OUR VALUES

​Young tennis players face tremendous economic barriers to success, as did Arthur Ashe, the Williams sisters and John McEnroe himself.  JMTP works with youth already engaged in tennis, as well as with those who have yet to begin their journeys.   We offer an accessible, funded Pathway for student-athletes, tournament players, and potential world champions. Pathway programs include high-quality group lessons for local schools and Community Based Organizations, individual SPORTIME and John McEnroe Tennis Academy scholarships, as well as coaching and travel support to aspiring college and tournament players. Some will become world-class tennis champions, many will leverage competitive tennis into college scholarships and valuable tennis-based opportunities, and all will have the opportunity to become life-long players.

The dream is to bring the buzz back to American tennis, starting in New York. Tennis is a great community-sport, but we need to make it more accessible to those of every income level and in communities where tennis has not been accessible in the past."

JOHN MCENROE

FREE COMMUNITY TENNIS

Average college achievement and health indicators are far lower in the communities neighboring Randall’s Island than in greater New York City or nationwide. JMTP invests in empowering our local youth by offering free tennis classes throughout the school year. Sessions lasting up to 34 weeks, serve between 50-100 children each school day, and are provided on- and off-site at local public and charter schools.​

​JMTP ensures that our community programs are high quality and age appropriate.  Participants learn from word-class SPORTIME/JMTA coaches, ensuring that kids are able to actually play tennis from the moment they step on a court, to learn experientially, and to have fun.

EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

Community Program participants who demonstrate potential and desire, graduate to the JMTP Excellence Program, which features four hours of dynamic group training weekly, during the school year, and additional training during the summer. Transportation, increased personal attention, and tennis equipment are all included.​
​
Excellence Program coaches have been trained in our Under 10 philosophy and techniques. Working through clearly defined stages of development that follow a progression of court sizes, ball types (red, orange, green, yellow) and net heights, the coaches help Excellence players and their families prepare for long-term tennis training and success.

COLLEGE PATHWAY &
ADVANCED TRAINING

Through scholarship tryouts and a dynamic  recruiting and outreach effort, we place children from surrounding neighborhoods into our ongoing programs. This, the next phase of our long-term investment in fulfilling our mission: to remove racial, economic, and social barriers to success through tennis. Our goal is that no New York City child with ability and interest will be denied the opportunity to receive a college education through tennis.
​
JMTA/JMTP players have placed into NCAA collegiate programs including Amherst, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, University of North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Yale, among others.

To date, JMTP has provided over $6M in scholarships and tournament support for competitive players. Through a new partnership with BNP Paribas, JMTP is now able to provide increased financial assistance to deserving young players, allowing for intensive training and access to local, national and international competition as well as guidance in preparing for the demands of collegiate and professional tennis.