OUR FOUNDATION PLAYERS RETURN BACK TO THE USA

News and Stories by Nino Severino

OUR FOUNDATION PLAYERS RETURN BACK TO THE USA

Posted 24TH of January 2025

News and Stories by Nino Severino

We always look forward to our foundation players coming home for the holidays. This Christmas Alana Bristow, Bethan Fothergill, Tawan Senah and Candy Wai all returned.

As always, we have the customary gathering, where the girls all get together to spend some time with each other, Justice Hall, our first Player Ambassador who is based in the UK also joined them, Candy unfortunately could not attend the event.

For me all the girls represent Elena’s legacy, and all she would have wanted her girls to achieve. Elena supported the girl’s dreams, and from a very young age always encouraged them to think big and build on the skills of tennis they developed. I’m very proud that Justice, Alana, Bethan and Tawana all joined the foundation at the tender age of 6 years old, and that we have all managed to stay strong as a foundation family.

This was Elena’s wish, for our foundation family to stay strong, and for the girls to support each other. I think that the girls have exceeded all of her expectations. We are all so very proud of them, they commit to their education, and tennis in the States, and always come home, to be together as a foundation family during the holidays.

Elena and I created a mantra, I believe the girls adhere to every element of it:

I WILL ALWAYS TRY MY HARDEST NEVER TO LET DOWN MYSELF, MY SISTERS OR MY FAMILY

I WILL ALWAYS GIVE ALL I HAVE, PHYSICALLY MENTALLY AND SPIRITUALLY TO DEVELOP MY CHARACTER ON AND OFF COURT

I WILL ALWAYS COMPETE TO WIN AGAINST MY SISTERS, BUT FEEL HONOUR IN KNOWING THAT EVERY WIN WILL BE FOR MY SISTERS

AS PLAYERS WITH OUR SISTERS WE ARE ONE, EVEN IF ON THE COURT WE STAND ALONE

This year’s get together was very special, as we invited some of the younger players to join the event. It was a fantastic opportunity for the older girls to give back. They were all fantastic, telling the young players, and their parents who attended all about their lives in America, and how they are literally living their dream. The parents had so many questions for the girls, I could not have felt any more pride because of their responses. They talked with such intelligence and articulation, being kind, caring, but also informative.

I still remember, with fondness the school visits I made with Elena, when I think back, I really don’t know how she delivered the commitment. We were travelling around the world on the WTA Tour, she was representing her country, playing some of the best players in the world, in our best year, achieving 3 top 10 wins!

On our return back to our UK base, she would then have a gruelling training programme to commit to. It was in between these training sessions that Elena would make her school visits, and where she discovered our foundation girls. It’s because of this incredible dedication and commitment, I stay true to my word, and ensure that our foundation, remains with these players along their life journey.

There are so many reasons to feel pride, amongst these reasons is the development of the girl’s personalities and characters. They were all so attentive to the younger girl’s needs, ensuring that they gave them the attention they needed to build their confidence and provide them with a positive life experience. These positive life experiences are so important, as a foundation we are committed to creating these. We are so grateful to our world governing body who support us in this area, giving our girls so many incredible experiences, one including meeting Madison Keys, who recently won the Australian Open.

For all in the foundation, it’s wonderful to see the images that the girls send back to us, tracking their experiences and their education and tennis pathways in the States. The girls are now committing to weekly video dairies, so we can share their stories with the world. Giving us their thoughts about their day-to-day experiences. We hope these videos motivate and inspire other girls who are involved in tennis to explore all the options our wonderful game provides them with.

It really is wonderful to see all the girls spending time with each other when they come home, the camaraderie, closeness and relationship they all have with each other is a testament to Elena’s affect when she was with us. Her love, care, compassion and actions, did not only affect the girls, but they affected me as well. Seeing the laughter, fun and communication when they all meet is what drives me to continue investing in our foundation family and ensuring these long-lasting relationships survive and thrive. My wish is that these girls, and all those who follow, honour Elena’s legacy, and continue to be the energy that will see our foundation continue to affect lives in a very positive way.

During the event, it was fantastic to see how many questions the parents had for the older girls. These questions were all about the journey their young girls are currently taking on their tennis pathway. As you would expect, parents can only wonder what is coming, but the older girls provided them with clarity, because they and their parents have walked this path. I was so proud of all the older girls, they showed patience, listened, and gave such valuable responses, with clarity and intelligence. It was obvious to me, that these conversations would be invaluable to our current parents, watching this life experience unfold in front of me made me think of Elena, and how grateful I am that we had her in our lives.

There will be many more life experiences for our older foundation girls when they continue to come back home. They will be invited to many experiences, some supported by the WTA, and others arranged by our foundation. However these opportunities happen, the most important aspect is that they continue to honour Elena’s legacy and continue to develop the family spirit we have in our foundation.