Flushing teen wins special honor

It's been quite a year for Cardozo junior Jillian Santos - on the tennis court and off.
The Flushing teen led the Judges to their second consecutive PSAL Class A city championship. She has seen her local and national USTA rankings rise steadily this summer as she started playing in more prominent tournaments. And last week, she began her third summer as a ballperson in the U.S. Open at the freshly-renamed USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
But none of those accomplishments could match her experience last Tuesday, August 29th when she was awarded the Billie Jean King Junior Award by the 12-time Grand Slam singles champion for excellence in athletics and academics at the CityParks Foundation benefit for CityParks Tennis.
&#8220It was amazing,” Santos said. &#8220It was such an honor to meet someone who has done so much for tennis, done so much for the world. It was very special.”
With a 96 average, Santos is far more than just an impressive tennis player. Her best classes are chemistry and math, although she prefers history, because &#8220it's really important to know what our past is about,” she said.
&#8220We're very proud of Jillian for her accomplishments in tennis, in school, and in the Queens community,” added Mike Silverman, director of sports programs for CityParks Foundation. &#8220She's a great example of what kids who participate in our free tennis instruction programs can achieve.”
A member of the CityParks Foundation Reebok Urban Youth Tennis Academy for the last three years, Santos began taking tennis lessons at Flushing Memorial Park at the age of nine through the CityParks Foundation free tennis program. She had a solid sophomore year, playing second singles in leading Cardozo to another city championship. But this year, Santos, 15, really developed into a top player, now ranked No. 24 in the eastern region and 150 overall.
&#8220I've grown up a lot,” she said. &#8220I've been playing in tournaments now for a couple of years and it's been mostly experience I've been lacking. So I'm playing a lot more, believing in myself a lot more and my family has been supportive of me.”
But, Santos added, none of it could top the experience of meeting King, and being given such an honor. &#8220I was really surprised because I never really got anything like this before,” she said.