A Grand Slam Evening of Tennis

Last Tuesday, I experienced something that I never thought possible.  I was within feet of a handful of my favorite people as a young teenager and even today.  My boyfriend scored some tickets to the Milan Smash Hits Tennis Classic hosted by Billie Jean King and Elton John.

To some this might not seem that amazing but to tennis lovers like myself, this was a dream come true.  Not only was I in the presence of the great Billie Jean King (sadly she didn't play) and music legend Elton John (he played and it was hilarious) but Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Martina Navratilova.  It was amazing!

And to top it off my all time favorite tennis player, Steffi Graf was there!  In sixth grade, we had to do a biographical book report, dress up as our person and present to the class.  I chose Steffi Graf.  She is one of the reasons I think I really started to love tennis.  It was awesome to actually see her play.

Oh and Franco Harris was there too!

It was a fundraiser for AIDs.  Pittsburgh was a grand slam for breaking records with money raised.  The evening raised more than a million dollars for the AIDs foundation.

Our seats were right next to the entrance, so at the end all of the players all came through and gave autographs.  Andre and Steffi rushed through but I was able to manage an autograph from Martina, three of the other younger players, Franco and the guy that played Michael Ohr in the Blind Side.

I'm so excited that I had this opportunity!  Shout out to my awesome boyfriend for taking me!  It was a once in a lifetime experience!

It's Like Christmas Morning...New Tennis Courts!!!

Two-three days a week I pass the tennis courts at the Shaler High School.  It kills me to watch others play on days that I know I'm too busy to pick up the racket and get a game in.  Normally and unfortunately, the courts are vacant since not enough people play tennis.

This summer, Shaler FINALLY got new tennis courts and I have been watching the entire process progress on my commutes.  It's about time!  And I must say, I have been aching to go and try the new courts now that the nets are up.

It's not often that a person gets to play on brand new courts.  Remember, tennis if often the sport that gets the last straw when budgets are tight or is overlooked because it is not as popular as baseball or soccer.  It's a great sport though that more people should try.

During my tennis career, I played on the terrible courts at Shaler, got some nicer ones at Mount Union but they didn't have the budget to get us nice uniforms and then had to play on the incredibly crappy North Park courts at La Roche because we didn't even have tennis courts there!!

Now, I'm waiting patiently (OK, not really) to hit the courts.  This is like a once in a life time opportunity.  New tennis courts!! Let me just say this is absolutely freaking awesome!!  OK, so I'm a little more excited than a normal person but hey its fabulous for a tennis player.