Wantagh teen on “Write” path to tennis dreams

The New York Open, held from Feb. 11-18 at NYCB Live’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, brought professional tennis to Nassau County. Tennis legend John McEnroe participated in a mixed doubles match with Sloane Stephens, Genie Bouchard and James Blake on opening night. The tournament also offered an array of internationally ranked talent, from Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson to Long Island native Noah Rubin.

Wantagh’s local connection to the New York Open was not through the competitors, however: resident Rachael Write, 14, was serving her first-ever ball person shifts at an ATP-sanctioned tournament.

How to be a ball person

To be a ball person at the New York Open — or at most tennis tournaments — prospective candidates try out with physical tests, which focus on fitness, stamina, concentration and alertness.

Ball people are either stationed behind the baselines of the court on its corners, also known as the bases, or on the sides of the court’s net.

When a ball is ruled dead, the ball person near the net retrieves the ball, and either rolls or throws it on one bounce, to the ball people at the bases. Then, whenever a server needs a ball, they are fed one by a ball person on the bases.

Usually, a ball person is someone who is training to become a better tennis player, and learns on the job by practicing endurance and coordination while getting occasional tips from players.

Finding her footing on the court

Rachael’s mother, Julia, said that her daughter tried nearly every sport before settling on tennis after attending lessons at the Carefree Racquet & Health Club in North Merrick.
“I encouraged her to also play for the Wantagh High School Varsity tennis,” Julia said, “and she was a little reluctant, but I think it was just the nervousness of playing other players and it wound up being a positive experience.”

Write said that she had to find a sport to play during the spring at Wantagh, and was split between track and tennis. “I can’t really run that well,” Rachael admitted with a laugh, “so I tried tennis… At first, I didn’t want to do it, but then I got into it and I really like it now.”

Rachael is currently a member of the Wantagh High School varsity tennis team, and continues to take tennis lessons at Carefree.

A risk rewarded

Rachael found out about the New York Open’s try-outs through her mother, who said that it would be a learning experience for her. “I was a little scared to do it,” Rachael said, “but it’s my one opportunity, and why not take the risk of doing it?”

After practicing before the event with her co-workers, Rachael ran out onto the New York Open courts on Feb. 13 and 14 and was a mostly a bases ball person with occasional nets shifts.

“We are lucky to have an incredible collection of volunteers for the tournament,” Jane Trinkle, the New York Open’s volunteer & event services coordinator, said. “Their help is invaluable as we build this event into a premier experience for New Yorkers. As a more junior volunteer, Rachael has been eager to learn and continue to hone her skills as she aims to be a part of the New York Open family for years to come.”

Julia was thrilled that her daughter was a New York Open ball person, as she knows that the Open’s competitors were once her age and took every opportunity to improve their skills.

“I am super excited that she had this opportunity,” Julia said, “because opportunities like this do not come along very often.”

Although Rachael left her shifts exhausted with a full night of homework left to do, she was grateful to learn from her more experienced co-workers by paying attention to what they did.

“I just followed what everyone else was doing,” Rachael said as she gave a laugh.