USTA Southern California is proud to acknowledge two juniors from our section, Cayden Mathews of Compton (Girls/Boys 12 & Under) and Jeselle Ante of Riverside (Girls/Boys 18 & Under), who were national winners of the 2023 USTA Foundation NJTL Essay Contest.

This year’s contest centered around a famous quote from legendary tennis player Althea Gibson: “No matter what accomplishments you make, someone helped you.” Students were asked to explain in their own words what this quote means to them. Additionally, students were asked, “Who from your NJTL chapter helped you, how did they help you, and what impact has this made on your tennis skill and/or life?”

Both of the award-winning essays are included below.

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Cayden Simone Mathews
Semurana Tennis Association
2023 NJTL Essay Contest

“No matter what accomplishments you make, someone helped you.” To me, this is a very powerful quote that I believe everyone can relate to. It was said by the great tennis champion Althea Gibson, who was born in 1927 and passed away in 2003. Althea discovered her love for tennis in Harlem, New York City, and later joined a local all-black tennis team. She was the first African-American to win a Grand Slam tennis event, and is known for winning 5 grand slams. In my opinion, I strongly agree with this quote, because you need to know what resources you need to accomplish something along with good advice. I have accomplished so much, and if my relatives and others had not given me a good foundation, the tools to help me succeed, and advice, I would not have improved in tennis, do well in my Jiu-Jitsu class, and have honors level work in all of my classes. With this being said, I would like to share who has helped me start my tennis journey.

The meaning of this quote has a major impact on my life and shows me how much we as a people need each other to lean on. We are all interdependent, because we are all interconnected. One of the first people to teach me to play tennis was my aunt. She has played tennis for a while and encouraged me to play with her after I showed interest in the sport. She gave me my first racket and explained the game. Not to mention that she showed me a few of her strategies, and even though it seemed difficult at first, she gave me words of
encouragement and told me to keep trying. To support my statement, Althea Gibson was helped by Alice Marble, a former tennis number 1, when Gibson was denied access to play tennis in the worlds best tournaments because of her ethnicity by writing a piece in the American Lawn Tennis magazine in 1950. This persuaded the tennis community to let her play at Wimbledon, and within a year, she was one of the top 10 tennis players in the world, ranked at number 10. She later was ranked 7th. To me, this shows how kindness and encouragement can help you learn and achieve new things.

Someone else who has helped me with my tennis journey are my coaches, Coach Montez and Coach Sam. Since joining Semurana Tennis Association, they have been patient, encouraging, supportive and helpful, making sure to always share tips and recognize my hard work by saying ‘Good job!’and ‘Nice one!’ every time I win a game or slice a ball. I also previously struggled with finding a racket that worked for me, and my coaches had me play with different rackets until I found the perfect one; and once I did, they gave it to me. This has resulted in me gaining confidence and feeling happier and happier after each tennis lesson. Every time they give me a recommendation, a new drill to learn, or a technique, I try it out because it could help me develop skills and learn strategies I never knew about; and I am forever grateful.

The last people who I’d like to thank for helping me in tennis are my parents. In my eyes, they are like superheroes. When I am feeling down, they are always there to cheer me up. Especially when my last tennis practice took place. My hand was hurting and I kept missing balls in the first half hour of practice. I felt like I was doing horribly; yet they still told me to keep trying and not beat myself up. Although I was tired at the end of practice, their words changed my mindset to the point where I wanted to continue playing tennis after practice was over. After we left, I realized that a little encouragement went a very long way. I felt like during the last two hours of me practicing, that was the best I had ever played.

In conclusion, this quote means a lot to me for two reasons, one being that whenever my pride gets in the way, I can look back at this quote and remember that I was never as great before someone helped me. It also reminds me so much of my aunt, who I mentioned earlier, because she trained me in Badminton and is currently teaching me how to crochet and play pickleball. When I look back at how far I’ve come in Badminton and how easy it is to crochet, and how I finally got the hang of the pickleball rules, I’ll always remember that she helped me. Everyone who has helped me in this chapter of my life will always be remembered in my book for being so kind and taking their time to teach me new things and changing the way I view tennis. Two years before I played tennis, I thought that it was perhaps the easiest sport, and you didn’t need to train to be the best. A year later, I realized how large my ego was and that I had the wrong mindset. I learned this after watching quite a few tennis matches. I learned that you have to train a lot to have strength and endurance. Once I started playing tennis, I knew that this would be the sport I would stick with and train as hard as I could to be at my very best. Everything takes time, and I am so happy with how far I’ve come. Now that I know this, I have the confidence that I will become a strong tennis player and an even stronger adult because of my diligence and dedication to everything I do.

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Jeselle Ante
2023 NJTL Essay Contest

This quote tells me that despite all my achievements, receiving and expressing kindness is the biggest accomplishment of all. And no matter the amount of accolades, people will see your kindness and character as most memorable of all. Throughout our struggles and the obstacles we face in our lives, the character that arises from those experiences is the most honorable achievement of all. Because in those moments, we remember when we were in a dark time and there was one person to lend a hand. It also reminds us that with the help of other people and with all of your interactions with the world, it has led you to where you are today.

I have struggled very deeply with grieving the loss of my mother, who had passed away front-lining at the peak of COVID-19 in 2020. But through these years, I see my mother has blessed me by putting good people around me to help me heal and reminding me with compassionate people to be compassionate with myself. For example, I had coincidentally met the same two people in the course of six months four times. These incidents led me to multiple foundations at my aid, including the SCTA Foundation, PBJTP Foundation, and lastly to intern at the Inspiring Foundation. Reinforcing good people in my life to add into my community for support.

Through my struggles, people brought me up with their support, energy, and presence to help me stand strong as I am now. Ryan Wolfington, my mentor, has allowed me to explore all different aspects of my life mentally, emotionally, and spiritually throughout my internship. Along with other people encouraging my wellness and seeking insight into my life, emphasizing my strengths and my weaknesses. Allowing me to grow on and off the court. I can say in confidence, every interaction was a lesson and an opportunity to grow into the person I am today. This quote emphasizes that no matter how great our achievements, someone has helped us along the way and never to forget that.

This doesn’t just stop at my tennis community, but deeper levels of my internal community including my family. Observing the complexities and flaws within my family during my healing stage has significantly contributed to my personal growth. In retrospect, I can see how the stressful household environment, while challenging, provided the drive for my growth. My mother for instance, was a sensitive soul – persistently burdened by financial stress yet tirelessly striding forward. It was from her that I inherited the art of resilience and the beauty of being stubborn. However, witnessing her constant struggle taught me another valuable lesson. The true issue often lies not in the problems we face but in how we perceive them. In recognizing this, I was better equipped to navigate my own obstacles.

Seeing that my sisters struggled with certain concepts in their fixed mindsets to cope, also made me realize the importance of patience and compassion to others. We never know what’s hurting people in the moment to determine what is within and not within our control. Seeing different perspectives and struggles has allowed me to be more empathetic and encourage kindness.