Join us in celebrating Sasha Malysheva and Jordan Phillips on Wednesday, May 25, when these two young ladies graduate from ATA College Prep.
The evening kicks off with an Art Exhibit and Reception at 6:45 pm with the commencement ceremony starting at 7:15 pm. A dessert reception will immediately follow the ceremony.
The evening’s activities take place at the Austin Tennis Academy located at 6800 Spanish Oaks Club Drive in Austin, Texas.
This summer, your child can take advantage of the Austin Tennis Academy’s Summer Tennis Camps to progress at a rapid rate. Along with our Morning Camps, we are also holding an afternoon Tournament Tough session for Academy-level players.
Let’s focus first on the Morning Camps. There are three different session levels for Morning Summer camp sessions:
QuickStart Summer Camp for 5-8 year olds
Orange/Green Summer Camp for 8-11 year olds
Yellow Ball Summer Camp for 12-14 year olds
ATA will hold 11 weeks of Summer Morning Camps. The morning session will run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 -11:00 AM each week. Friday is reserved as a rain makeup day.
There will also be 11 weeks offered of the Afternoon Tournament Tough Camp Session, which is limited to players competing at the UTR levels highlighted below based on age.
Age Division/Minimum UTR
B18/6.0 G18/5.0
B16/5.0 G16/4.2
B14/4.5. G14/3.5
B12/3.5. G12/3.0
B11/3.0 G11/2.5
Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive gamesituations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training.
ATA welcomes guest players to attend these afternoon camps for just one week, multiple weeks, or the entire summer. Anyone interested in registering your child to attend a week, or several weeks, at our Tournament Tough Camps, should email a request to deb.cahill@austintennisacademy.com.
Click here for more information on each of the camp levels as well as to register your child to attend.
Dates have just been released for The Texas Slam 2022. It will held June 10-19 in Geogetown. The Texas Slam is a Level 3 Closed National Tournament and considered Texas’ Sectionals. Around 1,000 kids ages 11-18 compete in the annual tournament, making it the largest junior tournament in the United States.
While specific details about the 2022 tournament have not yet been published, it would be a good idea to start making hotel reservations if your child plans to compete at The Texas Slam.
Here is the link where the latest information about The Texas Slam will be released.
This year is moving quickly, and there are some important events on the Austin Tennis Academy’s calendar that we wanted to tell you about in advance so you can save the dates. Here’s the list:
MAY 25 – ATA COLLEGE PREP GRADUATION
MAY 26 – ATA END OF YEAR PARTY
OCTOBER 28 – SHOOTOUT 2022 PLAYER PARTY
OCTOBER 29 – SHOOTOUT 2022
Of course, we will be sending out more information about each of these events in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for those emails and posts, and of course, we hope to see you at each one of these events!
The Isner Charity Cup will be held in Dallas on February 4th, the Friday night before the ATP 250 Dallas Open kicks off, and it should be an amazing event. Names of the ATP players competing in the exhibition have just been announced. They include John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, Bob and Mike Bryan, Sam Querrey, and Tommy Paul. The six ATP players will compete in a team format, each team comprised of three players, competing for the coveted Isner Cup.
This is the first year the Isner Charity Cup will be held. Money raised from the charity event will go to The Isner Family Foundation, an endowed fund created to support Indigent Family Assistance by providing financial support for qualified families to obtain necessities, such as meals, clothing, transportation, lodging, and medical supplies while their children are undergoing care from Children’s Health.
Coach Jack Newman will be attending the event and hopes members of the ATA pack will join him in Dallas on Friday, Feb. 4 at SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. Gates open at 5:30pm for happy hour and beats by DJ Lucy Wrubel. Tennis will begin at 6:30pm.
Click here to purchase Isner Charity Cup tickets.
Austin Tennis Academy is proud to be a sponsor of this inaugural event.
Austin Tennis Academy Coach Shaimaa Elsisi came to the United States more than 19 years ago to play college tennis armed with the hope of one day becoming a permanent resident in this country. Now, thanks to help from Coach Newman and ATA, one of her biggest dreams has finally come true.
“A lot of people in the United States don’t recognize just how lucky they are to live in this country,” said Coach Shaimaa. “Living here is amazing and now I don’t ever have to leave.” Just before the arrival of the new year, Coach Shaimaa received her official Green Card, the immigration document which allows her to live in the U.S. permanently and opens the pathway to citizenship.
