Leaning on Experience
5.0 National Champions When the 2019 USTA League Tennis season started, Ellah Nze knew she had a strong team. But this good? It was hard to say. “I knew our team would […]
Backyard Tennis
How a tennis fanatic turned his backyard into a tennis oasis. Love tennis, but don’t have many courts near your home? This was Mark Abel’s situation 15 years ago. He found a […]
Sixteen Years & Counting
Tournament Director – Sally Gibson Sally Gibson keeps things fun. It doesn’t mean she takes her job lightly. The Tennis Coordinator at Oxford Club of Pittsburgh, Gibson began running USTA Tournaments in […]
Knocking Down Milestones
Over and over again, Ann Li is outdoing herself. The 20-year-old from Philadelphia had an incredible start to 2020. She qualified for her first WTA main draw event, had her best showing […]
Coaching Future Leaders: Rose Weinstein
Rose Weinstein’s athletic resume spans pages, and includes a few unforgettable lines: Dozens of years and hundreds of wins as a high school coach. Years of service to the USTA as a […]
Frontline Worker: Bill Baumer
While playing our game is on hold, members of the tennis community are coming together to fight COVID-19. As we continue to fight the spread of the disease, USTA Middle States is […]
For More than Himself: Connor Bruce
Connor Bruce doesn’t listen to noise. So if there was ever any pressure to skip out on the Peters Township High School team to focus more on his own individual game, he […]
Tennis At Home
Take a look at how our USTA Middle States community is staying active with tennis at home.
Tennis, Music and Culture
Lauren Steinert’s impressive talents go far beyond the tennis court. While she was crushing school records on Moravian’s tennis team, Steinert studied vocal performance and developed a passion for ethnomusicology, the study of music of different cultures. Take a look at Lauren’s journey.
Graduating Senior Spotlight: Sydney Nye
Like most graduating seniors, Penn State Harrisburg’s Sydney Nye was disappointed to learn that the college tennis season was canceled. Still, she’s not letting that stand in the way of the friendships […]
128 Teams and Counting: Mel Eckhaus
Play USTA League Tennis? If so, you know Mel Eckhaus (center in photo). Even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ve surely crossed paths. Eckhaus, from the Central Pennsylvania District, has been […]
100 Years of History: Oakmont Tennis Club
It’s a beautiful drive through Allentown, Pa. Large, historic homes line the streets. People cross through the neighborhoods on their walks to work and to school. Churches, delis and restaurants pop up […]
College Spotlight: Stephanie Yanosov
Stephanie Yanosov Hometown: Cherry Hill, NJ School: Quinnipiac University Major: Criminal Justice What is your favorite part about playing? My favorite part of the game is to be able to experience challenges […]
NetPLAY Magazine Links
Looking for something you saw in NetPLAY? Look no further! Page 5 – Email Us Page 6 – Volunteer Today! Page 6 – Board of Directors Page 7 – Join […]
Shots from All Angles
A conversation with Ronit Yurovsky Assistant Coach, Penn State University Women’s Tennis Ronit Yurovsky first gained name recognition while playing tournaments in Pittsburgh, Pa. Back then, the small girl with a big […]
Leader through Sportsmanship
2019 Middle States Hall of Fame Inductee – Shari Bucklin-Webber Shari Bucklin-Webber frequently talks to her players about sportsmanship, dedication and teamwork. Perhaps as well as anyone else, she also practices what […]
Building Tennis
2019 Middle States Hall of Fame Inductee – Virgil Christian Virgil Christian has assisted with the development of more than 400 tennis facilities and park and recreation programs in the Middle States […]
Join a Team! Upcoming USTA Adult Leagues
Love team play? Looking to compete with friends? USTA League Tennis is the country’s largest adult competitive tennis league with more than 300,000 players. It’s a great way to stay active, improve your […]
2019 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge Recap
