Talking Tennis Soutern Style promotes Hispanic Heritage Month. With almost twenty years of experience as a tennis teacher, Belén Gómez-Jordana founded the non-profit and NJTL United Tennis. In order to counter stereotypes, Gómez-Jordana created the Tennis for All program. She delivers group and individual classes at a very low cost. Gómez-Jordana volunteers on the USTA North Carolina Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is a former journalist at Telemundo Noticias Charlotte. Ponch Ochoa was...

Leigh Torrence says tennis was his first love and dreamed of being another Arthur Ashe. He was a top-level junior out of Atlanta. Still, he’s most famous for his NFL career, playing for six teams including the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, and coaching for the Saints and New York Jets. “I think tennis is demanding of you mentally … and great preparation for football.” He recently took the USTA Coach Level 1 Workshop to begin teaching tennis. World-renowned sports performance...

More than 25 years ago, Jennifer Edmonson volunteered at the Cajun Classic, a wheelchair tennis tournament in Baton Rouge. Her role expanded to the USTA Southern Wheelchair Tennis Chair and then the USTA chair. Now, she takes on the role of US Open Wheelchair Tennis Tournament Director. Talking about wheelchair tennis in collegiate tennis is Chuck McCuen, who coaches at Clemson University. He started the program at Georgia State, where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Our...

US Open preview: Martin Blackman on Gauff, Pegula, Fritz and Tiafoe UNC champion Carson Tanguilig heads to US Open doubles main draw It’s US Open time! USTA’s Martin Blackman previews the year’s last Grand Slam and breaks down the chances of Americans Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Alpharetta, Georgia’s Carson Tanguilig won the NCAA women’s doubles title, earning her and Fiona Crawley wild cards in the US Open doubles main draw. The duo were on the...

What is your pursuit in the middle years of life? Two USTA Southern volunteers decided they wanted to talk about USTA League tennis. North Carolina residents Carolyn Roach and Erin Conigliaro ­­­named their podcast "Second Serve" and connect with thousands of listeners to their weekly conversation. Everything from rules to pet peeves to etiquette questions are covered with a sense of humor and humility. This time of year is about playing in the Southern heat. We go to our top tennis health...

The annual ATP Tour 250 tournament – the Atlanta Open – has the game’s breakout star Christopher Eubanks in the main draw. “Of course, he’s playing” says Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs about the Atlanta native and former Georgia Tech star who played only a few miles away from the Atlantic Station site. The Tech connection continues with the second tournament appearance by GT player Andres Martin. Kenny Thorne, the men’s coach, returns to the podcast to talk about the opportunities given...

With American players competing at the Big W in London, USTA Director, Player Development Martin Blackman tracks the preparation of up-and-coming pros in Florida and European warmup events. He proudly mentions four US players who now reside in the top 10: Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Among the Southerners he profiled include Taylor Townsend, Ben Shelton, Christopher Eubanks and Tommy Paul. USTA women’s coach Jermaine Jenkins, Ga., zeros in on how to nurture...

Sone of the most exciting – and often overlooked – tennis matches are played on college campuses. These two coaches made their women’s teams among the best in the country. As Alabama’s women’s tennis coach, Jenny Mainz was named the 2013 ITA National Coach of the Year and won two NCAA Doubles Championships in 2014 & 2015. She offers a rich history of how Alabama women’s tennis rose from barely having a team to be one of the SEC best over her 26 years at the helm. Upon his retirement...

USTA Southern presents more than 20 annual awards and we interview two in celebration of Juneteenth. Vanita Phinisey talks about her mission to promote tennis in Columbus, Miss., with the 3rd Annual Battle of the States. Hosted by Golden Triangle Tennis, the National Tennis Month tournament won the Special Tennis Event of the Year and featured inter-state competition and the ability of juniors to team with adults. The Diversity & Inclusion Champion went to Ezekiel Salama, who came...

May is National Tennis Month and it will shine brightly in the Rocket City as USTA Southern hosts a $15K Men’s and Women’s Pro Circuit event on clay in Huntsville, Ala. Tournament Director Milly Sequera Huss, known for her top-29 WTA career, is the tournament director and talks about HBCU players receiving wild cards. There are seven free local events throughout the tournament May 22-28 and USTA Southern staffer Claire Bartlett outlines activities for the young and not-so young. Just in...

We return to our roots and bring back Dr. Brian Hainline. Our first podcast guest returns now as the USTA Chairman of the Board and President. As NCAA Chief Medical Officer, lends even more credence to why he focuses on the great health benefits of tennis – 9.7 more years of life! With tennis participation skyrocketing, Brian also highlights how it has grown in Hispanic/Latino, Black/African and Asian/Pacific communities. He also supports the need for great sportsmanship and more officials...

USTA Delivery Council Chair Greg Lappin promotes National Tennis Month, a national initiative coming in May. Lappin champions the health benefits of tennis that increases your life by 9.7 years, clearly more than any other sport. He applauds USTA volunteers who are “creating positive healthy lifestyles.” Additionally, he cites tennis participation has skyrocketed, adding 5.9 million Americans, a 33% increase since 2020 nationally. USTA Southern Board Member Ernie James, of Florence, S.C.,...

