Transcripts For ALJAZAM Talk To Al Jazeera 20240621

Took a decade, and now the first African American and former professional player to lead the National Governing body is busy setting the agenda for her twoyear term. Accountability, behavior, and communication. As the youngest person to hold the post, adams wants to use tennis to transform lives. Its about providing kids an opportunity to be better individuals not just better tennis players but better citizens. She is also hard at work trying to expand the game. Part of my goals, are making sure that we grow our hispanic base here in the u. S. The fastestgrowing population. Katrina who grew up on the west side of chicago reflects on her introduction to tennis, and first playing in the nationals. I was such a cocky little kid not saying that much is changed, but it was fun. And of course we played the name game. Johnny mac. Wild, a. Talented witty. I spoke to Katrina Adams recently at the usta, where she showed me shes the boss on the court. So let me just say this to you youre not supposed to be the president of the United States Tennis Association. Why . Youre an African American woman. This is one of the most elite sports ever in the history of organized sports. And, yet, here you are. How did this happen, katrina . You know what tony its look. Its been 133 years since we were founded. So it is an honor to be the first. But i look at it as being someone whos been successful in the game cares about the game who has always given back to the game. And, with my involvement in the sport from that, being a Nonprofit Organization the harlem junior tennis and Education Program, working with grassroots, as ive worked my way up through the system of the usta ive been on the board for ten years, in my 11th year now. Why not me . What have you found . Have you found it a difficult rise . Have there been challenges . Did you have to push on the door . Or was the door kind of ajar and you were able just to sort of nudge it . What do you think . I dont think i had to fight for it. I was just being me. And being me is, you know, being a good listener. Always understanding what needs to be done to evolve. And ive always been about evolution. cause a lot of people dont know who we are. They see the u. S. Open; they see tournaments; they see leagues and says oh, well, you know to be a usta member, thats what its about. But its not. I mean were about growing the game putting people on the court, getting racquets in childrens hands all the way up to super seniors, and keeping them in the game. And its about providing opportunities for innercity youth who are in jtl programs. And about diversity. Its about inclusion. And, once you really understand that and understand that our sections and our states and our districts are really responsible for getting people in the game and keeping them involved, then you get a better feeling. And thats what i got from being on the board of usta. And i wanted to have an opportunity to go all the way to the top. What do you see as your core mission . What would you like for folks to say about your tenure when youre done in two years . The main message that im giving to our members and our volunteers its about getting back to the a, b, cs so that we can accomplish the x, y, zs that starts with accountability behavior and communication. Being accountable for what were putting out there, and for what our goals are and trying to accomplish our mission. Making sure that our behavior is engaging and that its inclusive, and that were inviting. And communicating who we are and what we do. And not just with potential members, but with our volunteers, with our Business Partners with our viewers. And with our fans, especially when it comes to the u. S. Open. And, in order to do that, we have to start at the top to make sure that were laying out proper goals for ourselves to make sure that we can accomplish them. And then, part of my goals are making sure that we grow our hispanic base here, in the u. S. , the Fastest Growing population absolutely. In america. And weve barely tapped into these communities to get the kids involved, get the parents involved get the grandparents involved. Its about really being inclusive of the entire family and embracing them. But going out and making sure were sending the right messengers out delivering the right message so that they want to be involved in the sport and understand the value of what tennis can do for them. I also am focusing on our high school kids. We have almost 400,000 high school players. We have a nocut policy within the u. S. We have teams that have if you want to play you get to play. If you want to play if your best friends on the team and you want to be on the team come on out. Right . But then, we only have those kids that are there for six, eight weeks through the high school season. I want to make sure that theyre following up with tennis after that and they have a place to go and truly learn the sport and become more engaged, and, hopefully stay in the sport for a lifetime. The hispanic outreach boy, that could be huge for tennis in america. Well, ive put together a hispanic engagement advisory group, which is which involves a lot of our leaders here, in the u. S. , some Board Members some section leaders some Staff Members et cetera, around the country who are really coming up with a plan. Its a group effort. It takes a village. It takes a and, hopefully, we have the right village to really go out and be successful. Katrina you are the obama of tennis in america. Thats so overthetop isnt it . Yes, you are the president of the United States Tennis Association. So president obama every year gives the state of the union address. And, at some point he says, the state of the union is strong. Whats the state of tennis in america . The state right now is that its positive. Were growing. And, if i can be as impactful as i think im being right now, you know skys the limit for what we can do in growing