USTA officials joined NYC Parks representatives and elected officials at Flushing’s Kissena Park on Oct. 17 to cut the ribbon on four newly-renovated tennis courts, featuring new surfaces, freshly-painted lines and brand-new nets.
The $320,000 project, funded by USTA Eastern, which oversees tennis in the Tri-State area, will provide novice and experienced tennis players alike with a “premium playing experience,” USTA officials said at the ribbon-cutting.
NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa joined Assembly Member Nily Rozic, Queens Parks Commissioner Jacqueline Langsam and USTA officials including Chief Operating Officer of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Daniel Zausner and CEO of USTA Eastern Jennifer Schnitzer to celebrate the completion of the newly renovated courts on Friday.
Rodriguez-Rosa said the renovation took just a few months to complete once funding from USTA Eastern was secured, adding that the USTA has also committed to renovating a number of derelict clay courts located adjacent to the newly-refurbished hard courts.
The clay courts are anticipated to be converted into hard courts, which are far easier to maintain.
The renovation was made possible through a partnership between the USTA Eastern Section, NYC Parks and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The National Tennis Center sought to identify nearby tennis facilities that could benefit from improvements, with the USTA, NYC Parks and local stakeholders overseeing the completion of the renovation once Kissena Park was selected.
Rodriguez-Rosa said it is “so important” for New York City residents to have access to top-class facilities that enable them to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle, describing the refurbished tennis courts will provide an enormous benefit to the local community.
“What better physical activity can you have than playing tennis?” Rodriguez-Rosa said at Friday’s ribbon-cutting. “We ask the community to come and enjoy this sport and to be able to get out and exercise and meet people and socialize. It’s a necessity.”
Rozic, a self-described tennis player, also welcomed the completion of the refurbished courts, describing tennis as the “great equalizer,” stating that the sport is accessible to players of all ages and abilities.
“It’s so important for communities like this one to have equal resources, to have the investment right in
their backyard,” Rozic said.
Rozic added that Kissena Park had been badly damaged when Hurricane Ida made landfall in September 2021 and highlighted the importance of investing in the park and ensuring that it comes back “even better.”
“The park has always been a gem for this community, but now it shines a little bit brighter because we were able to bring the resources and build these beautiful courts,” she added.
Zausner, meanwhile, said the redevelopment of the Kissena tennis courts is part of the USTA’s broader mission to grow the sport of tennis across the United States.
“You can only do that (grow the sport) if the courts are playable,” Zausner said.
In areas where there are no tennis courts, the USTA is looking to find locations to build them, Zausner added.
He also spoke of the importance of running tennis programming at existing courts and said USTA Eastern would be providing programming at the newly-revamped courts in Kissena Park.
“Once you have the tennis courts built, you need to be able to have people who can instruct people on how to play the sport, to introduce them to the sport or to get better, if that’s what they so desire to do, “Zausner said.
Langsam, on the other hand, said the renovated courts would help welcome the next generation of tennis stars and credited the USTA for being a “wonderful partner” ever since it opened the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in 1978.
“The USTA has not only been a longtime partner of Parks, but projects such as this one make them an even greater partner for the entire community,” Langsam said. “Projects like this one promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage the development and love for tennis in both adults and children.”
Rozic, Parks representatives and USTA officials all expressed hopes that the refurbished courts in Kissena Park would encourage local residents to pick up a racket for the first time and try their hand at tennis.
“It’s like anything else. You see a shiny new object, you get motivated by it,” Zausner said.
Zausner said the addition of new or renovated courts allows the USTA to capitalize on a growing number of active tennis players in the US, while Rodriguez-Rosa touted a growing number of tennis permits issued by the Parks Department across the city.
Zausner is confident that the Kissena courts will prove popular among the local community even in the remaining months of 2025 as the weather continues to get cooler but predicted that the courts will see a surge in usage next April when the Parks Department begins issuing permits for 2026.
“Thorough enjoyment will probably start in April, but there is no question that we will see people on these courts (this year).”
