Pro tennis player Madison Keys headlined an Arthur Ashe Champions Day event held July 30 at Mountain View’s Cuesta Park, where more than 250 kids participated in a free tennis clinic.
Keys, in the Bay Area to play in last week’s Silicon Valley Classic, answered questions, provided tennis tips and interacted with attendees.
“Madison was great,” said John Togasaki, general manager of Cuesta-based Mountain View Tennis. “She was smiling all the time and posed for countless photographs and signed numerous autographs, engaging with every student.”
Ranked 23rd by the World Tennis Association, Keys also joined Stanford University women’s tennis team players Ana Geller, Michaela Gordon and Valencia Xu for an exhibition doubles match. The Cardinal players offered tips to the youth in attendance as well.
Taube Philanthropies sponsored Saturday’s event, which drew kids ages 5-15 “from diverse backgrounds … all over the Bay Area,” said Togasaki, who noted that Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, widow of tennis great Arthur Ashe, endorsed it.
Clinic attendees learned more about Ashe, who won three grand slam titles in the 1970s and was the first Black player selected for the United States Davis Cup Team.
Along with receiving instruction from 32 Bay Area tennis coaches, each participant was given a free lunch, a T-shirt, an Arthur Ashe Champions Day water bottle, a “passport” for collecting autographs and two tickets to the Silicon Valley Classic that concluded Sunday at San Jose State University.
An ongoing scholarship program has been instituted to further provide instruction and mentorship to the budding players, many of whom Togasaki described as “under-resourced children.”
As for Illinois native Keys – who has won six singles titles since turning pro as a 14-year-old in 2009 – she was eliminated in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic. Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur beat her 7-5, 6-1 Aug. 3.
