The US Open Tennis Championships is one of the four grand slam tennis events and one of the most exciting spectacles in the sports arena. Held at the newly named Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, it is the last grand slam event of the year and therefore puts much pressure on the players as this is the last chance to boost their ranking.

“Jason Allen (left) and Mitchelle Lake (right) attend the men’s semi-final match at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.”

Many people from around the world attend this huge event. The 2006 US Open had two new visitors with ATA delegates Mitchelle Lake and Jason Allen. Both Mitch and Jason left Anguilla on September 7 and were able to view the men’s and women’s semi-final matches as well as various doubles, juniors, seniors, and wheelchair matches.

This was a great opportunity for the ATA in terms of continuing to give exposure to Anguilla and the tennis academy. It was also a great professional development opportunity as one can learn a great deal by just being around so many professionals, fans, and other tennis enthusiasts. The ATA delegates were able to witness tennis at its highest calibre as they saw Maria Sharapova defeat Amelie Mauresmo (the world’s number one) in three sets; Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Jelena Jankovic in three sets as well. On the men’s side, Jason and Mitch saw Roger Federer, the undisputed number one player in the world crush Nikolay Davydenko in three easy sets and Andy Roddick defeated Mikhail Youhzny in a tough four set match. In the end, Maria Sharapova won the US Open defeating Justine Henin-Hardenne in straight sets. This win for Sharapova was highlighted by the fact that it was her first US Open win and she beat two people she had never been able to beat in Henin-Hardenne and Mauresmo. Of course, Roger Federer had little trouble defeating Andy Roddick in the final in four sets. Roger Federer is now the only man in history to have won 3 Wimbledon’s and 3 US Open’s back to back. Federer won three out of the four grand slams this year only losing to Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open.

Mitch Lake had been to the Open various times and it was there that he was able to make many of the contacts that have been key to fundraising for the ATA’s new facility. He commented, “[t]he US Open is a wonderful tournament to attend. It gives one an idea of how much work and dedication it takes to be at the level of these professionals. Next year, we plan to take all of the ATA staff and a select few of the children to Arthur Ashe day and to many of the matches.” For Jason Allen, the ATA director, it was his first time attending a grand slam event. He said, “[f]or me, attending the US Open was a dream come true. It was so exciting to be there and witness the best tennis I have ever seen. Seeing the greats play up close has also given me a unique and better insight on how to approach coaching the children. I am excited about returning next year. I want to thank Mitch Lake, Denise Hampton, and Gale Monk for making this trip possible.”

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