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Hispanic Heritage Month: NJTL organizer Belén Gómez-Jordana, former NC State player Ponch Ochoa

Talking Tennis Southern Style

Release Date: 09/28/2023

L.E.A.D serves Black youth in tennis and baseball show art L.E.A.D serves Black youth in tennis and baseball

Talking Tennis Southern Style

L.E.A.D. is an Atlanta-based nonprofit whose mission is to use baseball and tennis to teach Black youth how to overcome three curveballs that threaten their success: crime, poverty and racism. Kelli Stewart, wife of co-founder and former minor league baseball player C.J. Stewart, explains how the organization expanded into supporting tennis. Her daughter, Mackenzi, is a former Southern University and Georgia State player, explained how she decided to pick up a racquet and now leads its girls’ tennis programs. Listen to them describe their dedication to community service and focus on...

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Tuskegee coach Gregory Green on HBCU opportunities show art Tuskegee coach Gregory Green on HBCU opportunities

Talking Tennis Southern Style

Coach Gregory Green has been a part of eighteen championships as a player and coach, earning him the name “The King of Rings.” In addition to coaching excellence in football with four SIAC Conference rings, he has brought glory to Tuskegee tennis with four SIAC Conference Tennis Championships, five-time SIAC Highest Team GPA for Men and Women and four SIAC Conference Tennis Coach of the Year awards, in addition to many athletic accolades at Savannah State. Listen to Gregory describe how his program grows the academic and cultural opportunities for Tuskegee’s athletes and strengthens the...

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Former USPTA CEO John Embree Reflects on His Wilson Legacy and Leadership in Tennis show art Former USPTA CEO John Embree Reflects on His Wilson Legacy and Leadership in Tennis

Talking Tennis Southern Style

In the second of a two-part series with John Embree, he recounts his pivotal role at Wilson, where he managed contracts for tennis legends including Pete Sampras, Chrissy Evert, Jim Courier, and others, and introduced the successful Wilson U.S. Open tennis ball. He discusses his leadership in developing innovative rackets like the Hammer and Pro Staff. After 17 years at Wilson, John transitioned to the USPTA as CEO, leveraging his for-profit experience to strengthen the organization. He shares his concerns about the aging tennis professional population and emphasizes the importance of...

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Former USPTA CEO John Embree Reflects on His Wilson Legacy and Leadership in Tennis show art Former USPTA CEO John Embree Reflects on His Wilson Legacy and Leadership in Tennis

Talking Tennis Southern Style

In the second of a two-part series with John Embree, he recounts his pivotal role at Wilson, where he managed contracts for tennis legends including Pete Sampras, Chrissy Evert, Jim Courier, and others, and introduced the successful Wilson U.S. Open tennis ball. He discusses his leadership in developing innovative rackets like the Hammer and Pro Staff. After 17 years at Wilson, John transitioned to the USPTA as CEO, leveraging his for-profit experience to strengthen the organization. He shares his concerns about the aging tennis professional population and emphasizes the importance of...

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Former USPTA CEO John Embree talks about his USTA League leadership show art Former USPTA CEO John Embree talks about his USTA League leadership

Talking Tennis Southern Style

In the first of a two-part series, John Embree reminisces about working as the first head of the USTA League and the NTRP system governing all USTA League players 44 years later. He explained that the goal of having one system for all adult players was considered unreachable when it was first proposed. He added, “One of the attractions about the USTA League program is that we have sectional and national championships.” In our second podcast with John, he outlines his 11 years as the United States Professional Tennis Association CEO until his retirement this year.

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Open Tennis Fest in Tennessee with Sara Barnett; Charles Allen starts a high-energy, crowd-friendly format show art Open Tennis Fest in Tennessee with Sara Barnett; Charles Allen starts a high-energy, crowd-friendly format

Talking Tennis Southern Style

When she headed up as President, Sara Barnett showed off her organizational skills. Now, Sara put together Open Tennis Fest events in her hometown of Jackson. She said they players like high-intensity competition and play of a special brand of the game of triples. Talk about new formats, Charles Allen is breaking all sorts of tennis rules and conventions with . Instead of sets and matches, this new fan-friendly format has bolts and surges. With 10 seconds and only one serve, the play is fast and furious with fans cheering at any time. Georgia Tech and...

