She started the morning in the SmashZone, the premier fan interactive attraction at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing on Friday, September 9. There, the First Lady played some 10 and under tennis with a group of kids from the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program along with tennis superstars Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, James Blake and Katrina Adams and Mal Washington.
All gathered to join Obama in her Let’s Move! initiative, which combats childhood obesity.
“I am so incredibly excited to finally be at my first U.S. Open, but I am equally excited and proud to be standing in partnership with the USTA and all they have done for hundreds of thousands of kids across this country,” said Obama. “You are an example of what we can do when we put our minds to it.”
The First Lady told the future star athletes that tennis wasn’t a popular sport on Chicago’s Southside, where she grew up, and that she didn’t start playing until after earning her law degree at Harvard. But once she picked up the racquet, she quickly developed a passion for the game – a passion she has since passed on to her daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Tennis is the kind of thing that is great for kids because it gets you moving, it keeps you focused. You get to move your muscles, you have to be quick, you have to be strong,” she said. “It gets your heart pumping, but it is a sport you can do forever. I know people in their 90s who are still playing tennis. And I want to be one of those people, I want my daughters to be some of those people, and I want all kids around the country to have access to opportunities and get exposure to sports like tennis so you guys figure out what your loves are.”
After making her rounds at all the different activities in the SmashZone, the First Lady showed off her tennis skills, teaming up with some kids in spirited matches against John McEnroe and then Katrina Adams.
The appearance was part of her "Let's Move!" campaign to fight childhood obesity. Mrs. Obama praised the U.S. Tennis Association for building kid-sized courts all around the country, noting that she couldn't get into tennis until after law school because the South Side of Chicago where she grew up had very few courts to play on.
And even though the First Lady is into the sport, she wasn't boasting about her abilities on the court. In fact, it was rather refreshing -- especially in the midst of such a heated competition -- how she discussed what the sport is really about.
She explained:
I'm not really good or anything like that. That's the beauty of tennis. You don't have to be good to enjoy it. I love the game, and my skills are very questionable.
Ha! Gotta love the modesty/self-deprecation, when I'm sure her skills aren't that questionable. But what she didn't say exactly but is totally communicating -- to kids and adults -- is that you don't have to be The BEST or The WINNER to enjoy being athletic, getting out there, just enjoying the sport for what it is.
I think all too often, people are intimidated by the competitive nature of sports. If you're no "good," then it's no fun. But that's definitely not the case -- or it shouldn't be! And that's what the First Lady is really promoting here. I love it, and it's exactly the message the government and the U.S. Tennis Association need to be sending.
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