Beyond the Baseline: Johnny Mac Tennis Project

At the annual USTA Eastern Tennis Conference each January, the Section holds its Awards Dinner and Ceremony, at which it honors individuals and organizations that have made a substantial impact in our community.

This year’s recipient of the Corporate Service Award, which goes to an organization whose sponsorship of tennis and tennis programs has helped grow the sport in the Section, was the Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP), the charitable arm of SPORTIME and the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.

“To be recognized by USTA Eastern is truly meaningful,” said Ryann Cutillo, the JMTP’s Executive Director. “It validates the work we do every day and is a testament to the dedication of our team, partners and supporters, as well as the commitment of the young athletes and families we serve. We are proud of how JMTP has evolved and how many lives we’ve been able to impact.

The award is another motivator to keep moving forward, and it inspires us to continue expanding our outreach, strengthening our programs, and ensuring that every child we meet, regardless of financial background or situation, has the chance access tennis and to thrive. We are grateful for the recognition and are excited for what’s ahead.”

Cutillo joined the SPORTIME & JMTA team in 2021 and a year later was named as the Executive Director of the JMTP. She has seen first-hand how the organization has developed. What began as a scholarship-based initiative has transformed into a comprehensive development program that helps athletes both on and off the court.

The mission of JMTP is to break down the economic, racial and social barriers to success, using tennis as the vehicle to do so. It first introduces tennis to children from underserved communities throughout New York City as a way to help them stay healthy and remain socially active

“The key to our growth has been the expansion of our Community Programs, which are at the core of our mission,” Cutillo added. “In the post-Covid era alone, we have grown our outreach by over 500 percent. We are currently working with 4,000 kids every week and our community kids receive a consistent, weekly, tennis experience across the school year. This occurs through partnerships with 32 public schools, charter schools and like-minded organizations across Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. We offer programming six hours a day, Monday through Friday, including our School Day Community Programming and After School Community Programming. These kids are learning a game that they likely would not have been exposed to otherwise, broadening their horizons and providing them with opportunities. Some of them will become lifelong players or even college scholarship recipients through their tennis, which is the ultimate goal”

And the heart of JMTP’s work is exposing NYC kids to a sport they otherwise would not have been able to play, primarily due to the economic hurdles that exist for many of the City’s youth.

When Claude Okin, SPORTIME Founder & CEO, partnered with tennis legend and New York native John McEnroe to launch the JMTA in 2010, this was a share goal from the start.

“From the moment that John and I began discussing the creation of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in 2009, our foundational promise to each other was that access to JMTA programs would not be limited to a wealthy few,” Okin explained. “We were committed to finding a way to build substantial access for those who could afford to pay very little, or nothing at all, and especially for NYC kids from the neighborhoods surrounding Randall’s Island, like East Harlem and the South Bronx. These are some of the country’s most under-resourced communities and we knew we had to build bridges with our neighbors. We wanted to offer tennis as a pathway to health, education and opportunity to kids in those communities and beyond, and JMTP was created to support that essential goal.”

For more than 10 years now, that is just what they have done, and the date on the impact is remarkable. Through its community programs, more than 16,500 students have been reached, with 540 scholarships being awarded to players which allow them to train at the JMTA. This is more than $10.7 million awarded, with more than 41 college scholarships earned by players in these programs.

Two of those JMTP/JMTA players, who will be heading off to play collegiate tennis in the fall of 2025 are Christasha McNeil and Lara Afolayanka, who were honored at JMTA’s College Signing Day earlier this year. McNeil and Afolayanka are two of the many success stories of the JMTP, and their development, both as tennis players and young people, is representative of what the JMTP sets out to accomplish.

“College Signing Day is one of my favorite days of the year. In the midst of the daily grind–always working on the next project, finding ways to improve, and pushing for growth–this is a moment for us to pause and celebrate the incredible achievements of our athletes following years of hard work on and off the court,” said Cutillo. “This is what it’s all about for us. Using tennis as a vehicle to create these life-changing opportunities that set our players up for long-term success. We are so proud of Lara and Christasha and also proud that we have had the opportunity to support them through their junior tennis careers. Seeing them accomplish their goals is incredibly rewarding. Both of these young ladies are talented and hardworking, and we are thrilled to see what they will accomplish in the future.”

The future is bright for all of the players who are part of the JMTP, and Cutillo and her team, a small but dedicated group of three, are excited to continue and expand upon the great work it does. Helping in that cause was the recent expansion of the Randall’s Island complex, which included building an additional 10 indoor tennis courts, among other improvements.

While the JMTP and JMTA do operate independently of each other, their partnership means that when JMTA grows, so does the JMTP.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have access to JMTA’s world-class facilities, coaching staff and support system,” said Cutillo. “JMTP has our Community & Excellence Programs, but, with the exception of our After School Community Programs, which brings tennis off-site to underserved communities, all of our programming takes place at the incredible SPORTIME JMTA facilities, primarily at SPORTIME Randall’s Island, and our kids are coached by the amazing team of JMTA coaches. Our Scholarship Program is the final stage of our developmental pathway, providing full scholarships for the most talented and dedicated players to train at JMTA. While JMTP funds and supports these athletes, they are seamlessly integrated and treated no differently than any other child training at the Academy.”

To be able to raise the funds necessary for all the work it does, JMTP hosts a number of important fundraising events throughout the year. This spring, the annual JMTP Comedy Night will bring tons of laughter to Sony Hall at the Paramount Hotel in Manhattan, where John and Patrick McEnroe will be joined by comedians for an unforgettable evening, all in benefit of a great cause. The annual JMTP Pro-Am, the largest of its kind in the country, will return to SPORTIME Amagansett in The Hamptons on August 16, and JMTP is also excited about its newest event in partnership with the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Randall’s Island on September 6.

Although fundraising is essential, the day-in-and-day-out work of JMTP is to continue to grow the sport of tennis in its communities, impacting the lives of New York kids to create a new generation of champions, on and off the court.

Cutillo concluded:

“We believe that investing in young athletes in this way not only enhances their athletic potential but also equips them with the skills, confidence and resilience to succeed in any endeavor they choose to pursue.”

To learn more about the JMTP, visit JMTPNY.org