Proud to have program player Nishesh Basavareddy featured in Indian Tennis Daily! His list of achievements is long – a true champion, both on and off the court!
To read more CLICK HERE.
Champ Nishesh Basavareddy – both on and off the court!
Congratulations McNamar, Mercer, and William!
Congratulations to program players and instructors Jones McNamar, Eli Mercer, and Aidan William! The boys, along with their teammates, won the sectional championship of the Junior World Team Tennis USTA Midwest Section Qualifier. Their victory qualifies them to compete at Nationals taking place this summer in Lake Nona, Florida at the USTA National Campus.
We’re so proud – and incredibly lucky to have you three on our team, too.
To read more about their big win CLICK HERE.
Calling All Amazon Shoppers!
Calling all Amazon shoppers! Did you know that Amazon will donate a portion of all purchases made through AmazonSmile to the nonprofit of your choice? You can make a difference by simply turning on AmazonSmile and liking to our organization – NO fees, NO extra cost! Once connected, just keep shopping like usual. You buy, they donate! For easiest use, don’t forget to link your app to AmazonSmile.
Here’s how to sign up for AmazonSmile
1. Click HERE to visit AmazonSmile.
2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials
3. Search Indianapolis Junior Tennis Development Fund
4. Select your charity
4. Start shopping!
5. Add a bookmark for smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile
To turn on AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app:
1. Make sure you’re signed up for AmazonSmile (click HERE).
2. Download or update to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app for iOS or Android
3. Open the app and find “Settings” in the main menu (☰)
4. Tap on “AmazonSmile” and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile in the app.
We’ve Changed Our Name!
We believe that tennis is much more than just a sport. That’s why for over 50 years the Indianapolis Junior Tennis Development Fund, Inc., or as we are better known for our charitable actions, the Indianapolis Community Tennis Program, has used tennis as a vehicle for education.
The game of tennis enables players to learn life skills and core values like determination, discipline, sportsmanship, and integrity. Skills that help not just on the court, but throughout life.
These educational components have quietly been at the forefront of our programming. Each clinic, tournament, program event and educational opportunity further instills these life skills and values, while focusing on the development of our participants not just as players, but as the people they are becoming.
By changing our foundation’s name to the Indianapolis Tennis and Education Foundation, Inc., we’ve loudly embraced who we’ve always been: a program that develops junior tennis and players, focusing on all that it encompasses, throughout the entire Indianapolis community.
To learn more about the history of our foundation, please click here.
ICTP Gift Certificates
Need a last minute gift? Shipping delays have you scrambling? Simply just want to share the game you love? We’ve got you covered!
ICTP gift certificates are now available in any denomination and will be emailed directly to the recipient.
Gifting the game is as easy as clicking HERE!
Top Ten Things We Love About the Program
In honor of Giving Tuesday players and coaches, both past and present, contributed their favorite things about the program. Today you can join the Giving Tuesday movement by gifting the game of tennis. More than that, by donating today, you will also gift the children of our community these Top 10 things and more.
Without further ado, the “Top Ten Things We Love About the Program” (as voted upon by players, coaches, and tennis families):
10. Tennis Family
9. The Player/Coach Bond – The best part about this entry? Both players and coaches submitted this response!
8. It’s FUN!
7. Tournament Opportunities – Whether it’s the Qualifier, Midwest Closed, or the IHSAA State Finals, or an entry level tournament, our players have the best competition on their own home courts.
6. All Ages and Abilities – On any given day, you can look across a deck of courts and see a Grand Slam Champion, a nationally ranked junior, a middle school team member, and a three year old beginner. We have it all.
5. The Tradition – The Awards Banquet, joke of the day, celebrating BB’s birthday…we’ve compiled many, many traditions over the 57 years.
4. Feeling the Love – “The way you feel the energy and love of tennis the second you walk in the doors.” and “BB and the entire staff makes sure every player feels loved.”
3. The Staff – “The coaches are all so dedicated and passionate about tennis – that same passion gets passed onto players and sticks with us.”
2. Lifelong Friendships
1. Best Facility in the Midwest (…or country?!)
Want to give these ten things and more?
Giving Tuesday 2020
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Giving Tuesday 2020
Returning in 2020, we are turning #GivingTuesday into #GivingTennisDay!
We’ve set a goal of raising $2,000, equaling over TWENTY Beginner Tennis registrations for Summer 2020. Your donations will directly gift the game of tennis to junior players in need.
It doesn’t take much to make a real impact. A gift as small as $20 makes a difference, helping our local youth and the growth of tennis in our community.
HERE’S WHAT YOUR #GivingTennisDay GIFT CAN DO:
$20 – provides one Tot Tennis registration
$60 – provides one Evening Beginner Tennis registration
$85 – provides one Beginner Crash Camp registration
$150 – provides one Day Camp registration
$250 – provides one Weekly High Performance registration
BY DONATING YOU WILL:
- Introduce the game of tennis to a new generation of players.
- Increase our program’s number of scholarship recipients.
- Enable those with fewer resources access to exceptional coaching, build their confidence, and gain valuable life skills such as teamwork, dedication, and discipline.
Help share your love of the game with the next generation!
Giving Tuesday 2020
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Good Luck Players!
Wishing our players competing in the IHSAA Individual State Finals this weekend the best of luck! Ajay Mahenthiran, Srisanth Malpeddi, Jones McNamar, Cole Metzger, and Petar Petrovic, we’re rooting for you! We’re so proud!
Matches start at 2 pm today at North Central High School. (See below for full schedule.)
