AAPITA Emerging Leaders Mentorship Program elevates and empowers the AAPI tennis community

The Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association has run the Emerging Leaders Mentorship Program for two years, connecting high-performing juniors with former professional tennis players of AAPI heritage, supporting the mentees on and off the court by helping them improve their game, sharing their experiences as elite athletes and serving as a role model and a shoulder to lean on. 

Two-time Grand Slam doubles champion and AAPITA co-founder Vania King launched the program, which pairs participants paired with a mentor—mentors have included King, and former WTA players Jamie Hampton and Samantha Crawford. The athlete and their mentor then meet virtually over the course of six weeks, and the player also received a $1250 stipend to help fund travel to a USTA National Championship tournament, thanks to a grant from the USTA's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team.

However, the program and the relationships have extended beyond the original six-week stint. Last year, participants attended the US Open and the mentors and mentees were able to meet in person and attend the matches, in addition to being recognized at the invite-only AAPI Amplified event, which featured actor and comedian Bowen Yang and Anish Melwani, chairman and CEO of LVMH in North America.

Evaan Mohan, a top 14-year-old from Shelton, Conn., participated in the program last year. He was mentored by Hampton, a former Top 25 player on the WTA Tour, who taught him about what it takes to be one of the best tennis players in the world. The pair worked on developing routines and doing the necessary physical and mental preparation before practice and matches, such as going to the towel and doing breathing exercises, as well as doing dynamic warm-ups and taking time to stretch.

"Being mentored by someone that has a similar cultural background to me, I was able to relate to her in a lot of different ways, especially since she's been at the top of the game, she's been through the same journey that I'm going through and I continue to go through. So I think it was, it was an honor, it was super cool to be able to do that," Mohan said.

"She's helped me understand how important it's to really help my game. Recently, like when I was in Indian Wells, I was thinking about it a lot, like what I learned from her and how I need to keep on doing it to help me," he said.

Blake Chang, 15, of Manhasset, N.Y. was paired with Crawford for the mentorship program, and had a fantastic experience working with her. She opened up to Crawford pretty quickly, and the pair bonded over an emotional experience Chang had at a tournament. Crawford, who cracked the Top 100 on the WTA Tour, understood the pressure and perfectionism that Chang was experiencing.

"We connected really well over having similar cultural background and us both being female," Chang said. "I wasn't expecting to learn so much and gain so much new information, but it really expanded my knowledge of tennis and I really learned a lot in terms of what I need to do in the future, how I look at things. I really enjoy talking to her. She's such a safe place for me, such a comfort."

Their relationship has lasted far beyond the original six weeks and chatting at the US Open—Crawford continues to text and FaceTime Chang after tournaments and to cheer her on from afar, and the pair spent time together when Chang played an event in Orlando.