Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day - fun for all

Before the serious competition of the U.S. Open began earlier this week at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, players, celebrities and various organizations took time out to get children involved for the annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, in honor of the legendary tennis star.
During the day’s activities, there were plenty of ways for young tennis fans to be enthusiastic about the sport. Along with face painting and jugglers, they were able to participate in tennis drills, play against professionals, and watch the pros practice.
“It’s fun here,” said 10-year-old Alexis, who came from Brooklyn with her mother Marjorie Fletcher for the day. Fletcher’s son was performing with the City Kids Dance Group.
Members of the U.S. Army’s men’s and women’s tennis teams from West Point were at one of the courts, where they set up a tennis activity course for the children to go through. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Fleming, an Officer Representative for the tennis programs, said that they frequently perform community service, which is why they wanted to get involved with Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.
“I think it’s awesome,” Fleming said. “It’s great to watch them interact on this course with the kids and be able to make a difference hopefully for some of these kids and (show them) what they can aspire to be some day.”
After going through the activity course, five-year-old Justin Joseph said that he was having a lot of fun and that his favorite part was playing with the giant tennis ball.
“This is our second time coming out. We all like tennis,” said his mother, Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph. “We just thought it would be a nice, fun thing for both my sons to do.”
The event also featured celebrity tennis matches and a concert. Among the celebrities participating were wrestler John Cena, musician Rob Thomas, comedians Chris Kattan and Chris Rock, skateboarder Tony Hawk, MTV VJ Quddus, model Daisy Fuentes and musicians Kat DeLuna, Sean Kingston, Lil Mama and The Jonas Brothers.
“This actually came up at the last minute,” said Cena, who played in a doubles tennis match with Andy Roddick as his partner. “Me not being much of a tennis aficionado but very much of a youth aficionado, I jumped at the opportunity.”