There is something magical in that Lancaster County air for Dover Delaware native Madison Brengle. The Koser Jewelers $60,000 Challenge was hosted in Landisville, Pa. in mid-August, and first-seeded Madison Brengle became […]
Captain Spotlight: Marisa Grotell
Looking for tennis commitment? Meet Marisa Grotell, from Collegeville, Pa. Grotell is on hand at the USTA Middle States 18 and Over Section Championships, cheering on the Blue Moons, a 3.0 women’s […]
Coco Gauff’s Remarkable Wimbledon Run
Cori “Coco” Gauff’s standout run came to an end on Monday after losing in straight sets against Romania’s Simona Halep. The 15-year-old Gauff made a name for herself during this year’s Wimbledon […]
Arconada Dominates 9th Annual Sea Colony Tournament
American Usue Maitane Arconada dominates ninth annual Sea Colony Tournament in Bethany Beach Delaware. It was quite the week in Delaware for Usue Maitane Arconada. The young American, who was born in […]
Two Weeks, Two Titles for Alison Riske
Pittsburgh native Alison Riske, No. 49 in the world, is making the Steel City proud winning both the Surbiton Trophy Tournament and the Libema Open back to back. Alison glided through the […]
Local Teams Compete in Liberty Bell Bash
Several junior tennis teams from Pennsylvania and Delaware gathered in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 18 for the annual USTA Middle States Liberty Bell Bash. Taking place at Legacy Youth Tennis and Education, […]
2018 Central Pennsylvania Tennis District Award Ceremony
On Sunday afternoon, the Central Pennsylvania District honored the 2018 recipients of the USTA Middle States and Central Pennsylvania District awards. The 2018 Middle States Premier Providers were also recognized during the […]
The Places Tennis Takes You…
Hotel Alpaca Forget the fancy hotel lobby and the crowded pool. One group competing in USTA Zonals last summer chose the road less traveled. It led them to alpaca. More than 100 […]
The School of Tennis: COR Tennis
There are few as involved with school tennis as Larry Zerbe and City of Reading (COR) Tennis. Zerbe and the COR team are highly involved with camps, schools and low-cost play for […]
All Smiles in Cheltenham
Cheltenham Youth Tennis (CYT) has only been running youth tennis programming for about a year and a half. But that hasn’t stopped the coaches and organizers from already realizing a dream. “We […]
Love All Around: Helena Lynn
Helena Lynn doesn’t talk much about herself. When asked about her most memorable tennis accomplishments, she talks about her partner and doubles teammate. When asked what she’s most proud of, she mentions […]
Pipkin Family Honored with USTA Family of the Year Award
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently announced the Pipkin family (Landisville, Pa.) as the recipient of the Ralph W. Westcott USTA Family of the Year Award. The Pipkin family was recognized […]
Junior Spotlight: Noah Sicouri
Age: 11 years old Years Playing Tennis: 8 years School: Welsh Vally Middle School (Lower Merion School District) Favorite aspect of tennis: The competition and competitiveness of the sport. Future Tennis Goal: To eventually attempt to turn […]
2018 Philadelphia Tennis District Awards Ceremony
On Sunday afternoon, the USTA MS Philadelphia District honored the 2018 recipients of Middle States and Philadelphia District awards. The 2018 Middle States Premier Providers were also recognized during the ceremony, which […]
Welcome to the 2019 USTA Tennis Season
Our Tennis Community It may seem like tennis season is just beginning, but our work at the USTA has been in full swing since January 1. We welcomed our 2019-20 volunteer leadership […]
A Season for the Record Books
Only a few years ago, Kathi Rees couldn’t imagine herself as a tennis coach. Let alone, a state championship-winning tennis coach. A lot has changed in the last two years. Rees, from […]
Now Closed: Nominations for 2019 Middle States Hall of Fame
The Middle States Hall of Fame Nomination Period has closed. Please continue to check back for more information. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Middle States Section is now accepting nominations for […]
Building Teams, Growing Tennis
