September 2008 -- I am a strong advocate of continuing education and have attended more than 25 national USPTA World Conferences, as well as scores of sectional Mid-Atlantic divisional conferences. Like many pros, I have heard presentations on the advantages of networking in the tennis business. Most of these have focused on promoting personal growth. This article does not deal with networking in that context, however. It is about teaching professionals promoting tennis for the good of our student base and the obligation that all professionals share in giving top U.S. players a chance at competing on the world stage.
Anna's introduction
I had never heard of Anna Lubinsky until I received a call in early September from one of my closest USPTA friends, Tom Ingram from the Texas Division. I met Tom at a national convention after being introduced to him by his brother John, whom I met at the first national convention I attended in Hawaii in the early 1980s. Over the years, Tom has been a great friend and doubles partner. I stayed with Tom and his family when I attended the Competitive Player Development Conference in Houston in November 2004. Now that I live half the year in Bradenton, Fla., I always invite Tom down to stay with me and play some tennis when I'm in the off season as tennis professional at a swim and tennis club in Potomac, Md.
Tom and I chitchat on occasion so it was not unusual for him to call and check in with me over the course of the summer. During the conversation Tom asked me when I would be in Florida for the winter of 2007. He then asked if I could do both him and his brother a personal favor by providing housing to the daughter of a USPTA pro from Texas who was given an invitation to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in November and December in an effort to make it on the tour in 2008.
Tom said the young lady's name was Anna Lubinsky, the daughter of Mary Lubinsky, a USPTA Developmental Coach from the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas. I was glad to help out since IMG Academies is only 10 minutes from my winter home and an easy daily commute for Anna. When we ended the conversation Tom said he would have Mary call me with the final details.
Anna's big breakSince I had heard no more about the request to help Anna, I was surprised to hear from Mary in late October to see if the offer was still good to have her daughter stay with me when she was training. It was during this conversation that Mary informed me that Anna was a May 2007 graduate of Texas A&M University, where she played No. 1 singles, twice made first team All-Big 12 Conference in both singles and doubles and was the ITA Southwest Region Player of the Year in 2007.
Anna had interned at IMG Academies to fulfill an internship requirement for her finance degree between her junior and senior years at A&M. While there she received a 30-minute lesson by USPTA Master Professional Nick Bollettieri.
Although I have never met Nick personally, I have always respected his place in American junior tennis development and have heard him lecture many times at various tennis conferences. He always is sincere in his attempt to promote the game of tennis and help aspiring tennis talent fulfill their potential. It was during this lesson that Nick informed Anna that he saw promise in her tennis skills and offered her a chance to train at IMG Academies after she graduated from college. The only caveat was that she must find her own housing during her stay. Such a generous offer by a tennis legend could not be squandered, and Anna, through the help of her mother Mary and the Ingram brothers, was taking Nick up on his offer.
Although Mary's only request was that Anna be granted access to a car to help in her commute, it didn't seem like I was going to be inconvenienced at all. I could tell Mary was somewhat apprehensive about allowing her 23-year-old daughter to stay with a total stranger for nearly a month so far away from home, but I did my best to assure her that I was glad to help out anyone recommended by my friends the Ingram brothers. I gave Mary all the details, and as far as I was concerned the deal was set to begin the last week of November.
I arrived in Bradenton as planned after Thanksgiving and began my winter hiatus. I figured the arrangement was off since I had heard nothing further. I also knew Anna had her grandparents' home in Tampa as a backup plan, and other than a much longer commute, she might find that scenario more comfortable. I even went to the prestigious ITF Eddie Herr International invitational tennis tournament in early December to see if I might run into Anna by chance and introduce myself to her. As luck would have it, all training during that week was postponed.
On Tuesday of the Eddie Herr tournament I finally heard from Anna, who asked if the offer was still good for her to stay with me. It so happens that she had moved her training site during the Eddie Herr tournament from the IMG Academies to a tennis school at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa under the direction of USPTA Professional Steve Smith. There she was training with Sarah Foster, a college teammate at A&M, until the tournament at IMG ended. Since she had no way to get back to Bradenton other than a Greyhound bus, I agreed to pick her up in Tampa and transport her to Bradenton for her final two weeks of training.
