U.S. Open a Grand Slam for Ghana businesswoman

Brigitte Dzogbenuku was mesmerized as Serena Williams sauntered onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2008 U.S. Open women’s semifinal match on September 5.
After all, the stardom, the fans, the legendary stadium and the Grand Slam tournament it is home to are all phenomena she had previously just witnessed from afar - very far.
The 39-year-old former Miss Ghana got hooked on tennis eight years ago after she took over the administrative reins of Ghana’s only sports complex, the Aviation Social Centre in Accra. Now, Dzogbenuku was a guest of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), basking in the glow of a summer evening in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park with the world watching.
“When people get on screen they don’t realize that people 6,000 miles away in Ghana are seeing them,” Dzogbenuku said of the 700,000 tennis fans who walked into Arthur Ashe over the course of the two-week Open. “Each time I sit here I pinch myself and say, ‘Is this for real?’ because I’ve only seen it on TV.”
Dzogbenuku’s journey to the Open began when she was selected to participate in the Fortune/State Department International Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership earlier this summer. The collaboration, fostered by international non-profit Vital Voices Global Partnership, pairs emerging businesswomen from mostly developing countries with mentors listed among FORTUNE magazine’s Most Powerful Women.
Dzogbenuku, the first and current general manager of the Aviation Social Centre - a sports facility with a gym, banquet hall, garden, playing fields and courts that offers coaching in tennis, soccer, volleyball and basketball - joined 34 other women from around the world in June on a whirlwind tour of Washington, learning about leadership, business and policy from the District’s movers and shakers. She then traveled north to New York where she shadowed WNBA President Donna Orender and spent time with USTA staff.
Dzogbenuku returned to Ghana after the Mentoring Partnership and started a non-profit basketball club for women. But two months later she accepted an invitation from the USTA and was back in the States for Queens’ Grand Slam tennis event.
After two weeks at the Open, Dzogbenuku was preparing to return home and implement changes borne of her lessons learned. This time around, she aims to totally alter the landscape of Ghanaian tennis, to “force a revolution, if you like,” she opined.
“Tennis is all about love at the end of the day,” Dzogbenuku said as the colorfully attired Williams warmed up with her Russian opponent, Dinara Safina. The tennis pun was intended, Dzogbenuku said, explaining that she hopes to use that “love” to create change in Africa.
“You know, Africa is very divided but sports unite,” she said, watching out of the corner of her eye as the match got underway and Williams traded points with Safina. “In Africa people say sports rule the world, not politicians. Sports build confidence in people and that alone could do a lot of good for us.”
Having learned from the USTA and the WNBA about sports initiatives for children, the importance of sponsorships, as well as marketing and membership outreach techniques - “We have to get our website up pronto,” Dzogbenuku recalled thinking after seeing the WNBA’s and USTA’s websites - Dzogbenuku was inspired to more aggressively pursue her goal of becoming a member of the Ghana Tennis Association (GTA). Ultimately, she’d like to be President of the GTA, she said. Additionally, a conversation with Billie Jean King got her thinking about starting a World Team Tennis association in Ghana.
Dzogbenuku also learned the importance of networking after the USTA agreed to help organize and fund children’s programs and provide the Aviation Social Centre with equipment and training for the Ghanaian coaches whom Dzogbenuku considers “rusty.”
“I either impressed them or they felt really sorry for me,” the former beauty queen, who speaks English, Ewe, a language native to Ghana, Swahili and French, said of the USTA.
Rita Garza, the USTA’s Director of Public Relations, certainly seemed impressed.
“She’s an engaging, intelligent, accomplished person, so we just had a great time working with her,” Garza said, pausing to praise Dzogbenuku while on duty at the U.S. Open Men’s Final.
Leaving Arthur Ashe Stadium, in the shadows of the Unisphere, Dzogbenuku made no effort to hide her excitement over Williams’ semifinal victory. But while her time in the U.S. appeared to have included some elements of pleasure, the Ghanaian native made it clear her journey had been strictly business.
“You go away feeling, ‘I can’t let anybody down. I can’t afford to let anybody down,’” Dzogbenuku said. “I was inspired to do something - and that is to improve tennis in Ghana.”