The newly refurbished tennis courts are the athlete’s way of pouring back into the communities that poured into her.
Tennis phenom Coco Gauff is spending her time giving back to her hometown community in Delray Beach, Florida, with newly refurbished tennis courts at Pompey Park.
The inaugural project part, in collaboration with the U.S. Tennis Association’s U.S. Open Legacy Initiative, is part of a $3 million grant program that aims to enhance tennis court accessibility nationwide. According to NBC News, the professional athlete and the association renovated the same courts where she honed her skills alongside her father.
The first project of the US Open Legacy Initiative now stands in Gauff’s hometown, Delray Beach, FL.— USTA (@usta) March 20, 2024
“I want to pour into the communities that poured into me,” Gauff said. “…I want to promote sports and other extracurricular activities in general because I think everybody needs an outlet in their life.” She added, “The more access you allow children to get to these [courts] — and the more children that are playing — is the greater the probability of the next great champion coming along.”
Her profound connection to Delray Beach runs deeper, with the geographic coordinates of Pompey Park etched onto her shoes, alongside her father’s words: “You can change the world with your racket.” Adjacent lies a baseball field honoring her grandparents, civil rights pioneers who broke through color barriers in the city.
“There were a lot of things that came with winning the title, but this one is very special.”The US Open Legacy Initiative’s first completed stop is Coco Gauff’s hometown courts in Delray Beach, FL.— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 20, 2024
Source: Black Enterprise