SINGLES
Quarterfinals | Friday, 2 pm ET
Match 1: Ajay Mahentiran (12) North Central (Indianapolis) (15-2; 7-0) vs. Nicholas Shirley (10) Bloomington North (14-5; 3-0)
Match 2: Daniel Pries (11) South Bend St. Joseph (21-0; 5-0) vs. Quinten Gillespie (12) Whiteland Community (20-2; 6-0)
Match 3: Canaan Sellers (12) Terre Haute South (17-2; 5-0) vs. Kush Anand (10) Fort Wayne Canterbury (18-1; 6-0)
Match 4: Peter Petrovic (12) Brownsburg (15-2; 7-0) vs. Cole Metzger (12) Guerin Catholic (12-3; 5-0)
Semifinals | Saturday, 10 am ET
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
State Championship | Saturday, 2 pm ET
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner
DOUBLES
Quarterfinals | Friday, 2 pm ET
Match 1: Marcell Borhi (12) | Ethan Uhls (12) Bloomington South (15-2; 8-0) vs. Ryan Carr (12) | Nicholas Winters (12) Zionsville (18-3; 7-0)
Match 2: Walker Boyle (11) | Brandon Jackson (12) Delta (11-1; 5-0) vs. Nathaniel Posner (12) | Paul Wilson (12) Culver Academies (16-1; 7-0)
Match 3: Charlie Morton (11) | Ryan Muntean (11) Munster (4-1; 8-0) vs. Paul Schneider (10) | Andrew Spirrison (11) Hamilton Southeastern (16-4; 6-0)
Semifinals | Saturday, 10 am ET
Match 4: Srisanth Malpeddi (11) | Jones McNamar (12) Carmel (18-1; 8-0) vs. Match 1 winner.
Match 5: Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner
State Championship | Saturday, 2 pm ET
Match 6: Match 4 winner vs. Match 5 winner
My 57th Summer at North Central Teaching Tennis
To some extent it was my most memorable summer at North Central. How do you STAY SAFE? HAVE FUN? STAY OUT OF THE TENNIS HOUSE? RESPECT RULES AND REGULATIONS REQUIRED BY A PANDEMIC? Answer: Have a loving dedicated staff that plans, posts, and produces results!
Yes, we all wore masks (except when hitting balls) and our hundreds of players did the same. The posts were all reminders of social distancing as all gates were dedicated “IN” or “OUT” and there was a designated way to get to the Tot courts, rest rooms, and monitors were nearby to assure that clean hands and sanitizing stations were used on a regular basis. Five forehead thermometer assure us that no staff or players had a fever. We tried hard and no one got sick during our short month (July 2020) we were on court.
The night before our Tennis Program began, we had a Billie Jean King Zoom to both raise awareness of Opportunities to PLAY Tennis this Summer and to raise money for more Opportunities to participate and enrich the lives of our Tennis Families. Billie Jean King’s wonderful hour-long Zoom also gave us an Educational Opportunity and we launched our first Essay Contest. The Theme was “What Billie Jean King’s Zoom did for YOU to influence your own personal development and increase your commitment to improve your tennis game”. The prize: A Summer Scholarship to High Performance.
Melissa Fitch and Dan Brunette were definitely the brains behind our “Safety Net.” JT Wynne made Podcasts and videos to help families understand our “ins” and “outs” and the behavior that would help us have a great and SAFE summer. Smith Tennis reinforced social distancing among our elite players and planned classes to include both drilling and competitions each and every day. All players had masks on during off-court times and ALL respected the rights of everyone to stay safe from Covid 19 by following the rules.
ONLY all day campers had access to the Community Room in the Tennis House for ping pong and other games. The Jordan YMCA partnered with us to allow our Tennis Campers to swim three-times each week. Camp was very successful and we thank all dedicated staff.
Our Kids Helping Kids project will continue until October 15th. We were able to have several Red Ball and Orange Ball Round Robins and Riley Children’s Foundation Trophies were awarded to winners. A BIG THANK YOU to the Central Indiana Tennis Association for providing the trophies.
Due to the Pandemic, our Tournament Schedule was severely altered but we did have three tournaments that Steve Wakefield and Dan Brunette organized and were assisted by many former Tournament Players and Staff.
One outstanding accomplishment was the grounds of the Tennis House are now full of blooming gardens and a beautiful new Evergreen Tree. Thanks goes to the Stan and Janet Thompson Family for planting over 40 beautiful plants and mulching the entire landscaped area. What a wonderful Family Project they have adopted. We deeply appreciate their continued care for the gardens by keeping them watered and free from weeds and our famous choke vine.
We appreciate the School District’s partnership and hope that Generations of Families will remember wonderful days of activities at the Tennis Center.
Lastly, we our most hopeful the Pandemic ENDS soon and that 2021 is a two month Summer Program with fewer worries and NO MASKS. Thank you everyone for your continued loyal support!
BILLIE JEAN KING ESSAY WINNERS
Congratulations to
GAVIN GUFFEY and AJAY MAHENTHIRAN
winners of the ICTP Billie Jean King Essay Contest.
ESSAY QUESTION
“After watching the virtual fireside chat with Billie Jean King, what motivational messages did Ms. King share with the audience that will help make you a better tennis player and a better person?“
THIRTEEN YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER WINNER
GAVIN GUFFEY
Click here to read Gavin’s winning entry!
FOURTEEN – EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD WINNER
AJAY MAHENTHIRAN
Click here to read Ajay’s winning entry!