tennis in america. How were you introduced to the game . I got lucky. I stumbled on it. Im where i am today because of my parents. And because of that summer my parents were teaching summer school, and i was a tagalong little sister with my two brothers that were in a program that was sponsored by the Martin Luther king boys club in chicago. Every summer, they had a different activity. That summer happened to be tennis. And happened to be four blocks really . Away from home, where we walked. I was six; they were i dont know 12 and 14. They hated tennis. I was the ultimate tomboy, because my oldest brother used to always, you know beat up on me and wrestle and make sure i was engaged in sports because i was his excuse to be able to go hang out with his friends. Gotcha. So, you know i could throw a ball. I could hit a ball. I could do all those things. So, when it came to tennis i had to sit outside the fence for two weeks watching all of these kids between the ages of nine and 18 have fun and, in my opinion, not know what they were doing out there. And im a visual learner. So, after watching them and begging for two weeks, when i walked on the court i literally started playing tennis. And the coaches were amazed. My brothers were in shock. Because i could actually put the ball over the net in the Court Without it going Bing Bing Bing with some stroke development. Yeah. Because you had been watching . Id been watching. I could alway i already could play softball. So handeye was handeye was great great okay. I could already throw a ball. I was throwing a spiral football at six. So thats a service motion. And so, at the end of that summer i was the most improved player from the camp that summer. I got a little trophy, which was i still have in my possession. Ive taken it everywhere that ive lived. And one of the coaches tony fox was like hey id love to be able to work with her, you know during the school year. So we started playing one day a week really on the weekends, at an indoor facility, Washington Park field house it wasnt an indoor facility; it was a Basketball Court that had basketball lines volleyball lines tennis lines. You were playing tennis tennis. On a Basketball Court . Absolutely. So youre talking about lightning fast. Yes. It was a group lesson. And you know i started there. And then one day a week we went to another boys club on the west side. Then the Old Town Boys Club where they had a net set up. And so i developed a fast court game at a very early age. I was a serve and volleyer for a reason. You didnt really want the ball to bounce so much thats right. On a Basketball Court right and skid and shoot through, right cause they yeah, yeah. Played my first tournament, which was the ata nationals, in new orleans. So, mind ya, id been playing tennis for a year. My first tournament is in new orleans. So we get in the car and we drive down to new orleans. And im playing in the ata nationals with you know, a thousand other people when it came from ages boys and girls ten to 18, all the way up to men you had to have been intimidated. You know what . No. Because i was that cocky. laughter i was such a cocky little kid. Not saying that much has changed. laughter but but it was fun. I mean to be able to be around so many other kids and really say, wow this is exciting. And, when you get there for me, it was all about the trophy. So you get there and you see this table full of all these trophies. And i was like wow. You get trophies . And from, really that moment on it was about trophies for me. So it its interesting. The friends and Family Network that coordinate all of this, they make huge sacrifices, dont they to help you enjoy and and move on in the game, right . Let me tell you. My parents have been sigh unbelievable. Obviously, without them i wouldnt be where i am all their names. James and yvonne. They were teachers. You know we were considered middle class growing up on the west side of chicago. And they didnt know tennis. They never played tennis. To this day, they still havent played tennis. Wow. But they wanted to support me and my brothers, whatever it is that we wanted to do and they found a way. We made a lot of sacrifices. When youre a kid, you have no idea what that means. As you get older and you realize the amount of money that it takes or that it took based on what they made, i truly understood the sacrifices that they made. But it was also the relationship that they built. You know the relationships that they built with my coaches, with clubs with other organizations people that were supporting me that i had no idea were supporting me that may have been chipping in on some of the travel expenses. So they did an amazing job. But thats also where i give get my sense of giving back. They are from mississippi. Right . Both of them are mississippi. They went to school in mississippi, graduated, came to chicago. Great. In and around jackson . Or another my mothers from carthage which is yeah, yeah, yeah. The jackson area. My dad is from a little town called etta which is oxford. Gotcha. So understanding where they came from, moving to chicago to start a family and to raise us and to provide the opportunities that we had was just really astounding and and amazing in itself. What was the moment where you said i really want to go for this, and i think i can be successful. Was there a moment . Thats a very good question. I would say, as a junior, i was just about getting to the next tournament. You didnt see tennis the way you see it now. Every day, looking on television, youre watching the pros and you can aspire to be that and knowing that its a possibility. When i was growing up i never knew that that was really a possibility. cause the environment that i grew up in was not a tennis environment, right so i didnt understand what being a professional was. I had a goal at 12 to be a professional but i still didnt know what that meant and how to do it. And i was a young i was a young senior. I