The dedicated professionalUpon her return to the IMG Academies, I began to realize the significant amount of luck, skill, trust and finances it was going to take to complete the tennis journey for Anna Lubinsky. When we stopped to eat on our way back to Bradenton, our conversation led to her personal expectations, and I found Anna to be very realistic regarding her fortunate chain of events. She was appreciative and thankful for all the help she had received along the way, and she was not going to let her one chance slip by without giving it her best effort. She was more mature than any young adult I have been fortunate to meet in a long time.
In her first professional tournament at the Baylor Medical Pro Classic in Fort Worth, Texas, Anna won the sportsmanship award for her skill, class, ability to play fair and win or lose with dignity. During our conversations for two weeks it was always the same with her: "This is my one shot at my dream, and I'm going to do everything possible to leave it all on the court when I'm done."
The "tweener"In sports parlance, Anna is a "tweener." Her parents are middle class and she trained at a public facility, the Fretz Tennis Center, throughout her junior tennis years. Even though she was heavily recruited on a national level by colleges, she was not fortunate enough to train and study in an academy tennis setting. She attended a typical high school and played soccer and basketball in her youth.
It is unfortunate - in the scheme of American tennis - when Anna, a summa cum laude finance graduate who finished in the top 30 in NCAA Division I (ranked as high as 17 in the nation her senior year), is not promoted nor assisted as much as a 16-year-old junior who is fortunate enough to be recruited by a tennis academy or has the financial resources to travel on an international basis with a coach. I always felt that part of my tennis fees paid to the USTA was earmarked for the growth of the game and the good of promising American prospects. But according to Anna, tennis is all about youth, not about late bloomers or collegiate honor students.
A keen perspective/A hopeful outcomeAfter two weeks of staying with me it was time for Anna to leave for home and spend the Christmas vacation with her family back in the Dallas area. As we drove to the Tampa airport, Anna was happily anticipating seeing her family again and training at home at the T-Bar Ranch Tennis Center, where she works with the youth program in her spare time. We laughed about our time together and smiled at the extraordinary chain of "networking" events that had benefited her cause.
Six USPTA Professionals collaborated in Florida to help Anna make it on the pro tour. All did so to promote the dream of the daughter of a fellow professional. It was somewhat lucky, but mostly it was an unselfish effort to get it done. Had it not been for Nick Bollettieri's offer, a fortunate conversation with Anna's mom at a team practice led by John Ingram and attended by his brother Tommy, a phone call from Tommy to me about providing a place to stay in Florida, and Steve Smith giving an alternate practice site, this could not have been done!
Out of the blue, Anna said to me as we stopped to unload her baggage for her flight home, "Tennis makes the world seem small."
Thank you, fellow USPTA pros, for seeing the big picture here and coming to the aid of Anna Lubinsky. Sometimes in the tennis business we fail to see the importance of reaching out to touch someone in need. We concern ourselves with the monetary outcome instead of the opportunity our positions afford us to help others reach their goals. This situation reminds me of a little ditty my Dad taught me in my younger years: "It's nice to be important; but it's more important to be nice!"
I hope Anna makes it in her quest for success in professional tennis. So far, she has won two doubles titles and attained a world ranking of No. 802 in singles and 671 in doubles. Good luck, Anna, and don't be afraid to reach out for that network again. It's all for the good of the game.
Terry Killen is a P-1 and a 35-year member of the USPTA. He is a six-time Maryland Pro of the Year, a three-time Washington, D.C., Pro of the Year, former Mid-Atlantic Division Coach of the Year, and an eight-time Mid-Atlantic 45-and-Over Player of the Year. He has coached championship teams on the club, high school, and collegiate levels. Killen also is the proud father of USPTA P-1 Terence R. Killen of Gaithersburg, Md. 
