USTA HONORS CONNIE EBERT WITH ANNUAL SENIORS' SERVICE AWARD

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 13, 2015 – The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced that Connie Ebert of Abington, Pa., was presented with its annual Seniors’ Service Award. Ebert was recognized for her outstanding dedication and contribution in helping to grow the sport of tennis at the local level during an awards banquet at the USTA Annual Meeting and Conference, April 10-13, at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Seniors’ Service Award was established in 1958 to recognize and honor a person for service to senior tennis. It is awarded annually on the basis of the recipient’s willingness, cooperation and participation—either in play or organizational work—to work for the betterment of senior tennis competition.

Ebert, 90, first learned to play tennis in the 1950s at a YMCA adult tennis camp. Since that day, she’s been an avid volunteer, player and promoter of the sport.

Ebert’s tennis resume is too long to fit on even a few pages. Her career in volunteering began when her sons were young, as she helped recruit and train ball boys for the U.S. Pro Indoor men’s tennis tournament in Philadelphia—a position she held for more than 25 years. A lifetime USTA member, she’s volunteered within the USTA family for nearly 50 years.

Ebert has been a board member of the USTA Middle States Philadelphia District since the 1960s. She served as vice president on the district board in 1968.

Ebert was on the Friendship Cup team in 2000 (Austria) and 2002 (Japan) and has been often ranked in the Top 10 of her age bracket. In 2005, she was ranked No. 6 in singles and No. 2 in doubles at the national level, and in 2009 earned a No. 5 ranking in the 85 singles division. She’s earned 10 national balls, including a silver ball in singles and gold ball in doubles during the 2004 National Grass Court Championships at Forest Hills.

Ebert was one of the first tournament directors to offer a tournament for players older than 40, and she’s continued to run the Betty Coats Tournament at Manufacturer’s County Club, which she most recently ran this past summer. She’s been an Interdistrict and Intersectional coordinator for many years.

Ebert has also been involved as a player and organizer in the Women’s Inter-Club of Philadelphia, an organization of more than 2,200 women and community volunteers that was formed in 1899. All Inter-Club members are USTA members. She still volunteers for the World TeamTennis Philadelphia Freedoms and is always willing to help with anything needed at the district or section level.

“When you talk about tennis being the sport of a lifetime, Connie truly epitomizes that since she has been around tennis for over 65 years,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “She continues to grow the game by bringing tennis to individuals of all ages and abilities around Abington.”

The USTA Annual Meeting and Conference brings together USTA leadership, national staff, national committee members and section volunteers and staff in pursuit of the USTA mission: to promote and develop the growth of tennis. Along with leadership and committee meetings, the USTA Annual Meeting provides education opportunities for all attendees to develop and enhance their personal and professional skills and learn new ways to promote the game of tennis.

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking eight summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.