New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) is pleased to announce that Bob Horne has been elected as its Board Chair effective February 23, 2021. Mr. Horne has been an active member of NYJTL’s Board for 25 years, including acting as Treasurer and serving on the Executive Committee for more than 20 years.

A long-time resident of New York City, Mr. Horne is the managing partner of ZS Fund L.P., a private equity firm. Mr. Horne was captain of the Harvard tennis team and achieved a top ten world ranking in the men’s 35-and-over division. In addition to graduating from Harvard, Mr. Horne also is a graduate of the Stanford Business School.

“Consistent with our mission statement, I am very excited about the opportunity to help NYJTL continue to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success on and off the court,” said Mr. Horne. “I hope to help NYJTL further its reach in after-school enrichment programming and grass roots tennis as we build upon the success of the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in providing access to tennis year-round. I also look forward to supporting our talented staff as they look to provide additional tennis coaching and academic support to our most advanced players to enable them to get college scholarships.”

Mr. Horne succeeded Martin Goldberg, who served as Chairman for ten years. During Mr. Goldberg’s tenure as Chairman, NYJTL increased its after-school programming throughout New York City and raised the funds and completed the construction of the Cary Leeds Center, the $26.5 million state-of-the-art facility and flagship home of NYJTL in the heart of the Bronx. Mr. Goldberg was elected Vice Chair and will remain on the Executive Committee.

“A key to NYJTL’s success has been the skill and commitment of its board leadership. NYJTL is fortunate to have had Martin Goldberg and Tory Kiam as previous Board Chairs, and I am pleased that now Bob has taken on this important role,” said Skip Hartman, NYJTL’s founder and Chairman Emeritus. “As Treasurer and Executive Committee member for many years, Bob thoroughly understands the organization, its challenges and many opportunities.”

“I have worked alongside Bob for many years, and his dedication to the children in the organization is ever-present,” said Mr. Goldberg. “I am excited for him to fill this role and could not be more confident in this transition.”

About NYJTL
The mission of New York Junior Tennis & Learning is to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success on and off the court. Since 1971, NYJTL has changed lives through tennis, education, healthy living, and character development programs.  Today, it is the largest youth tennis and education non-profit in the nation, reaching more than 85,000 K-12 New York City youth.

NYJTL provides after school programming in approximately 30 schools and community tennis programming at approximately 40 sites throughout New York City in the summer months and at additional sites that operate during the school year. In addition, NYJTL designed, funded (with NYC), built and operates the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, at which it provides free and commercial tennis programming year-round as well as life skills, character development and healthy living lessons. All NYJTL community tennis and after school programs are offered at no cost to its participants.

NYJTL is looking forward to celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2022 (delayed due to COVID)!

One of the core values of NYJTL, the commitment to diversity and inclusion, has underpinned our beliefs and our programs since our founding fifty years ago.  Without question we work on behalf of all the children and families of New York City regardless of race, ethnicity or color.

As we’ve seen in the last year of the pandemic there has been a growth in violence toward people who are Asian Americans.  Stop AAPI Hate, an initiative that tracks incidents of hate and discriminations against Asian Americans, released data that between March 2020 and February 2021, nearly 3,800 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian incidents were reported.  In addition, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center documented that nearly 40% of Americans say that “it’s more common for people to express racist beliefs about people who are Asian American” today than before Covid-19.  We want to strongly reaffirm that anti-Asian discrimination and violence have no place in America and that we will do our part in supporting the Asian American community.

We need to raise our voices to condemn all forms of racism and stand for inclusion for all.

George Guimaraes

President & CEO

The Racket ?

Women’s History Month

Joyce Short, the Community Tennis Site Director at the Roosevelt Island site, is an example of dedication and service within the NYJTL community. In the Winter of 1991, Joyce and NYJTL first opened the site at Roosevelt Island, and it has been going strong ever since under her leadership. Read the full story

Coach Ahsha Featured by the USTA

Former touring pro and Director of Tennis at the Cary Leeds Center, Ahsha Rolle was coached and mentored on the WTA tour by Grand Slam winner, Lori McNeil. Now Coach Ahsha has the same passion to give back and mentor the next generation. (Read her story on USTA.com)

Coach Spotlight: Anna Tatishvili

Anna Tatishvili, coach at the Cary Leeds Center, is a Georgian-American and former professional tennis player. Anna’s story comes full circle in working for New York Junior Tennis & Learning.  Read the full story!

