Feature Stories

A couple of years ago, Adrian Avanesov began taking his tennis very seriously, and started training at MatchPoint NYC in Brooklyn. That’s where he met MatchPoint Coach Azizbek Makhkamov and their player/coach relationship formed. “I’m really thankful for his parents. They trusted me and believed in...Read more

Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days of your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” That quote holds true for many people. Dr. Robert Silverman is one of them. When he was younger, the Bronx-born doctor was diagnosed with a rare condition called congenital...Read more

Feeling like she needed some more match play as the 2018 season nears its conclusion, Michelle Sorokko showed up to the ITF Grade 4 tournament in Atlanta as an on-site alternate. The Douglaston, N.Y. native needed to come through three rounds of qualifying just to enter the main draw. She did just...Read more

Growing up in Mexico City, Gustavo Loza was a multi-sport athlete who played both tennis and soccer as a child. But around the age of 14, he had to make the decision of which sport he wanted to continue playing. “I chose tennis,” Loza said. With tennis as his top priority, he quickly rose up the...Read more

When he was five years old, Nicholas Steiglehner picked up a racket for the first time, hitting around a few nerf balls before advancing to regular tennis balls. “My dad introduced me to tennis. He taught me the basics at a young age and still helps coach me today,” said Steiglehner. “He’s a great...Read more

Earlier this year, Luke Jensen was offered the opportunity of a lifetime, to become a part of The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. The Club was looking for a Director of Racquet Sports and Jensen decided to throw his hat in the ring. “Late last year, there was an e-mail sent out to a...Read more

Next year, Zach Lieb will take his tennis talents up to Connecticut to play for the Wesleyan University Men’s Tennis team. “It’s a great academic school, which is what I was looking for along with a strong tennis program,” said Lieb. “The team camaraderie was something that I really enjoyed and...Read more

In 2004, Dion Lachmanen took his nephew to Highland Park, which straddles the border between Brooklyn and Queens, for a day of fun and, as an avid tennis fan, he wanted to check out the courts at the park. What he found was 13 courts in disarray. With some missing nets and trash scattered across...Read more

Sonia Tartakovsky was around the age of six when, on vacation with her family, she was introduced to the sport of tennis for the first time. “When we came back home from that trip, I was like, ‘Mom, I want to play tennis,’” Tartakovsky recalls. Tartakovsky began taking tennis lessons, but was still...Read more

The growth of tennis in New York City has always been, and always will be, dependent on people in the community identifying a need, and deciding to do something about it. One of the most prominent examples of this can be found in the Kings County Tennis League (KCTL) , which was founded by Michael...Read more