September 1st – Buddy Up Tennis Athletes from Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Youngstown, Ohio, Lake Nona, Orlando and Sarasota, Florida, Naperville, Illinois, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania took center court in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Our Athletes played their hearts out and brought joy and inspiration to everyone affiliated with the US Open. After our Demonstration, Founding Athlete, Will Gibson, performed the coin toss for the Madison Keys (14) and Aleksandra Krunic match and was presented with a 50th Anniversary US Open coin.
On the eve of the Demonstration, The United States Tennis Association (USTA) shared a video from the top tennis professionals revealing where we would be playing. Hearing Roger Federer say the words “Welcome Buddy Up Tennis” was something that brought happiness to the founders of our organization, representing how far we truly have come. Our Coaches, Buddies, Athletes, and Families were all in tears when they saw this video and learned that Buddy Up Tennis would be playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium !
Our experience was remarkable from beginning to end. Kate Snow kicked off the excitement by traveling to Columbus, Ohio to learn about our program and to join us on the courts. Then off to New York for a life changing weekend. It was all capped off with our story being told in a segment airing on NBC Nightly News on Sunday. Thank you to Leah Friedman of the USTA for providing this awesome opportunity. Thank you to our sponsors who donated $20K to support our journey to the US Open. These funds were used to provide a $1,000 scholarship to each Athlete and their families to help with travel expenses to New York. This was an experience that we always remember and forever treasure.