New ACES Partnership

The NYJTL ACES Program brings in a new partner, Practice Makes Perfect (PMP) to strengthen resources for NYC children in the time of COVID. PMP works to narrow the achievement gap and to deliver tutoring services so students may realize their full potential. This partnership has triggered an uptick in student participation during and after the school day.

Anna Tatishvili, Associate Director of High Performance and Adult Programming at the Cary Leeds Center, is a Georgian-American and former professional tennis player. Anna’s story comes full circle in working for New York Junior Tennis & Learning.  She began her career as a young girl, and at age 10 at the Junior Orange Bowl (World Junior Championships) she met Gene Scott, the late husband of Board Member Polly Scott. Gene became an integral part in encouraging Anna to follow her passion and to become a world-class tennis player.  Anna was able to realize that dream.

In her career, Coach Anna won 11 singles and 8 doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit, peaking at 59 in the doubles and reaching a career-high singles ranking of 50 in the world. One of her most memorable matches was the 2012 Australian Open. Anna beat former #1 player Ashley Barty and went on to play the top tournament seed and world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki.  Even though Anna did not win that match, she remembers it as one where she left it all on the court.

In March 2020, Anna announced her retirement from professional tennis and decided to focus her efforts on coaching the future generation of tennis players.  Not long after starting at the Cary Leeds Center, Anna received a surprise. “I got a most unexpected and heartwarming email from NYJTL Board member Polly Scott which made me very emotional, in a very good way of course!” Anna shared. After her late husband’s passing, Polly demonstrated her belief and commitment to the game by joining the NYJTL Board of Directors. “Life is a strange thing,” Anna said. “Who knew that 20 years after meeting Gene, that little girl with big dreams would work for the organization that he helped create.”

True to NYJTL’s mission, Anna is committed to encouraging good character through tennis and education for a lifetime of success, on and off the court. Anna explains, “I want to give back to my students all the knowledge and experience I have gathered over the course of my long tennis career. I hope I can also influence someone’s life positively; helping to build strong, confident children, which is what NYJTL stands for and I am very lucky to be part of this organization.”

Joyce Short, the Site Director for the Community Tennis Program at the Roosevelt Island site, is an example of dedication within the NYJTL community. In the Winter of 1991, Joyce and NYJTL first opened the site at Roosevelt Island, and it has been going strong ever since under her leadership.  In addition, she is a District Developer for Manhattan and Western Queens.

Initially, the Roosevelt Island program ran during the winter and summer, but today, the program operates year-round and rotates between the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club courts and the outdoor courts at the North end of the Island. Joyce doesn’t simply teach the kids skills to improve tennis, she has created a sense of community and camaraderie amongst the kids and their families regardless of individual or cultural backgrounds. Before COVID, after a winter session on the courts, the kids would get together and have a healthy and well-balanced breakfast. For the rest of the year, they’d hold a party each Friday afternoon to celebrate the accomplishments of all the kids and the birthdays that took place during the week.

Over the years, Joyce has worked with tens of thousands of kids and could arguably be the best-known person on Roosevelt Island, having worked with so many of the island’s families. For Joyce, the job is a passion; she loves to see the children grow and prosper.  She is drawn to the program and providing this opportunity for the children to build their self-esteem and allow them to be the best version of themselves.

Joyce has been an athlete her entire life, participating in tennis, basketball, diving, and skiing. She went to college at the University of Georgia in 1965, and had hoped to continue her passion of diving, deciding to live in the dorm next to the only pool, a men’s pool, on campus. She went to college before Title IX came into existence; a federal civil rights law in the United States that was passed as part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal money. She had competed on her city’s AAU Junior Olympic Team, but was only allowed to use the pool during free-swim hours, twice a week. During that time, the diving board was closed to accommodate people swimming laps, thus ending any chance of continued competition in the sport.

Women’s rights became an important issue for Joyce. She believes that girls are just as capable of becoming athletes as boys are.  “We do not separate the genders in the program, even at the advanced level.  Kids are assigned to a group based solely on their skills…. both the skills they have, and the skills they need. Gender is simply not a factor”.

Not only has Joyce been a staunch advocate for women’s rights and social justice, but also an advocate for the community of Roosevelt Island, by founding and serving on several community boards and having been the Co-Editor of The Main Street Wire.