“Receiving my green card was one of the happiest days of my life. It means everything,” said Coach Shaimaa. While her home country is Egypt, after originally coming to the U.S. on a student Visa, she’s not been able go back to visit family or leave this country for any reason for the past 13 years; receiving a green card changes that. Coach Shaimaa can now legally travel to dozens of other countries, including Egypt, without fear of not being allowed back into the U.S.
The immigration process is not easy and can take a lot of time. In fact, Coach Shaimaa’s hopes for getting a green card had been dashed several times over the years, but she never gave up and kept believing the right opportunity would present itself one day. “He didn’t hesitate when I asked him to sponsor me in my efforts to obtain a green card,” said Coach Shaimaa. “Coach Newman is always helping. He’s always trying to make sure everyone who works for him is okay.”
“Supporting Coach Shaimaa was an easy yes when she asked.” said Jack Newman, Owner and CEO of Austin Tennis Academy. “She’s a great part of our community. She’s put in the hard work; she’s sacrificed. She demonstrates the right character traits I want our students to see. She has a great attitude and provides wonderful service to her clients and members of the ATA community. It’s only right to pour into her.”
Saying yes meant Newman/ATA provided financial support with providing an immigration attorney and with the U.S. government. “That’s just time and money. I didn’t consider her request a big deal,” said Newman. Coach Shaimaa isn’t the first coach who worked for ATA that Newman sponsored in their quest for a green card. ATA and Newman provided the same kind of support for Estevam Strecker.
Within the tennis industry, ATA is not only seen as one of the best junior academies in the country, but also as a rare and special place. Coach Newman says he’s often asked about how he does things differently at ATA, and his answer reveals one of his strongest beliefs. “It’s critical to take care of the people who make your business successful,” said Newman. “It’s easier to retain good talent than it is to attract new. How we pay, train, and treat our employees is all part of an effort to keep them for as long as we can.”
Coach Newman comes from a family of immigrants; he was the first to be born in the United States. He believes it’s important to recognize and support immigrants, including those within his own staff. “Becoming a permanent resident, and ultimately a U.S. citizen is important to Coach Shaimaa and her family for a lot of different reasons.” said Newman. “The resulting return is going to be off the charts. It’s a win win.” The way Coach Shaimaa sees it, Coach Newman and ATA made a dream come true.
One of the most significant events in a junior tennis player’s career is their Signing Ceremony, and there are two ATA seniors we will be celebrating this coming Monday, January 10.
Neha Dania will be signing to play college tennis at the University of Rochester,
and Devan Sabapathy will be heading to NYU for his college tennis career.
We’re proud of the work and dedication these two have put in necessary to realize their dreams of playing collegiate tennis, and we hope you’ll join us for their Signing Ceremony. There will be speeches, lots of laughs, even a few tears shed, and of course, cake.
Join the celebration Monday at 6:30 pm on Court 6 at Austin Tennis Academy.
Shootout 2021, ATA’s annual fundraising event for Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation, kicks off Friday night and will run through Saturday afternoon. We’re thrilled that we are able to hold the entire event in person this year on the grounds at Austin Tennis Academy. Here’s the rundown for Friday and Saturday.
Friday Night’s Player Party
6:00 PM: Cocktails, Hors D’oeuvres and Auction
7:00 PM: Dinner
7:45 PM: Shootout Show
The Players Party is being held in a giant party tent being erected Wednesday in the open ground space adjacent to Court 12. Attendees will park in ATA’s parking lot, follow the sidewalk that goes in front of the pro shop to get to Court 12 and then follow the lights/lit path to the tent. Once inside, you’ll find the bar serving various drinks, including our signature drink for the evening, The Honey Deuce (we snagged this one from the US Open where it’s been the most popular cocktail for the past 15 years), hors d’oeuvres, and tables loaded with auction items for you to check out and bid on.
Dinner will be served at 7 PM and then Coach Jack Newman will kick off the program at 7:45. He’s going to do his best to not only make sure everyone has a great time, but also wrap up everything before too late since many of you will be playing tennis the next morning.
Saturday Tennis
Saturday morning kicks off with breakfast served and warmup on court at 8:00 AM. Matches will begin at 9:00 with eight different teams competing for the coveted Shootout title. Bidding can still be done on the auction items out in the party tent. In fact, that’s where you’ll find Deb Cahill selling those ‘oh so valuable Point Chips’ that players want to make sure they possess on court during their matches; spectators will want to have some ‘Point Chips’ of their own to help spur on their team to victory. Lunch will be ready starting at 11:30. Coach Newman expects the matches to wrap by at least 2 PM when the winning team will be announced.
