etc.
• S H O R T S H O R T S •
ONE LOVE AT THE U.S. OPEN
COACH Lenny Simpson had
planned to take half a dozen
youngsters from his Wilmington
One Love tennis program to the
“It truly was the trip
of a lifetime.
It definitely changed
their lives.”
U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York,
this year. It was the natural progression. In
2016, benefactors David and Caroline McLemore made it
possible to take two kids. Four went last year.
“We were going to do six this year,” Simpson says.
Plans changed after a conversation with United States
Tennis Association President Katrina Adams at Wimbledon in
June. Adams offered to host as many as 40.
“She said, ‘We can have them come in style,’” Simpson says.
The McLemores and other donors made it possible to take
38 Wilmington kids and chaperones to New York City for the
tournament.
One Love is a nonprofit founded by former pro Simpson, a
Wilmington native and Wrightsville Beach resident, to provide
tennis instruction and academic support to at-risk youth.
The group arrived in New York on Aug.
25, in time for Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the
National Tennis Center. They got to see stars
like Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Novak
Djokovic, Angelique Kerber, and Madison
Keys. Some of the One Love kids were
invited to watch the festivities from Adams’ presidential suite.
On Sunday they had passes to roam the grounds and watch
the players practice, and on Monday they participated in an
on-court demonstration before the match between Jack Sock
and Guido Andreozzi.
“It was amazing,” Simpson says. “Going to New York, I’ll
use the cliché, it truly was the trip of a lifetime. It definitely
changed their lives.”
Simpson’s next big project is his annual fundraising lun-cheon,
to take place in late October or early November at 1406
Orange Street. One Love is renovating the property that once
belonged to Dr. Hubert Eaton, mentor to tennis great Althea
Gibson. — Simon Gonzalez
Madison Keys, the No. 14 seed, signs autographs for kids from Wilmington-based One Love Tennis at the U.S. Open in August
(top left). One Love players participated in an on-court demonstration before an opening-round match on Court 17 (top right
and above).
16
WBM october 2018
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ONE LOVE TENNIS