Brooklyn Youngster Wins Billie Jean King Junior Achievement Award at City Parks Foundation’s Annual Tennis Benefit

On August 30, 2016, the City Parks Foundation’s annual CityParks Tennis Benefit, chaired by Billie Jean King, was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The event, which welcomed 280 guests, raised a record breaking $356,800 for CityParks Tennis, a free youth instructional program that serves over 7,000 children in parks throughout New York City each season.

The event also honored City Parks Foundation LACOSTE Junior Tennis Academy player, 17 year-old Tamila Latif-Zade, with the 2016 Billie Jean King Junior Achievement Award. Tamila, of Brooklyn, joined the Academy program at age 10 and graduated this year from Truman High School in the Bronx, where she played number one on the school's tennis team. Tamila spent this past summer teaching tennis at Hampton Racquet, and has earned a spot as a ball girl for the 2016 US Open. She will attend Kingsborough Community College this fall.

The Benefit, which is held each year at the US Open Tennis Championships, was hosted by Budd Mishkin and featured a cocktail party, dinner, and tickets to the Open’s evening matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium. This year, City Parks Foundation honored Paul Annacone, former coach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras and former Top 15 Touring Professional, and Anthony Mitchel, Tennis Teaching Professional, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with the Vitas Gerulaitis Community Service Award.

CityParks Tennis, a City Parks Foundation program, brings high-quality instruction and equipment into NYC neighborhoods where few tennis or other organized athletic opportunities exist. The program teaches tennis basics to kids ages 5-17, while providing opportunities for advancement through multiple levels of progressively challenging instruction. Our tennis programs are offered in 39 parks, reaching more than 7,000 kids each year. Participants compete in tournaments and train in special U.S. Open clinics with tennis legends Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Murphy Jensen, Virginia Wade, and others. CityParks Tennis also offers a year-round, intermediate training program with more advanced coaching for a select group of talented and dedicated players, providing tournament opportunities with the goal of earning college scholarships and USTA rankings.

City Parks Foundation is the only independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer programs in public parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City. At City Parks Foundation, we are dedicated to invigorating and transforming parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through sports, arts, community development, and education programs for all New Yorkers. Our programs and community building initiatives -- located in more than 300 parks, recreation centers, and public schools across the city -- reach 425,000 people each year. Our ethos is simple: we believe thriving parks reflect thriving communities. For more details, please visit http://www.cityparksfoundation.org.

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Photo Caption: Event Co-Chair Billie Jean King and City Parks Foundation Lacoste Junior Tennis Academy Player Tamila Latif-Zade, the 2016 Billie Jean King Junior Achievement Award Recipient

Photo Credit: Sylvester Zawadzki