The Shootout never disappoints! There’s still time if you haven’t purchased your ticket to play or attend Friday night’s party. Click here to get in on all the fun!! For those who can’t attend in person, Friday night’s party will be streamed live on ATA’s YouTube channel. Click here for that livestream link.
Thank You to our Sponsors!
KickStand Communications
Salvation Pizza
Wilson
Coach Kevin Realty
Ron Yates Winery
Spicewood Vineyards
For the second year in a row, ATA College Prep student Sasha Malysheva is being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. She received a commendation for being one of the 50,000 highest-scoring students in the country on the PSAT.
Every year, more than 4.5 million high school juniors take the PSAT which enters them into the National Merit Scholarship program, a national academic competition for high school students to provide financial aid to attend college. Malysheva is one of less than 5{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of those test takers to receive a commendation. Congratulations!
There are a lot of exciting things happening in Austin coming up in October. One of them is our 21st Annual Shootout raising money for Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation. Another is the final round of qualifying matches for the World Cup between USA and Jamaica.
To kick off festivities for Shootout 2021, we’re launching an early bird auction which happens to be all about one of the hottest tickets in town ~ TEAM USA vs JAMAICA. We’ve got 4 tickets to the match where Team USA competes to stay in the hunt for the World Cup.
This auction item includes 4 tickets to the USA vs JAM match on October 7 at 6:30 pm. Bidding begins tomorrow (Monday, Sept 27) at 6:00 AM and will run through 11:59 PM on Sunday, October 3.
To place a bid, simply click here. Plus, you can get your family and friends to text ‘GIVEAASF’ to 855-202-2100 to get the link to this auction. The highest bidder will be notified automatically. Tickets will be transferred to the winner electronically.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to cheer on Team USA and raise money for AASF.
Junior Team Tennis Fall season is quickly approaching! JTT is an awesome opportunity for players to compete within a team environment, set goals, be exposed to challenging competition, receive on-court coaching and play for something greater than individual merit. Teams are based on age and development level. It is a perfect first competitive experience for JD and QuickStart players (there is even an 8&U Red Ball division) who have never played tournaments and it is a valuable vehicle for more experienced players to work on various areas of their game. League winners in several levels will represent Austin at the state tournament this November.
Tentative start of the season is September 26, and the deadline to register your child to play is Monday, September 13. Matches are played Sunday afternoons and consist of 8 game pro sets (2 sets to 4 in 10U divisions). A typical day begins with a warm-up 30 minutes prior to start time; matches last approximately two and a half hours. Players should plan to stay through the end of the match and support their teammates. Half of the matches are played at ATA and the other half at the opponent’s sites in Austin. For our regular tournament participants, we will be playing a one-weekend event instead of a weekly Sunday afternoon league. Dates for the event are not yet determined.
Commitment: Teams consist of 4-8 players who must commit to playing a majority of the matches. If an occasional conflict arises, it is imperative to communicate with the coach to prevent a default. For each match, teams are assigned a coach/academy player. There have been times when coaches are traveling and academy players are in tournaments and we may ask the help of a parent.
Cost: $150 for the season. Players must be a current member of the USTA or be willing to register. Become a member online at www.usta.com and click on membership. Junior memberships are free and include access to all USTA tournaments, leagues and a subscription to various tennis publications. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the number of matches per season, because it depends upon how many teams register and how well the team does.
ATA parents please check your inbox for an email from Coach Brian Notice with information about how to register your child to play on one of ATA’s teams. If you have any questions, please reply to our JTT Coordinators, Coach AJ Garcia and Coach Brian Notis @ aj.garcia@austintennisacademy.com and brian.notis@austintennisacademy.com if you have any questions. Coach AJ will be organizing the JD and JA level teams and Coach Notis will be organizing the Academy level teams. Deadline to register is Monday, September 13. Schedules will go out after JTT captains meeting on September 15th.
The past several seasons have seen multiple ATA teams represented in the state championship as well as the national championships. ATA has won 4 national JTT championships over the past few years and also dozens of state titles!