Taking the helm of USTA’s largest section, Brett Schwartz is striving to improve NJTLs, public parks and grassroots efforts in nine states. He also chats about co-writing “Competitive Tennis” that helps players climb the USTA League NTRP ladder along with his work as Tennis Director at the Stone Creek Club & Spa. Madison Keys and her mother, Christine, established the Kindness Wins Foundation that “supports youth access to sports, education and their own desires to make a difference and...

USTA’s digital presence took a major step forward with the release of its new app. USTA staffers Michael Hughes and Alanna Broderick describe its many features including listing WTN real-time status and rankings, recent tournament and USTA League results and other info all tennis players need at their fingerprints. The Apple version is available now, with the Android version set to release within the next month. Mike Eden is a former USTA Kentucky President whose passion is collecting tennis...

Through its long history and current program offerings, women continue to be a driving force within USTA Southern.  We start with Jaime Kaplan, who rose to No. 91 in doubles on the WTA Tour and was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020. She talks about her current role as Southern Tennis Foundation’s Director, Development & Operations, spreading the word about its giving back mission and raising funds. Maria Cercone heads up junior tennis for USTA Southern and...

We celebrate Black History Month with leading voices in Black Tennis. Through the USTA Fellowship in Tennis Coaching and Leadership Powered by Athleta program, Venecca Green discovered a coaching opportunity at the HBCU and Division II Lane College. Even though she admitted she is at “retirement age”, she proudly begins her coaching career at the helm of the Dragons women’s & men’s tennis programs in Jackson, Tenn. We honor the legacy and impact of the iconic Althea Gibson, winner...

We celebrate Black History Month with leading voices in Black tennis. First up Rex Miller is the film director of Althea, about the legendary Althea Gibson. He also produced Citizen Ashe about Arthur Ashe that was shown last year on CNN. The 2015 film about Gibson was partially inspired by his mother’s 6-0, 6-1 loss to the International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee. Using a trove of historical photos, Miller was able to put together the leading film about the South Carolina native. He also...

The award-winning Cajun Classic Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, an international event with over 100 professional/recreational players and hundreds of spectators, does not happen without dedicated volunteers like Cathy Greene, of Lottie, Louisiana, She won the 2022 Marilyn Sherman Spirit Award. She always has a smile on her face and a positive attitude that lights up a room. Cathy also volunteers at the Hallowheel Tournament, working the tournament desk. Our second interview is with a leader...

Our Grand Slam correspondent – Martin Blackman of the USTA – previews American players heading into the Australian Open. With eight men aged 25 and younger in the ATP Tour top 50, Blackman sees a great 2023. Additionally, he says Atlanta native Ben Shelton, who past No. 100 in the world last year, is skyrocketing. He also discusses two top 10 women: former Atlantan Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. We continue to focus on Atlanta as native Alycia Parks sits at No. 75 in the world. The confident...

2022 was a banner year for tennis across USTA Southern. We replay excerpts from some of most engaging and favorite interviews from the past 12 months. Host Sam Crenshaw and audio producer Kyle Blackburn not only give their opinions on another great year of tennis conversations, but also their working camaraderie. Compiled interviewees are collegiate coaches Rodney Harmon (Georgia Tech women) & Chase Hodges (Georgia Gwinnett), TV personality Cindy Farmer, Doctors Eli Friedman & Neeru...

Victoria Chiesa (USTA Assistant Managing Editor, Corporate Communications) describes the biggest event in American tennis this year: Serena Williams’ retirement at the US Open. An editor of USTA.com, she also chronicles the rise of other American women on the WTA Tour in 2022, most notably former Atlanta player Coco Gauff. Unfortunately, the demise of the printed version of Tennis magazine is upon us. Senior writer Stephen Tignor talks about interviewing a young Roger Federer and other pros,...

Paul Pittman and Eleanora Mauritson shepherd the Southern Tennis Foundation’s expanding number of college scholarships. Pittman chairs the Major Gifts Committee that has established 19 scholarships, beginning in 2016. In 2022 alone, the committee raised $220K to help 10 qualified high school seniors residing in the Southern Section with their higher education ambitions.  Categories that qualifying students are judged on are tournament rankings, high school tennis and/or Junior Team Tennis and...

With Black Friday ushering in the holiday gift-giving season, we talk to two recognized experts about ideas for the tennis player(s) in your life. Tennis Warehouse’s Michelle Heidbrink updates us on an improved supply chain and what trendy apparel and new racquets are now in stock.  Writer and commentator Rick Limpert provides tips on online gift purchasing, including the latest in shoes and zeroing in on tennis-related gifts.  Our “On the Rise” Junior Spotlight this week features Kevin...

Dan Kester was a junior tennis player who also played on his University of North Carolina club team. His career path was in retail and he was an executive a national department store chain. Kester decided to combine his passion for tennis and sales. Living in Atlanta, known as the biggest tennis town in the country, he opened his store I Play Tennis. He welcomes a wide variety of clientele, including the local LGBQT+ community. David Yamane, of Big Time Tennis in Winston-Salem, N.C., was...