Celebrating the USTA Missouri Valley connections at the 2025 US Open

Officials at the US Open

USTA Missouri Valley once again has five officials chosen to work the US Open, one of the highest honors in the officiating industry. These standout officials have 52 years of combined experience working the US Open.

Sheila Conway (USTA Oklahoma) — 5th US Open

Kim Kilgore (USTA Missouri) — 15th US Open

Cheryl Lady (USTA Heart of America) — 8th US Open

Diane Lawrence (USTA Kansas) — 19th US Open

Cindy Ritchie (USTA Oklahoma) — 5th US Open

Check out our Q&A with the five officials working the US Open by clicking here. Additionally, Micah Matthews—USTA Missouri Valley officiating growth manager—is attending the US Open to help coordinate a welcome reception.

USTA St. Louis junior competitor Charlie Felker won USTA Missouri Valley’s SuperSport campaign. Felker, 11, received the most nominations from Jan. 1 to June 30 for his exemplary sportsmanship at tennis tournaments. As a result, Felker earned two tickets to the US Open.

Joe Heydt from Bellevue, Nebraska is working his 17th US Open as a tennis racquet stringer. Heydt—who owns the Racquet Corner in Omaha—has strung racquets for 30-plus years. He joins an elite and diverse team of stringers at the US Open who will complete about 7,000 racquets during the course of the tournament.

Read more about Heydt in this article from last year.

Throughout the 2025 US Open, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson breaking the color barrier at the 1950 U.S. National Championships, now known as the US Open.

In 1953, Althea Gibson worked at Lincoln University, a HBCU located in USTA Missouri Valley, as a Physical Education instructor.

Outstanding Facility Awards

Two facilities within USTA Missouri Valley were picked as USTA Outstanding Facility Award recipients and collected that hardware on Aug. 26 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa and Overland Park Racquet Club in Overland Park, Kansas were selected for awards in the category of Large Private Facilities, which includes complexes with 12 or more tennis courts. The Michael D. Case Tennis Center is the home facility for the University of Tulsa tennis teams, while OPRC is a USTA Premier Facility.

Jean Larrick: Champion of Equality

Longtime tennis teaching professional Jean Larrick was selected as USTA Missouri Valley’s Champion of Equality honoree. Larrick and 16 additional women from across the USTA’s 17 sections will be recognized for their leadership and trailblazing efforts on Sept. 4, prior to the US Open women’s semifinal matches.

Larrick—who has coached players of all backgrounds and abilities in Springfield, Missouri for the past 45 years—has also produced a stellar playing career. She has competed in tennis for 70-plus years and has more than 200 titles to her name. Some of her previous recognitions include induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2025), USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame (2022) and Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame (2021).

Read a full article on Larrick and her reaction to this honor here.

Stars of the Open

During Fan Week, current and former USTA Missouri Valley players took the court with former pros for Stars of the Open.

Casey Ratzlaff (Wichita, Kansas) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands took on Jack Sock (formerly Kansas City) and Dana Mathewson. Nick Flentie (also formerly USTA Missouri Valley) was part of the officiating crew for this match.