Friday (August 13) at 11:30 PM is the deadline to get your child registered to play in the Little Mo South Regionals tournament coming up on August 21-23. The South Regionals is open to any USA player (ages 8-12) and will be held at the Arlington Tennis Center. There are already more than 200 players registered to compete.
11:30 PM FRIDAY AUGUST 13 DEADLINE: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Any “Little Mo” player who wins their yellow ball division will receive a special travel grant during the tournament. Travel grants will also be awarded to the 2nd place, 3rd place, and 4th place players in each of the yellow ball divisions.
The top four yellow ball players (semifinalists) in each age division from each of the four Regionals will advance to the Nationals, forming a 16 draw size in each age division. If you advance to the semifinal round (top 4) in your age division at the Regionals and you (and your parent/coach) have followed the Code of Conduct, you will receive your Nationals invitation (with a special code needed for registration) by email from the MCB office following the event. While the green dot players will not be able to advance to the Nationals, we might consider them as replacement players if there is an opening in the yellow ball divisions.
Once again this year, Little Mo Nationals will be held at Austin Tennis Academy September 24-27.
The 21st Annual Shootout will be held the fourth weekend in October. All the fun kicks off Friday evening, October 22 with the Player Party. Then things heat up on court when the actual Shootout swings into action bright and early Saturday, October 23.
Each year, Austin Tennis Academy holds the Shootout to raise money for the Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)3 created to give back to the community. The AASF is dedicated to serving students in the form of grants for travel, training, and academics; its goal is to identify players who have a philanthropic spirit and commit themselves to giving back to the community.
We hope you’ll not only save the date, but also take part in this year’s fundraiser and shootout!
USTA Texas announced its annual junior tennis award recipients in conjunction with The Texas Slam, a week-long tournament featuring nearly 1,000 competitive junior tennis players from across the state which kicks off tomorrow morning.
Among the winners, ATA’s Mason Vaughan received the Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award.
Eleven players in total walked away with hardware, as the governing body of Texas tennis honored junior players throughout the state for their tennis prowess, as well as their sportsmanship on and off the court. Awards are presented to outstanding juniors across four age brackets in both boys and girls divisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no awards ceremony was held this year. Instead, players submitted acceptance speeches online, which can be viewed at www.thetxslam.com.
Congratulations to each of the 2021 Junior Awards Winners listed below.
John McFarlin Award: Lucas Brown, Plano
Mary Lowdon Award: Victoria Zhao, Houston
Maureen Connolly Brinker Award: Katie Garofolo-Ro, Houston
Art Foust Sportsmanship Award: Lucas Brown, Plano
Zina Garrison Sportsmanship Award: Victoria Zhao, Houston
Bob McKinley Sportsmanship Award: Ted Gershon, Austin
Barbara Smith Sportsmanship Award: Nadia Valdez, San Antonio
Paul Christian Sportsmanship Award: Qasym Dar, Houston
Emily Schaefer Sportsmanship Award: Ashlyn Burrows, Richardson
Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award: Mason Vaughan, Austin
Chuck McKinley Award: Ashlyn Krueger, Lewisville
Katrina Adams will be at Black Pearl Bookstore on Thursday at 6pm to promote her new book “Own the Arena” — and answer your questions! Today is the deadline to order an advance copy and reserve your spot at her book signing. Click here to purchase .
Katrina has the unique perspective of being a NCAA doubles champion, a touring player, on-air analyst, and the chairman and CEO of US tennis’ highest governing body. She was the first African American to lead the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the first two term Chairman and President of said organization, and the first former player to hold that honor.
If you have ever wondered about the drive it takes to be a successful professional athlete and transitioning to careers in tennis off court, Katrina can answer. Let’s all show her a big Austin welcome!
Liam Leddy, who attended Austin Tennis Academy and ATA College Prep more than 10 years ago, is back, however, this time Leddy takes on the role of an instructor at College Prep. “Liam and my son Josh shared their childhood as close friends in school and in sports,” said Carol Hagar, Head of School. “I have always appreciated Liam’s curiosity, creativity, quick wit, quirkiness, and love of learning, and his pragmatic approach to most topics lends itself to very interesting and entertaining discourse. It is exciting and humbling for him to join his alma mater as a young professional, teacher, and coach and I look forward to our students’ learning with him.”
Along with teaching responsibilities in the fall, Leddy will take on some coaching as well. “There’s nothing better than having someone complete the circle,” said Coach Jack Newman. “Liam started off as a student, went on to be an awesome student at the University of Chicago, has spent some time in the real world, and now is back with us as a teacher and a coach. Nothing better. He knows the culture. He knows what to expect.”
