My name is Celeste and I am a junior tennis parent.   My husband and I have three daughters, two of whom began playing junior tennis.   My youngest daughter, stuck with it, is now 13, and has been playing tennis since she was 5.  She started playing various junior tennis tournaments in Florida and other states when she was 8.  She has played team tennis, USTA tournaments (including the Little Mo Internationals), charity tennis tournaments, and now high school varsity tennis.  Her dad is now her tennis coach and it has been a great experience.  We love tennis, play for fun and also want to give back to the sport of tennis.  All proceeds or monies earned from this site will be given back to the tennis charities posted on this site.   I continually update the Florida Tennis Charity Event pages with charity tournaments I find coming up.  If you have a tennis charity event, please send me the information through the contact page and I will be happy to post it.

We knew little about the sport of tennis when we started.   Most of  what we learned was through our trials and tribulations.  My husband and I  have learned so much over the years that I wanted to share it with other tennis juniors and their families.  I have had many other parents ask me questions about how to start competing in tennis matches.  We will post many of these questions on-line to help other parents gain additional insight.  We hope other tennis parents, tennis coaches and junior tennis players will share their experiences and knowledge through our blog.

We live in Bradenton Florida, a Mecca for both tennis coaching and competition.   Bradenton  is north of Sarasota and south of Tampa, on the Florida  gulf coast.   There is a lot of  tennis competition locally.   Some of the best junior tennis players come from all over the world to play at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis academy here in  Bradenton and at the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy an hour north of us in Wesley Chapel.   Our daughter does not go to these tennis academies but plays against (and sometimes with, in doubles) many of these junior tennis players in local tournaments.   We frequently see tennis players from many other states as well as countries  playing at a local tennis tournament.

Our daughter has made friends with so many kids from  so many places, something she really treasures.  She has had her share of losses but we tell her it’s all about  improving your tennis game, being a good sport, and the fun of competing.   Many  parents and juniors lose sight of this.   Most kids are not going to  turn pro, and only a few are going to college on a tennis scholarship, but everyone can play this sport for the rest of their lives!