On August 29, five delegates from the Anguilla Tennis Academy travelled to New York to attend the 2007 US Open Championships. The US Open is one of the four major grand slam tournaments and the last one of the year. The previous year, both Mitch Lake and Jason Allen attended the tournament and decided that it would be a great professional development opportunity for the ATA staff so that they could become more familiar with the tennis industry at all levels of play.

L-R: Calyde Hughes Daryl Thompson Denny Derrick Vallan Hodge and Mitch Lake attend the 2007 US Open

The president of the ATA Mitch Lake, Head Pro of Malliouhana Hotel and Spa Vallan Hodge, Assistant Pro of Cuisinart Resort and Spa Denny Derrick, ATA assistant pros Daryl Thompson and Calyde Hughes attended the tournament on August 30-31 during the day sessions and witnessed the top male and female players of the world compete.

The trip was made possible by Mr. Matthew Bronfman, a frequent visitor to Anguilla who sits on the board of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Mr. Bronfman procured the tickets and pledged his support to the efforts of the ATA in Anguilla. Mitch said, “I am excited that the ATA staff was able to come to the US Open. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and will be an eye opener for the staff in terms of understanding how hard one has to work in order to achieve a high level of play. Knowing this will help them coach the children better. I also want to say thank you to Matthew Bronfman for helping us get here.”

During the tournament the ATA staff saw top players such as Serena Williams, Roger Rederer, Any Roddick, and many more. They also received autographs from the big names and took various photos. Vallan Hodge, Head Pro of Malliouhana Hotel and Spa, said, “this tournament has opened my eyes to a whole new world of tennis and I am going to work harder to get closer to their level of play and coach the children to become great players as well.”

Both Mitch and Jason hope to make this yearly pilgrimage to the US Open a continued tradition and hope to bring some children next year as well.

L-R: Calyde Hughes Daryl Thompson Denny Derrick Vallan Hodge and Mitch Lake attend the 2007 US Open

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