Tennis tourney benefits NSSRA athletes on, off court | 22nd Century Media
By Derek Wolff, Assistant Editor – July 12, 2016
22nd Century Media
Published in The Lake Forest Leader, The Glencoe Anchor, The Highland Park Landmark, The Northbrook Tower, The Glenview Lantern, The Wilmette Beacon and The Winnketa Current.
Stefan Xidas knew he’d be heading out onto the court before the round of 16 matches of the 24th annual Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship at his home court in Winnetka to sing the national anthem.
The Winnetka native and Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association athlete had no clue he’d also get to play an exhibition match.
The tournament, which has selected NSSRA to be the charitable recipient of its proceeds for more than a decade now, ran from July 4-9 at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center in Winnetka, hosting a large field of challengers.
NSSRA, the first special recreation association in the country, features athletes from Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Northfield, Riverwoods, Wilmette and Winnetka.
With July 4 falling on a Monday this year, the matches were a little behind schedule and an annual demonstration from some of the NSSRA athletes that usually kicks off the tournament had to be canceled. However, Xidas was able to play an exhibition match with NSSRA staff member Daniel Freres prior to Thursday night’s competition.
Along with fellow NSSRA Gators tennis player Sam Green, Xidas then delivered a powerful anthem for the crowd on hand.
“Stefan is great at it, plain and simple,” said NSSRA’s Executive Director Craig Culp, on the anthem. “It’s really something to see. You can see the level of talent and it’s not the easiest thing in the world to sing the national anthem well.”
Xidas has been singing the anthem during the Championship for longer than Culp can remember, while Green’s addition has been welcomed.
“Sam joined him as a duo and this is the second year they’re doing it together,” Culp said. “We have to credit our participants for volunteering to do this for us and knocking it out of the park. They get a standing ovation because it’s moving, it’s really good. It’s just something to see and is a great tradition that we have to credit Stefan for starting because of his talent behind a microphone and with a tennis racket in his hand, too.”
The Championship has welcomed NSSRA’s athletes over the years, typically having them participate in opening day festivities. The proceeds from the tournament also do a world of good for NSSRA’s foundation.
“It’s an amazing partnership but we’re the ones winning out the most because we’re the charitable recipient for this tournament,” Culp said. “It provides us with additional exposure to the community and that exposure is in many fashions.”
NSSRA uses the proceeds from the tournament in two major avenues: transportation and scholarships. The organization has a fleet of 10 vehicles to transport its athletes, coaches and staff members to various competitions. Six of those vehicles are wheelchair accessible and cost between $65,000-$70,000 apiece.
The proceeds also benefit NSSRA’s scholarship fund, which awarded around $47,000 to its athletes last year alone.
The organization was featured prominently throughout the tournament, stemming from the on-court performances as well as having a visual presence at each ticket booth, where guests were reminded that proceeds benefit the NSSRA. The announcers who conducted on-court interviews with the players following matches also spoke about NSSRA every night, Culp said. The additional exposure was a generous touch, one borne out of the now long-standing partnership with the tournament.
“Not everybody knows about NSSRA but they get to hear about us,” Culp said. “People come to watch the tournament from all around the Chicagoland area and we get exposure to a pretty vast gathering of individuals as a result of this tournament.”
Even though the Gators tennis team were not able to give the demonstration en masse this year, the opportunity to be on the court before the matches is something to look forward to. As a seasoned veteran of the honor, Xidas’ turn on the hard court will likely be inspirational for other members when the tournament returns next summer.
“Newer players that aren’t comfortable, or not ready to be in that type of environment are usually out there cheering on their teammates,” Culp said. “That’s great because they see that occur as a new athlete and aspire to be out there on the court, doing the demo, at some point in the future.”