Leddy grew up in the Austin area, and admits he’s excited to be back as a teacher. ”I hope to bring pragmatism, harsh reality, and a lot of dry humor to student-athletes,” said Leddy. “Also knowledge, obviously, or, rather, the tools they need to seek out, vet, and retain knowledge on their own.”
When asked what has stuck with him since his time as a student-athlete at ATA Leddy responded, “I learned a great deal at ATA, but the lessons that have stuck with me the longest are: 1) Not every moment is the right moment to question authority 2) Discomfort is a prerequisite for growth 3) Energy and attention must be focused on what can be controlled, not what cannot be.”
Leddy becomes the sixth student to return to ATA as a coach and/or teacher. Among those alumni: Shane Berber, Tommy Collins, Brandon Davis, AJ Garcia, and Ashley Weinhold. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from University of Chicago, a Master’s in Education from Dominican University (the one in Illinois, not the one in California) and a Master’s in Data Science from the Harvard Extension School.
How cool is that?! ATA makes the cut and is listed as one of the Top 10 Best Tennis Academies in the USA. That declaration comes from ‘MyTennisHQ’ ~ a site created by tennis athletes who are focused on helping people understand and navigate the sport of tennis.
According to the article, Austin Tennis Academy is probably the most famous tennis academy in the state of Texas. It is located in Austin, and it has 14 tennis courts (12 hard and 2 red clay), a large gym, and classrooms. ATA does not have any on-site dorms, which is slightly different from the other large academies. ATA offers different programs depending on your level of commitment.
Thanks ‘MyTennisHQ’ for giving ATA such high accolades!
Les Petites As is the most prestigious event in the world for 14U junior tennis players. This competition has witnessed the first steps of many champions such as Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Lindsay Davenport and, recently, Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff. And this year, the road to compete in Les Petites As for American players will begin at the Austin Tennis Academy and five other locations across the country.
The US Playoffs Lacoste series is open to EVERY American player (boys and girls, 14 and under, born in 2007 or later), and will see events happening in California, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. The Series Events will be hosted between June 12 to 28, 2021 and all player selection, seeding and the draw will be based on verified UTRs for each player. The top 32 boys and the top 32 girls will be selected for each event.
The qualifying event at Austin Tennis Academy takes place June 26-28. Registration is now open and will close on June 20 at 12:00 pm CDT.
The winners of each Series Event (6 boys and 6 girls) will qualify for the USA Playoffs Lacoste along with 20 other players (10 boys and 10 girls, 14 and under) selected for direct entrance (list of players to be communicated soon) for a total of 32 American players (16 boys and 16 girls, 14 and under) who will compete at the USA Playoffs Lacoste in Florida from July 25 to 29, 2021 to qualify.
Out of those 32 players competing at the US Playoffs Lacoste, 8 players (4 boys and 4 girls, 14 and under) will earn a spot to represent the United States at Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste scheduled for September 4 to 12, 2021 in France. Among the 8 participants, that would include the following boys and girls: • Winner of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • Runner-up of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • 3rd place Finisher of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • 4th place Finisher of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Qualifier)
Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste is an international tennis tournament considered as the world championships for 14 and under players. Normally, it takes place each year in January at Tarbes, France, except this year because of the global pandemic it has been postponed to September of 2021.
Coach Brian Notis, a certified member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), recently received recognition for outstanding participation in the association’s continuing education program.
Coach Notis, Director of Junior Academy for Austin Tennis Academy, was awarded a Level 1 Certificate of Achievement for earning 26 credits in the USPTA’s Career Development Program over a one-year period.
“As an association, we know that career development is vital to our tennis-teaching professionals and coaches,” said USPTA CEO John Embree. “Through our Career Development Program, we are ensuring all USPTA-certified members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to enhance their careers. To see our members taking advantage of those educational opportunities and striving to earn more than the minimum education requirement personifies a commitment to personal and professional excellence.”
Coach Notis has been coaching junior tennis players for more than 20 years.
You might want to start making plans now and booking your hotel rooms. The Texas Slam is coming to Georgetown in June. It is the largest junior tournament in the United States with around 1,000 kids ages 11-18 competing in the annual tournament. The Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the event last year. Dates for this year’s tournament are June 19 – 27.
Are you ready?