Joyce has devoted 30 years of her life in service to the children throughout the City of New York and Roosevelt Island through NYJTL.  For this, during Women’s History Month, NYJTL is proud to spotlight Joyce’s tremendous contribution to so many children and thank her for her contributions on and off the courts.  Keep up the incredible work Joyce!

Former WTA Pro Ahsha Rolle Growing Tennis in the Bronx

By: Victoria Chiesa

(See the original article here) Former touring pro Ahsha Rolle was guided in part by a female coach during her WTA career, and she’s using what she learned from former Grand Slam winner Lori McNeil to mentor tennis players of all ages in New York City.

Rolle, now 35, coached by the former world No. 9 and 1988 French Open mixed doubles champion in her playing days, was recently named the director of tennis at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning, a 20-court facility nestled outside of Crotona Park in the Bronx.

Boasting a unique playing style on the court as well as a one-handed backhand as a pro, Rolle peaked at No. 82 in the WTA rankings, reached the third round of the US Open in 2007 as a wild card, and was also a member of the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team. Retiring at age 28 due to bone spurs in both knees, Rolle’s coaching career in the New York area began at Glen Head Tennis Club on Long Island, and it can be said that the influence that McNeil had on her is now reflected in her own hands-on, personalized coaching style.

“Lori was a very impactful person in my tennis career but also in my development as a person. She has a good heart and loves to give back, and her insight, tennis-wise, was amazing. She really helped my all-court game style, but she also taught me discipline and how to be a good professional. She impacted me both on and off the court,” Rolle said.

“So for me, I try to build my players’ games based on their characteristics and personalities… I customize their training to their needs, so I don’t train everyone the same way. Off the court, I would hope that the work that we’re putting in now is helping to mold them as adults. I want them to be confident adults, I want them to be disciplined adults. I want them to learn all the life skills that tennis naturally teaches them, and apply it to whatever career choices they have in the future.”

Since Cary Leeds opened in 2015, the center has provided over 6,000 hours of free tennis instruction to under-resourced city youth annually, while also offering structured programming for juniors and adults of all ages and skill levels. In her new role, Rolle divides her time between on-court and administrative work by coordinating Cary Leeds’ adult programs, as well as training the club’s high-performance women and juniors.

“We have commercial programming that you can pay for… but we also have a community side to it. If you’re under-resourced and can’t afford things, there are programs there for you,” Rolle said. “We also give some of the kids scholarships if they can’t afford to pay. We have opportunities for all at Cary Leeds, and that’s one thing that we’re really proud of: that money or income does not separate the quality of coaching that you can experience.

“My philosophy is that a player is a player, whether you’re a 50-year-old woman or a high-performing junior. I give the same concepts and information to all of them. They all need to know continental grip skills, they all need to know how to slice, they all need to work on transitioning skills. I tell my ladies, ‘These are the drills that we did with our high-performance juniors today, and these are the drills you’re going to do, too.’ Maybe they won’t do it as long, or at the same intensity, but they’re going to do the same drills. That’s one thing that they really enjoy: that I don’t change my style and I don’t treat them differently.”

Having first picked up tennis at the age of 9 on public courts in Miami, Rolle says that the growth of the sport amongst minority groups in a similarly dense urban area like New York City is important to her. Having been in the unique position of having a female coach on the WTA tour, Rolle also hopes to impart the wisdom she gained through her pro career on the next generation, particularly as a Black woman who was mentored by another in her own development.

“I came to Cary Leeds specifically because I wanted to have more of an impact on the culture that I am in. I’m African-American, so I want to be able to help underserved kids of color and give them very high-quality coaching in that area. I want to make an impact in the community,” she said.

“From Serena and Venus to Coco Gauff and Frances Tiafoe… you now have this whole generation for kids of color to look up to. They’ll just create another generation of excellence. Being able to have representation in a sport that is predominantly white is huge, but also, to have someone like me being in a position like this is a great thing, too.

“Let’s say someone graduates from college and they want to get into tennis, they can strive towards roles like this. They can see another African-American in a position that they want to be in one day. Representation is the key in all these different positions, and the more we have access to things and be in different roles, the better it will be for people of color in general.

“As an organization as a whole, we’re working on being more diverse. We have four board members of color, so that’s a step in the right direction. We’re definitely pushing to have more people of color at higher positions in different organizations like this. I’m happy to be a woman of color in a strong position. I don’t know that many directors of tennis that are women, and Black at that. I hope that I can influence others to strive for excellence, and anything that I can do to promote positivity and growth in that area, I’m all for.”