More than any win or loss on the court, the impact of USTA League tennis in the Mid-Atlantic is underscored by the bonds and friendships created off the court. This idea was certainly evident at the recent Women’s 2.5 National Championship when teams from Maryland and Puerto Rico got to know each other.

After playing a team match against each other, the ladies got to talking and hanging out during the rest of their time in Mobile, Ala. When Mid-Atlantic’s team, captained by Chanhee and Kevin Ro, heard the Puerto Ricans were planning a run to Costco to buy basic supplies to bring back for hurricane relief, the women from Columbia, Md. decided to chip in. They pooled some money – including from team members who hadn’t even made the trip to Alabama – to help the Puerto Rican women buy even more supplies to bring back with them.

The women from Maryland and Puerto Rico together at the player party. Puerto Rico’s captain Johmary Melendez River (center, yellow shorts) is holding an envelope with donated money for more supplies.

This is what tennis is all about – cultivating common bonds, bringing perfect strangers together united through the sport they all love. Whether at a USTA National Championship or on the courts of the local park, you cannot deny that tennis brings people together in extraordinary ways to do extraordinary things. Kudos to Columbia’s 2.5 Women’s team for showing that the impact of tennis extends far beyond the court.

A bag of flashlights and batteries the team brought back to support hurricane relief efforts.