For host families, the Fifth Third Tennis Championships is all about “love”
tennis
Brother and sister Sarah (left) and Alex (right) Horn with tennis professional Jacqueline Cako. The Horn family has hosted traveling tennis players for several years.
When Joanne Wallen played on the professional tennis tour, the British native travelled all over the United States. She had been on the go from the time she was a young teenager, moving to Florida with her parents so she could train at a tennis academy and play tournaments.
In all those years, one place had really made an impression on her: Lexington. She had played in the Fifth Third Tennis Championships several times and had been overwhelmed by the warmth of the community, those involved with the tournament and, especially, the host families.
Each year families throughout the Bluegrass open their homes to players who are trying to make it on the professional tennis circuit. The Fifth Third Tennis Championships, to be held this year July 20 – 28 at the University of Kentucky’s Boone Tennis Center, attracts players from all around the world. Were it not for people opening up their doors, the cost would be prohibitive to many of them.
“It meant I could travel and, even more, it meant I had a home away from home during those 30 weeks on the road each year,” said Wallen, who has since made Lexington her home. “It was invaluable.”
Tournament housing coordinator Diane Atchison said last year she and co-coordinator Susannah Harris found housing for 110 players and officials. The two women spend countless hours making sure they find the right fit for families and players.
Atchsion’s home has become the Lexington satellite for Israeli players and coaches, starting with the first year she and her family hosted two players nearly 17 years ago. Having volunteered at the last minute, she had no idea who she was getting and prepared a ham salad to welcome her guests, who it turned out were Jewish.
Word of her hospitality and kindness quickly spread among players and coaches, who make it a point to seek her out, even when they aren’t staying with her. Atchison also seeks them out, traveling every so often to watch them play other tournaments, which have included the U.S. Open.
“This has become my ministry,” Atchison said. “I just love these kids. People think it’s a glamorous life, but it is a grueling life. They go from tournament to tournament, interacting mainly with just players and coaches. This gives them time with a real family. And, since they can’t take their pets on the road, they love my dogs. The pictures they always want are with my mutts.”
Much like Atchison, many families enjoy hosting so much that they offer to share their homes every year during the tournament. One Lexington resident, who is from Taiwan, keeps a standing offer to house any players from his homeland. For the housing coordinators, his generosity has been invaluable, especially one year when a player from Taiwan spoke no English at all, said Dorothy Clark Van Meter, a former Fifth Third housing coordinator who still keeps players in her home.
“He and his wife welcome these players into their home,” she said. “He speaks their language, and they provide native food and meals for them. How wonderful is that?”
Van Meter said over the years she and her family have become close to Paul Hanley, a doubles specialist from Australia who has stayed with them so many times that he calls her “Mom” and holes up at their house when he has a break between tournaments in the United States. “We managed to find the only introvert from Australia,” Van Meter joked.
And though hosts do become close with their players, others pass through with minimal disruption and interference, which is great for families that can provide a bedroom and breakfast but don’t have time for too much more.
“The Fifth Third takes care of all the transportation, and we provided a place to stay and food for our player to snack on,” said Jenni Scutchfield, a long-time volunteer who hosted Australian player John Peers last year. “We were not put out at all.”
Housing Peers gave Scutch-field, who is a competitive recreational tennis player and a huge fan of the Fifth Third, and her husband, Alex, a rooting interest in the tournament that lasted all the way to the finals, where Peers and his partner Austin Krajicek won the doubles.
Sheila Horn, whose children both play competitive youth tennis, has housed players for a few years, including a young woman, Alison Riske, who has been a repeat visitor.
“It’s a nice exchange,” she said. “The players get to feel like part of a family, and my kids get a chance to grow by learning how to make them feel comfortable. They also get to see what it’s really like to be a professional athlete. How often do they get that opportunity?
“It’s also a chance to show Southern hospitality. Players love coming here because of the hospitality.”
For Dorothy Ross, whose job and two boys keep her on the run, housing an official the past three years has been ideal. “They are self-sufficient and fit into our life,” she said. “I lay the ground rules – don’t let the cat out – and that’s about it. We have an open-door policy in our house, and people are welcome to visit if they can stand the chaos. It’s the least I can do to give back to my community.”
Both officials and players are grateful to these Lexington families, Atchison said.
“I’d love to see more people get involved. Maybe they’d like to host someone from their alma mater or practice a specific language or just open their home,” she said. “It’s such a positive experience.”
And when Wallen, who now manages Lexington Tennis Club, looks back, she said, “I kept in touch with a lot of these people. These are the memories I made; it was not the matches that I played.”