Ashe Kids Day Is Big Hit
BY DAN MILLER

Photo Dan Miller/DMD Images Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal participated in a challenge in which they had to hit signs to win money for their favorite foundations. Federer hit the most signs, earning more than $18,000 for the Roger Federer Foundation.

Thousands of kids gathered with their families at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on Saturday, August 23 to participate in the 24th Arthur Ashe Kids Day, named for the African American tennis star who was the first tennis player to win the U.S. Open as well as the Grand Slam of Tennis and who dedicated his life social justice and kids, who he considered the future. A statue of Ashe in mid-swing is a centerpiece at the Tennis Center, site of the US Open, which began on Monday, August 25. Ashe was co-founder of the National Junior Tennis League, which benefits from some of the proceeds from Arthur Ashe Kids Day.

The gates to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center opened at 9:30 a.m. for a day of fun for kids and their families. Visitors were able to participate in a number of different fun events, including face painting, tennis clinics and demonstrations, concerts and new product introductions by many sports product vendors. A number of touring tennis stars, including Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, James Blake and Ana Ivanovic signed autographs and posed for photos for the fans.

The jumbo screen in Arthur Ashe Stadium showed a short film about "Quick Start Tennis", a new program to make tennis less intimidating for kids that has hit the courts at the New York Junior Tennis League. Smaller courts and racquets and low compression balls are part of the New York Junior Tennis League program that teaches tennis to kids through after school and summer sessions.

"The kids can get out there and have fun," Patrick McEnroe, tennis commentator and brother of tennis star John McEnroe said.

Arthur Ashe Stadium, with a capacity exceeding 27,000, was the site of some of the highlight events of the day that included tennis demonstrations from some of the world's best tennis players and musical performances by some of the current most popular young music stars.

Blake and Ivanovic ran a tennis clinic and Davenport, Williams, Federer and Nadal,(rated number one in the world) participated in a challenge in which they hit signs to win money for their favorite foundations.

Musical concerts included Debbie Lovato singing two of her hits, "Don't Forget" and "This Is Me". Colby O'Donis sang "What You Got" and Menudo, a name that has been on the charts for many years, but now with new faces, performed a new single, "Midnight".

A special match between Serbian Novak Djokovoc and Andy Roddick from the United States got the crowd ready for the upcoming US Open, opening ceremonies, which were scheduled to begin at the Billie Jean King US Tennis Center on August 25.

"We are here for Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the Tennis Center," New York City Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti, Patrol Borough Queens North commanding officer, said. She and Lieutenant Kathleen Coyle, Patrol Borough Queens North operations commander, posed for a photo with Sebastian Carlo Marde of Forest Hills, his wife Angela and daughter Luca. Luca, who had celebrated her fourth birthday on August 8, proudly held a tennis racquet almost twice her size.

Joseph Catania, owner of Catania Bakery in Ridgewood, brought his kids, Gaetana, 12, and Ignazio,10, and his niece, Amanda Paneduro.

Steve and Carolyn Lioto and their two sons from Marine Park, Brooklyn were among the families attending Arthur Ashe Family Day. "We had a very nice day," Steve Lioto said. "A lot of different events for the children, watching some of the world's greatest professional players in some practice sessions. We actually saw Rafael Nadal. We waved to him and he waved back."

Carolyn said, "We heard Arthur Ashe Family Day would be a lot of fun with a lot of activities for kids to do." Their sons, Joseph and John Carlos, attend P.S. 312 in Bergen Beach, where their father is a music teacher.