Tennis Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

Vania King's father and King Richard have a thing or two in common. On this episode of Tennis Stories, two-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion Vania King reflects on her life in tennis from a young age all the way up to the advocacy work she does in her retirement from the sport. Vania's father was integral to her tennis training, though unconventional, tennis became part of her family's identity. Ultimately, she says it prepared her for the biggest stage in tennis and competing against the Williams sisters.

Sign up for the May 13th Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration and Tennis Festival here: https://form.jotform.com/222054646505149

Janet Lefkowitz has been teaching adaptive tennis for so many years that she's seen kids grow into adulthood as participants in her program. What's incredible is that some of her students over the years have seen their autism symptoms improve, potentially the result of tennis as a therapeutic tool. Janet's 30-year-old program, HERO Tennis, is an organization that delivers tennis to people with all abilities, whether they have special needs, physical disabilities, are wounded warriors–it’s an inclusive tennis program for all. Her life's mission is to get every able-bodied tennis player to experience watching or teaching adaptive tennis.

Janet also happens to be USTA Eastern’s 2022 Tennis Woman of the year!

It's hard not to smile when you hear Janet's joy as she talks about her work.

Learn more about HERO tennis, based in Greenburgh, NY here: https://herony.org/

"Tennis opened my mouth and forced humility down my throat." Marvin Dent dedicated his life to tennis after he discovered his love for the sport. He is now a high performance coach in the greater NYC area.

Nick Zieziula loved sports growing up and found his niche in tennis, reaching 15th in the Eastern section his senior year. Like many of us, Nick caught the tennis bug and has been coaching and organizing ever since. He is now the head coach of the Binghamton University Men's tennis team, and he coordinates an adaptive tennis program called Createable The Magic Paintbrush Project. 

Learn more about Nick: https://bubearcats.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/coaches/nick-zieziula/397

Learn more about Createable The Magic Paintbrush Project: https://www.facebook.com/MagicPaintbrushProject/

Phyllis Orlowski lives to share the sport of tennis! As a teacher in Oneonta, NY she revitalized the defunded tennis program in her town with a little determination and some help from Net Generation!

netgeneration.com 

Mike Smookler has been coaching tennis since 1989 and currently serves as the USPTA Eastern's Vice President and tennis director at the West Orange Tennis Club. 

https://westorangetennisclub.com/

Anda Perianu gew up playing tennis under the Romanian sun during her summers growing up. Her tennis journey took her to great heights playing college tennis, and then professionally. She now manages Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca, NY. Hear her journey and why she thinks that if you can't get tennis out of your head, then you should pursue a career in the industry.

Learn more at https://reistenniscenter.com/

Liezel Huber left South Africa at 15 "with a suitcase and a dream" to pursue a career in tennis. After years of collecting doubles titles, she's now the executive director of tennis at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning. 

Learn more about Cary Leeds: https://www.nyjtl.org/caryleeds/

Art Carrington has been a renowned tennis coach for decades, and his son Lex has followed in his footsteps in high-caliber coaching as well. This interview with both Art and Lex Carrington touches on so many aspects of their careers in tennis, with a focus on what it will take to grow tennis in the Black community. 

Learn more about Art and Lex Carrington:  https://carringtontennis.wordpress.com/

Amber Marino, the president of USTA Eastern's board of directors, merged her love of reaching kids through education with tennis. As Executive Director of 15love, she oversees tennis programs for underserved communities that go beyond delivering tennis.

Learn more about them at 15love.org