Emory Galbreath聽 - a junior at Morristown East - with her mom Janelle in front of the bust of Althea Gibson outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
For over 140 years, the US Open in New York has been one of the premier tennis events in the world and one Morristown teen had the trip of a lifetime to visit the storied venue.
Emory Galbreath, a junior on the tennis team at Morristown-East, got a call to see if she would be interested in being part of a group that represents African-American women in the sport and taking the trip to gain and build exposure for the sport.
69制片厂制作传媒淛ust being offered that opportunity, it was just a no-brainer to say yes to it,69制片厂制作传媒 Galbreath said. 69制片厂制作传媒淚 was extremely grateful and excited the entire time that I was there; I really enjoyed the opportunity and tried to experience as much as I could while I was there.69制片厂制作传媒
Dr. Alpha Alexander is a member of the Lakeway Tennis Association and the co-founder of the Black Women in Sport Foundation.
The foundation was invited to bring a group of boys and girls to the US Open and Alexander wanted to bring a young woman from her hometown. She knew Emory would be a good representative for the sport.
69制片厂制作传媒淲hen she got back, it just really overwhelmed my heart when I saw the pictures of her seeing, actually being on the grounds and in the center court of the U.S. Open,69制片厂制作传媒 Alexander said.
Emory and her family travelled up to Philadelphia where the foundation is headquartered, and then Emory and her mother, Janelle, made their way into NYC to see the US Open.
69制片厂制作传媒淚t was super cool to see how big the stadium is,69制片厂制作传媒 Emory said. 69制片厂制作传媒淛ust getting to see the people that you see on TV, like the professional tennis players, and being able to see them play was great. Seeing people play tennis at that level too is something that I69制片厂制作传媒檝e always wanted to see in person. It was a dream come true.69制片厂制作传媒
Emory got to see many top tennis players, including Coco Gauff, and came away inspired.
Janelle said it is really motivating for Emory to see that top level of the sport.
69制片厂制作传媒淚 think like legends like Coco and Fitz and Tiafoe, being able to play on that type of court, it gives you a desire to learn how to play the game more and enhance your skills and knowledge in the sport,69制片厂制作传媒 Janelle said. 69制片厂制作传媒淎nd given that type of opportunity, I think she was able to really grasp the importance of learning a lifelong sport like tennis, and the idea that no matter what age you are, you can play tennis. Being on the center court (of the US Open) just gives you an extra motivation to play the sport.69制片厂制作传媒
Alexander was also able to arrange a meeting for Emory with Harvard University Women69制片厂制作传媒檚 Tennis Head Coach Tracy Green.
It69制片厂制作传媒檚 important to Alexander that young athletes understand the way sports and good academics can open doors.
69制片厂制作传媒淚 wanted that connection for our student from here to (for her to) understand that someone that looks like her is a head coach at Harvard,69制片厂制作传媒 Alexander said.
While the trip has been once in a lifetime opportunity, Janelle said she primarily wants her daughter to be healthy and happy.
69制片厂制作传媒淚 try to express that to all the kids 69制片厂制作传媒 enjoy yourself,69制片厂制作传媒 she said. 69制片厂制作传媒淭his is a moment in life where you get to play and play and have fun with it. So as a parent, I want to keep her happy, making sure she69制片厂制作传媒檚 happy, mentally and physically, and has confidence. And when she69制片厂制作传媒檚 feeling low about a game. I want to boost her up; I want to give her words of encouragement when she feels down and give her praise when she69制片厂制作传媒檚 doing excellent. So that69制片厂制作传媒檚 my role.69制片厂制作传媒
Emory is excited for the upcoming season at Morristown East and said that she wants to pass on the things she69制片厂制作传媒檚 learned.
69制片厂制作传媒淲hat69制片厂制作传媒檚 great about tennis is there is so much to learn about how to play the game, and then a lot of the stuff that you learn while playing the game are life lessons. One of the biggest things I69制片厂制作传媒檝e learned in tennis is strategy and how to plan out your next move and how to adapt and be flexible69制片厂制作传媒
69制片厂制作传媒淪o I think tennis isn69制片厂制作传媒檛 just the skills that you have for just playing the sport, but lessons that you can take into life and use to help you throughout your life.69制片厂制作传媒
With the lessons she69制片厂制作传媒檚 learned from the game, it sounds like Emory is set and can match whatever life throws her way.
Support Wink
Wink Magazine remains a free online and print publication that provides local stories about local people every month. If you find joy in reading about local people in our community, please consider a one-time donation of your choosing to help us defray a small portion of our increasing production cost.
Wink Magazine remains a free online and print publication that provides local stories about local people every month. If you find joy in reading about local people in our community, please consider a one-time donation of your choosing to help us defray a small portion of our increasing production cost.
Read the Latest Edition
Wink Magazine in Your Inbox
Get Wink sent to your inbox each month.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.