New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) has launched its inaugural Holding Court: Player Series with guest professional tennis player Chris Eubanks. From December 2-4, 2022, more than 250 participants across NYJTL programs, the neighboring Bronx community, and commercial clients filled the courts at the flagship Cary Leeds for Tennis & Learning for a weekend of clinics and exercises showcasing the event’s theme, “I Am a Scholar Athlete”, in recognition of the inaugural Scholar Athlete Program that welcomed 60 students this fall.
Eubanks is a prominent Black professional tennis player with a career high ranking of no. 120 in the world, a tennis commentator, and a college graduate who is currently on the ATP tour, exemplifying NYJTL’s commitment to the inextricably powerful combination of tennis and learning. Throughout the weekend, Eubanks engaged with NYJTL’s CTP+, ACES, and Scholar Athlete Program participants, local community youth, and commercial clients through various tennis clinics and moderated discussions. This included fitness challenges and other drills to sharpen the kids’ tennis skills along with a video screening of Arthur Ashe and his legacy, and discussions with Eubanks on his personal journeys through his tennis career and education.
“As someone who has gone through the ranks of tennis and the journey of life, it is important for me to help motivate these kids to do something great,” Eubanks says.
“As a college graduate and successful professional tennis player, Chris Eubanks embodies and inspires the idea of being a ‘scholar athlete,’” says NYJTL President & CEO, Udai Tambar. “We are excited to continue to bring world-class players to our programs and model for our youth the ways they can achieve success on and off the court.”
This Player Series continues NYJTL’s Holding Court: Speaker Series, which invites prominent youth development leaders, such as Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York, and Khary Lazarre-White, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Brotherhood Sister Sol, to discuss important youth development issues with the organization’s staff. NYJTL is excited to welcome Lori McNeil in the next installment of the Player Series in February 2023.