graduated at 16. And so that was not a goal of mine. I knew i was going to college. My parents were teachers; you think i had a choice . But went to northwestern. I had a focus on communication. I knew i wanted to go into tv at some point. And so that was my path. So, even when i was in school, after my freshman year my coach thought i was gonna turn pro. I was like turn pro . What are you talking about . Im like right i got a whole different path laid out here yeah, yeah. I would say early in sophomore year, when i really realized that i was constantly progressing and i said wow. You know what . This is truly an opportunity. Because what happens is, in the summer of your collegiate years or even after my High School Years i was starting to play what they call challengers. Which is a satellite or introductory tournaments to become a professional and get some points. And so, each summer, i was earning points earning points. And i was earning a ranking. And i started moving up in the rankings. During my sophomore year i says wow. And, you know ive really progressed. And had a had a talk with my coach and the Athletic Director of northwestern. And i said, you know what . I think i want to take the fall quarter off continue to play in the fall as an amateur and see how i do. Im used to playing every week in the summer but not every week throughout the year or most weeks throughout the year. Lets see how i do. If im doing well, and i and i can handle it, then ill turn pro in that january, the following january. If not im coming back to school and well never have this conversation again. You thought it out . Absolutely. I had a very productive summer a very productive fall. I was a direct entry into the australian open. And i said byebye. And so that was the beginning of my professional no wild card . No. Direct entry . Right. I was 100 in the world. And for me that was the time to go pro. Because now i know im direct entry into tournaments. No qualifiers . Im not playing qualifying every week. Yeah. And that was the decision that i made. And it was a it was a great decision. What do you consider the high point of your professional career . You know, theres every year was something different. I think your first year is always the most special. Because then you start to play all the majors and you play in all the tournaments, and traveling the world, and everything is new and exciting. I will say in that first year at wimbledon you know when you walk through the hallowed grounds of the all England Lawn Tennis Club and youre like, wow this is what youve been seeing. And the first summer that i picked up a racquet was the first time i saw arthur ashe on television, the summer of 1975 winning wimbledon. This is talk to al jazeera still ahead on the program Katrina Adams talks about improving the lives of young people through tennis. The new Al Jazeera America primetime. Get the real news youve been looking for. At 7 00, a thorough wrapup of the days events. Then at 8 00, John Seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. And at 9 00, get a global perspective on the news. Weeknights on Al Jazeera America. Youre watching talk to al jazeera with me tony harris, my guest this week is Katrina Adams head of the the United States Tennis Association. Coupla names. Let me throw some names. And then i want to get to the work youre doing in harlem. Coupla names. Zina garrison. What comes to mind . She was a mentor for me on tour. Top ten in the world. Took me under her wing when i first came on. Became best friends and a big sister. Lori mcneil. Very talented. Extremely funny. Really, the funniest person that i know. We played doubles a few times, as well, won a couple tournaments. And just very witty. Chris evert . Just the ultimate champion. Ultimate professional. You know it was an honor to be able to play her in 1988 cause she retired in 1989. And now, a friend. Martina navratilova . Probably one of the best ever. The most athletic. Really changed the game physically for everyone. Elevated the physical fitness of it. Made people realize they needed to be stronger, fitter. She was a serve and volleyer so somebody that i emulated. And and a great friend. Johnny mac . laugh wild. Talented. Witty. You know just highstrung when it comes to the way he played how he commentates. You know one of the smartest guys in the game. Billie jean king . The greatest ever. I mean the most amazing individual without pause . Oh, she you just said the greatest ever. Yeah. Shes the greatest ever because she encompasses everything. Shes a motivator, an innovator. Shes a leader. The godmother of tennis, in my opinion. What shes done for women in general not just in tennis and she founded the wta tour. But what she has done and continues to do for little girls in the world its not just about america but to empower women overall, to make them realize that they can be whoever they want to be and be the best at it, its just amazing. Arthur ashe . Humble. Humanitarian. A leader. Amazing athlete. And missed. Tell me about the program you run in harlem and how important that is to you. You know, the harlem junior tennis and Education Program is how i got to new york. And you know im im in my tenth year there now, its about providing kids an opportunity to be better individuals. Not just better tennis players but better citizens. And so were not only creating champions on the court but off the court. Its about tutoring, mentoring, life skills being big brothers big sisters, aunts, uncles. Whatever it is that we need to be for the kids in that program is amazing. Those of us who really love the game talk about the fact that its a game for a lifetime. We can play it when were creaking around and that sort of thing. But i want to know why why you love the game im a competitor in everything that i do. I love to compete. And theres no other sport that can really provide the level of competition with yourself. Its not just against someone else but