Yesterday the United States Tennis Association (USTA) hosted a day of tennis activities at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx, from 1-4:30PM. The USTA's new youth brand, Net Generation, serves to encourage and equip the next generation of tennis players (ages 5-18), by providing them with the necessary tools they need to get in the game, all across the country.
Attended by several notables, including Caleb McLaughlin of Netflix's original sci-fi thriller "Stranger Things", former tennis pro, Olympian and Hall of Famer, Gigi Fernandez, Hot 97 radio personality, DJ Laura Stylez and former tennis pro, Olympian and US Open Doubles Champion, Liezel Huber —the event's morale was uplifting and especially inspiring. Starting the participating kids off with on-court drills, the celebs/"coaches" led various activities which expressed not only how enjoyable tennis is, but also drew attention to how the sport promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Previously, a realized blanket misconception was that admittance into the sport of tennis was only for the affluent, which ushers the connotation that tennis is not privileged to certain areas. The major take-away from Net Generation Day 2017 is that the USTA is really making youth tennis attainable to all cultures of youth, nationwide. With racquets, balls and training provided, youth players are afforded a healthy environment to exert and consume positive energy.
Additional photos/videos can be found here.