Junior Team Tennis in USTA Middle States Why wait until high school to join a tennis team? USTA Junior Team Tennis (JTT) brings together boys and girls, ages 6 to 18, to […]
College Spotlight: Bryan Szayna
College? Stevens Institute of Technology Major? Mechanical Engineer Year? Sophomore Best memory as a Junior player? I’ll always remember my 16s Zonals trips. The team atmosphere made it a lot of fun. […]
Riske, Brady Advance to Australian Open Semis
Update: Riske and Brady lost their semi-final match, but finished the week out as one of the Open’s most memorable storylines. — — Looking for a good night of sleep? Maybe plan it […]
Never-Ending Fight: Gino Carosella and ALS
Six days per week. Seven or eight lessons each day. Seven or eight players per lesson. That has been Gino Carosella teaching schedule for the last 29 years. “I’m not sure how […]
2018 USTA Middle States Awards
USTA Middle States Award recipients were chosen through a representation of USTA Middle States volunteers and staff, working together to compile nominations from each of the six Middle States districts: Allegheny Mountain […]
College Spotlight: Alexandra Vo
College: Stonehill College Major: Environmental Engineering Hometown: Washington Crossing, Pa. Year: Junior Best tennis memory: “From a team perspective, the best memory would be of winning the NE-10 Conference Championships (considering that […]
Gold Balls for Middle States Players at Winter Nats
Last week, several of Middle States’ top-ranked juniors competed in Orlando, Fla. at the USTA National Winter Championships. You can find a replay of the boys and girls finals here. Action on […]
Riske advances to Final in China, Will enter WTA Top 50
Pittsburgh native Alison Riske is starting 2019 in a big way. Riske, ranked No. 62 in the world entering last week, made an impressive run at the Shenzhen Open in China, advancing […]
Middle States Welcomes New Staff Member, Lance Martin
USTA Middle States recently welcomed Lance Martin as Manager of Adult Leagues. A Pennsylvania native, Lance comes to Middle States from USTA Intermountain, where he served as District League Coordinator since 2014. There, […]
Middle States brings home three Intersectional Titles
With nearly a century of history, “Cup” or “Intersectional” competition brings sections together against one another, meaning a Middle States team will compete against other USTA Sections from around the country. The […]
Andy Murray makes surprise visit to Philadelphia
Tennis, pumpkin bread and…Andy Murray? One day in October, a group of local players experienced just that. Homa Tavangar (far right) and a group of tennis friends had gotten together for a […]
2018 Fall Version NetPLAY Magazine
The 2018 Fall Version of NetPLAY Magazine highlights news, events and accomplishments in the tennis world, throughout Middle States and beyond. Our mission to promote and develop the growth of tennis is on […]
Join a Team! Upcoming USTA Adult Leagues
Love team play? USTA League is the country’s largest recreational tennis league with more than 300,000 players nationwide competing on teams while meeting new people and getting physically active. There are plenty of USTA Middle States […]
Middle States 2018 Pro Circuit Recap
This summer USTA Middle States hosted three pro circuit events, the ResortQuest Pro Women’s Open at Sea Colony, the 2018 $15k Men’s Futures of Pittsburgh, and the Koser Jewelers $60,000 Tennis Challenge. […]
League Championships and Updates
USTA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS WEBPAGE USTA Adult League Captain of the Month Marie Johns-McCall (EPD District) 2019 Middle States USTA League Section Championships Schedule and Info (PDFs may be difficult to view if […]
A Different View
Coach long enough, and tennis starts to look different. Coach as long as Arvind Aravindhan, and you see a completely different game. For more than 30 years, Aravindhan has been the Director […]
Tennis Power Couple: Parents, Coaches and Managers
Sweta and Ajay Singhal were nominated by the New Jersey District as outstanding parent coaches/managers for their daughters’ Junior Team Tennis Team. We caught up with Sweta and Ajay to discuss JTT, funny moments on the court, and their outlook on coaching.