challenging yourself to be the best to be able to focus, to be able to deal with adversity, to be able to build your selfesteem and your selfconfidence, to be fit, to run around, to really show your true personality on the court. Talk to us about the players coming along and the health of american tennis, mens tennis in america and womens tennis in america. Any child and every child has the opportunity to excel in a sport if they put the work in, if they really believe in it and they have the talent. And youre looking at serena and venus both, who had it all. We have 16 or 17 ladies in the top 100 right now. A year ago, two years ago, we had maybe five or six. So the health is were healthy. A lotta youth that are coming up. Taylor townsend, whos one of the youngest players that have emerged in the last year. And then on the mens side, its growing. You know . Not at the fast rate that we would like. But its there. And and what people have to realize, when you go back to the 70s and the 80s the world hadnt opened up yet. There was a lot of talent that had not come out from behind the iron curtain. And now, you know, skys the limit for everyone. Theres so much talent thats out there. And the opportunities are enormous for everyone. And so a lot of these players have surpassed the hunger that we had or w that we had then. Im not saying that were not hungry now. cause we are; weve got a lot of Young Players coming up. Id say, in the next five years, well have the same numbers in the top 100 on the mens side as we do on the womens. Still ahead in the program, i get my clock cleaned on the court, and love every minute of it. The cops is a legalized gang. It makes me scared for everybody fear and distrust in baltimore. Theyve just been pepper spraying people at very close range. Years of tension between the community and police erupt. She was on her way home to her kid, and she never made it. A former cop speaks out. If you had taken steps when a man was assaulted, maybe freddie gray didnt have to die. Is there still a blue wall of silence in American Cities . Did somebody get shot . Fault lines baltimore rising only on Al Jazeera America im tony harris youre watching talk to al jazeera were speaking this week with the woman at the top of the Us Tennis Association Katrina Adams. Tell me about this experience at the National Tennis center Billie Jean King National Tennis center. Youre going through a lot of renovations right now. We are. Talk me through some of the changes coming to the National Tennis center, and what the experience is going to be like not only this year, but got how many years to come here . laugh we are so excited about whats going on here. Were putting a roof finally, on Arthur Ashe Stadium. You know this has been in the making for us for about ten years when we first started talking about it. But you know, when ten years, f five years ago even we couldnt afford it. Its a big project. The size of Arthur Ashe Stadium is huge, the open the open part. And, to put a roof on that the weight of it would have been too much. So we finally found a developer and an architect that built something thats on the outside. Its more like a canopy. We are in phase two. Last year, we put all the pilings in in the ground you know 100 as much as 180 feet deep to be able to support the beams going up. This year, well have the super structure finished by the u. S. Open. And then, next year, well put the retractable roof part on. And its gonna be amazing. So thats one of the thats the first thing at hand. Were also building a new grandstand stadium. Are you excited about your first u. S. Open as the president of the United States Tennis Association . I why am i asking that question . I know you are. You know what . Its very interesting. I am. Im very excited. But its you know, i played the u. S. Open for 12 years. But the position is different. The responsibilities are greater a chairman of the u. S. Open. And so im excited to really be in that position for this year and next year. My friends are more excited to see me walk out on the court on saturday and sunday and present the the finals tro champion with the trophy. But yeah, im looking really looking forward to it. And youll get the box. And youll get to invite your friends. Is that a hint . And, you know tony harrisll be there. And ted robinson. And the and the guys were trying to figure out who whos that guy with i mean, we dont know. Moving on. Its my boy, tony. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. What is it that you want folks to say about your time in this position when youre done . People say, what do you want your legacy to be . And im just about making a difference. I want to change sportsmanship in america. I think the sportsmanship and the behavior of our kids and our parents, in particular, has just gone awol from what our sport is about. And, if any of those three can be accomplished, then ive done my job and set out and accomplished the goals that ive set forth. But its really about changing the face of tennis. And making people realize that they too are welcome. Uhh. Thats right that was probably. Ah youre not ganna finnish on that one. Uhhhh. Rip it uhhh. That was awsome best selling author James Patterson i dont work for a living its play for me his rise to fame and fortune. The was a lot of luck involved. Engaging a younger audience. A lot of kids dont think reading books is cool. And why novels are a key to success. Education is the future of the economy. Every tuesday night. I lived that character. Go one on one with americas movers and shakers. We will be able to see change. Gripping. Inspiring. Entertaining. Talk to al jazeera. Only on Al Jazeera America. This is techknow. A show about innovations that can change lives. The science of fighting a wildfire. Were going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and were doing it in a unique way. This is a show about science by scientists. Tonight, techknow investiages dirty gold