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Mercer tennis player outlines donation program show art Mercer tennis player outlines donation program

Talking Tennis Southern Style

Cameron Douthit excelled on the Georgia tennis courts and in the classroom. Ranked as high as No. 5 in his state’s junior ranking, Cameron won back-to-back individual state championships. Plus, he took nearly two dozen advanced placement courses at the Stratford Academy in Macon, Ga. He applauded his high school coach, Southern Tennis Hall of Famer and Southern Tennis Foundation Director, Development & Operations Jaime Kaplan. He also used his community hours to collect and donate tennis can metal tops to the Ronald McDonald House. Listen to the Mercer freshman who is looking...

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Growing Tennis On Campus at UNC-CH show art Growing Tennis On Campus at UNC-CH

Talking Tennis Southern Style

John Hankinson’s travel with his University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Tennis On Campus team has already accumulated more miles than his years playing junior tournaments. He has played in numerous Southern TOC Championships and two National TOC Championships and heads up a massive contingent of players at Chapel Hill, where over 190 students have tried out for the team. He’s led the Tar Heel TOC Club team to support a grassroots fundraising tennis program, he’s competed at the USTA Adaptive Tennis Championships with one of his classmates and organized alumni matches on campus....

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TV personality Karen Graham co-founded company serving Deaf community show art TV personality Karen Graham co-founded company serving Deaf community

Talking Tennis Southern Style

“Talking Tennis Southern Style” host Sam Crenshaw reconnected with a long-time friend and fellow TV journalist when he interviewed Karen Graham, a mainstay on Atlanta’s Fox 5. A three-time Emmy award winner, Karen co-founded Sign1News, which serves the Deaf community with captioned news and sports on its website. She talks about learning signing at an early age and how she incorporates that skill in expanding her company’s many-faceted communication assets. A dedicated tennis player in the hotbed of recreational tennis, Karen can be seen on courts in and around the Georgia capital....

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Jamie Hunt starts as third coach in Georgia’s men’s tennis show art Jamie Hunt starts as third coach in Georgia’s men’s tennis

Talking Tennis Southern Style

In our second episode this month, that concentrates on college coaching, we spotlight Jamie Hunt, the third coach in UGA men’s tennis history, who starts in his new post this year. Jamie, who was a member of the 2007-08 Georgia champion teams, talks about the legacy of Dan Magill and his tutelage under Manny Diaz, both Southern Tennis Hall of Fame inductees. Saying he could write a book with all of the notes he’s taken in his seven years as associate head coach, he extolls Diaz and how the former coach prepared him for the head coach job.

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Belén Gómez-Jordana, Ponch Ochoa

Talking Tennis Soutern Style promotes Hispanic Heritage Month. With almost twenty years of experience as a tennis teacher, Belén Gómez-Jordana founded the non-profit and NJTL United TennisIn order to counter stereotypes, Gómez-Jordana created the Tennis for All program. She delivers group and individual classes at a very low cost. Gómez-Jordana volunteers on the USTA North Carolina Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is a former journalist at Telemundo Noticias Charlotte. Ponch Ochoa was an All-American at North Carolina State and cites his family background for launching his tennis career. He is the son of French Open 1958 women’s doubles and 1959 mixed doubles champion Yolanda "Yola" Ramírez Ochoa. Ponch remembers her ability, tenacity and grit as a tennis coach. His father, Alfonso Ochoa, was also a top-level pro who played on the ATP Tour. We celebrate North Carolinian juniors Siddhant Dua & Smyan Vijay and the newest inductees into the Alabama Tennis Hall of Fame: Leslie Hewett Bashinsky and Dudley Reynolds.