Arizona tennis player and coach wins prestigious award at U.S. Open

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona tennis player and coach won a prestigious award at the U.S. Open for her work in growing and sharing the love of the game with kids and people who may not have had the chance to play otherwise.

Clarkdale resident Andrea Meyer received the Champions of Equality Award for her work to make the sport more inclusive, and that is Something Good.

Meyer won the award two months ago.

“It’s still overwhelming to me, and I’m filled with gratitude,” said Meyer, who was one of 16 trailblazers of tennis to be honored.

Meyer received the award for her impact on the sport over her 25-year career.

She was first introduced to tennis while at high school in Tucson.

“In 20 minutes, I was in love with it and have been in love with it ever since. It’s the richness that tennis has afforded me and friendships and community,” she said.

Meyer says most of the children that she coaches have never picked up a racket.

“Tennis has that ability to engender that resilience in people because in tennis you start a new game every four, five or six points, and so the player is constantly being asked to reset and reimagine and go forward and put the points in the past.”

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