USTA and YOU
SC Tennis Scholarships
You can find more information on all of USTA SC scholarships here on the USTA SC website - https://sctennis.com/grants-scholarships/.
The Southern Tennis Foundation (STF) is the charitable arm of the Southern Tennis Association and is operated by a 15-member Board of Trustees. The foundation offers financial assistance to worthy individuals and organizations that work to fulfill the mission to “Promote and develop the growth of tennis.”
SC Tennis Grants
The South Carolina Tennis Patrons Foundation offers financial aid on a limited basis, primarily on need, for junior players. Grants of $150-$1,000 per player per year are awarded for tennis related expenses. You can find more information on the SCTPF grants here – https://sctpf.org/junior-player-grants/.
David R. Mauritson Memorial Scholarship Established
The Southern Tennis Foundation (STF), the charitable arm of United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern Section, announces the establishment of the David R. Mauritson Memorial Scholarship.
His wife of nearly 43 years, Eleanora, of Fairhope, Ala., donated $30,000 to the foundation to support an annual $1,000 scholarship beginning this year.
DaQuarris Poole, of Huntsville, Ala. and Columbia High School, was selected as the first scholarship recipient and plans to attend Alabama A&M.
Mauritson was an accomplished cardiologist practicing from 1981 until his retirement in 2012. After graduating from Westminster College magna cum laude, with a triple major in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology, he attended Harvard Medical School and graduated in 1974.
Each student will receive $1,000 to help offset the expenses of his or her first year of school. The awards will continue for three additional years provided the recipient remains a student in good standing, giving each scholarship a total value of $4,000. To qualify for these scholarships students must demonstrate financial need and must have participated in tennis for at least two of their high school years, either on a school team or through tournaments, National Junior Tennis & Learning, Junior Team Tennis or other USTA programs. The primary consideration in awarding the scholarships will be academic performance and potential, but community service and sportsmanship will also be considered. Here is the link to apply.
2020 Tennis Surge: 31.1% in Southern
Tennis participation skyrocketed in 2020 and USTA Southern showed the greatest increase among the 17 USTA sections.
Last year, tennis participation jumped 31.1% in USTA Southern’s nine states, a higher percentage than any USTA section. A whopping 738,256 Southerners played in 2020 over 2019. Many of them are first-time players or others who played before but hadn’t picked up a racquet recently.
The data was compiled for the Physical Activity Council and prepared by Sports Marketing Surveys. Click here for a complete Southern report. For further information about the survey, click here.
Over the last five years (2015-2020), the section saw a growth of 3.9% in players.
USTA Southern was third among the sections in the percentage of players who are core players, defined as playing more then 10 times a year. USTA Florida and USTA Middle States had higher percentages.
Women make up 50.5% of the Southern players. Black players accounted for 20.3%, while Asian Pacific Islander were 8.9% and Hispanic/Latino were 3.3%.
Public parks were the most frequented location, representing 48.2% of play, followed by school/college at 15.6% and private clubs at 13%.
A total of 3,113,088 Southerners played the sport last year, 6.4% of the population age 6 and over.
Collegiate Wheelchair Tennis Scholarship Application
The Southern Wheelchair Tennis Committee will award up to two (2) $1000 scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year. Applicants may be part or full-time college students. Award recipients may reapply the following year.
Minimum Criteria for Selection
• Current member of the USTA
• Current resident of a Southern state
Preferred Criteria For Selection
Active tennis player who meets all of the following:
Participant in 2021 USTA Sanctioned Tournaments
Plans to attend/or currently attending a recognized Collegiate Wheelchair Tennis Program
Maintains a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 Scale)
Maintains a full-time credit load (preferred)
You must complete all sections of the application and upload all requested supplemental information to be considered. The application requires a high school or college transcript and a short essay. STF will announce scholarship recipients by June 30, 2021. If you have questions about the application, please email Jennifer Edmonson at jennedmonson@aol.com.