Flushing Meadows, N.Y. was the center of the tennis universe again and it wasn't the U.S. Open that got thousands of tennis fans to gather at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on a beautiful Sunday. If you love tennis and you stayed home, you missed out on not just the biggest, but the best free grassroots event in the history of New York tennis.
This was no small achievement. I run a free high school coaches clinic every spring and it is a high-quality event. I am lucky to get 15-20 coaches to attend. The First Annual New York Tennis Expo had nearly 3,000 people come out.
This event was a massive undertaking and a huge risk as so many things had to come together and they did.
The First Annual New York Tennis Expo was professionally done and well-attended. It was my pleasure to have supported it and to have been a part of it.
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Steven Kaplan Steve Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation, and executive director and founder of Serve &Return Inc. Steve has coached more than 1,100 nationally- ranked junior players, 16 New York State high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous highly-ranked touring professionals. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. In 2017, Steve was awarded the Hy Zausner Lifetime Achievement Award by the USTA. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com. |