love P.E. Takeovers so much so that we have started doing them in August, January and May,” said Jewels Martinez of First Serve OKC. “We used to only offer them in May.

“It is a great way to introduce the idea of tennis to all of these students and potentially get to recruit them into our six-week after-school program.”

By bringing tennis directly into schools, First Serve OKC removes barriers to participation and makes it easy for students to experience the sport in a familiar environment.

For many children, the P.E. Takeover Day serves as their first introduction to tennis and provides a pathway to continue playing through First Serve OKC’s after-school offering.

The initiative reflects First Serve OKC’s commitment to growing the game by creating accessible opportunities for youth to learn, play and fall in love with tennis.

Check out additional back-to-school stories from across the USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.