Laver Cup legacy transforms public courts in the Bay Area

The courts are buzzing on a sun-splashed afternoon in John McLaren Park, home to one of five Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA) sites across the Bay Area.

The six-court facility sits high atop the sprawling park, offering sweeping views of San Francisco below; the Transamerica Pyramid, Salesforce Tower and the Bay Bridge rising up in the distance. Just down the hill is the city’s largest public housing project, Sunnydale, an aging low-income development notorious for its neglect.

It’s here, on a daily basis, that the YTA is making a difference in the lives of underserved kids ages eight to 18 with a mix of after-school and summer programs centering on tennis, academics and life skills.

“Tennis can be so much more than just a sport. It’s a ticket to a better life for these kids,” says YTA co-founder Michael Skinner. “Not in the sense that they’re going to become the next Frances Tiafoe, but they stay in our programs sometimes for five to 10 years, and then go on to college. Last year, two of them went on to the Ivy League. Three were nationally ranked. The combination of tennis and academics is powerful.”

Skinner’s mission began more than 50 years ago, when he was pulled into the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) fold by none other than the visionary Arthur Ashe. “He helped me start our program here,” says Skinner of the late International Tennis Hall of Famer Ashe, the first Black man to win major singles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. “He’d come out to our sites in San Francisco, in Oakland. Arthur was the inspiration and continues to be the inspiration.”

The YTA was formed in 1999 when the NJTL merged with the Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF). The non-profit doesn’t charge any fees, and therefore relies on donations and grants to keep its San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond sites up and running. The Laver Cup recently teamed up with the USTA Foundation and Mercedes-Benz to resurface the McLaren Park courts, which have long suffered from cracking and drainage issues. Additional funds raised during Laver Cup weekend at the Chase Center will also go to the YTA, as well as to East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring (EPATT).

Launched in 1988, EPATT has long been recognized as one of the top tennis-and-education programs in the nation, providing both in- and after-school tutoring and instruction to more than 600 K-12 students. After years without a full-time home, EPATT recently unveiled a new six-court, four-classroom facility at the Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School.

“We’re so proud to partner with the Laver Cup here in the Bay Area,” says Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of the USTA Foundation. “Altogether, we’ll be able to provide more than 1,400 young people access to tennis at no cost, access to education, mentorship and life skills that will prepare them for all the challenges they might face in life.”

Back at McLaren Park, they’re playing five-on-five. The game is simple: Do your best to keep the ball in play, then go to the back of the line until it’s your turn again. First team to 21 wins. On an adjacent court, longtime coaches Carl Mendoza and Julio César Martinez are feeding tennis balls to an eager group, emphasizing the basics: Forehands and backhands on repeat. Laughter and shouts of encouragement echo across the park.

“We’re working on fitness, but you can do it through a lens of fun,” says Martinez.

The YTA served more than 800 kids last year, about 400 of whom were year-round participants. The organization hopes to double that number in the next three to five years. None of this, says Skinner, would be possible without financial backing.

“It’s transformative,” explains Skinner. “The kids compete against each other, they support each other. When they have bad days or their home life is getting rough, they always have people they can count on, who see and respect them.”

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