Executive Director's Message Announcing Additions And Changes In The Hawaii Section

Ron Romano announces the Hawaii Pacific Section has made some positive additions and changes to the way we operate

Covid - 19:

The USTA Hawaii Pacific Inc. had a challenging year as a result of Covid - 19 restricting tennis play and changing our way of life. We developed tennis safe playing guidelines to enable you to get back on the tennis courts and to play tennis safely. The City & County of Honolulu and the neighbor islands adopted the USTA safe playing guidelines and included them in their Covid - 19 protocols on their websites. Please click on the link below to view our safe playing guidelines.

https://www.ustahawaii.com/news/covid-19

Davis Cup:

The highlight of the year was, without doubt, hosting a Davis Cup tie! From March 6-7, 2020 the USTA Hawaii Pacific Inc. hosted a Davis Cup qualifier, which was the first Davis Cup to be held on Oahu. The tie between the USA and Uzbekistan was held at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Announcing in November 2019 their intentions to retire, the 2020 US Open champions, twins Bob and Mike Bryan were lured back to the team for the first time since 2016. The Bryan Brothers clinched their 25th Davis Cup victory, 6-3, 6-4 over Sanjar Fayziev and Dennis Istomin. The USA team of Taylor Fritz, Riley Opelka, Tommy Paul and Mike & Bob Bryan advanced to the finals in Madrid, Spain with a 5 - 0 victory over Uzbekistan.

Reorganization:

The USTA Hawaii Pacific Inc. reorganized in 2020 and converted from a 501 C 4 to a charitable 501 C 3 non for profit organization and we changed our name from USTA Hawaii Pacific Section to the USTA Hawaii Pacific Inc.

Merger:

Another major structural change was merging our four neighbor island Districts with the Section into one governing body. The merger will eliminate duplication, enable us to operate more efficiently and it will change our focus from administration to promoting grass roots tennis.

Tennis Facilities:

In order to gain more access to tennis courts and to promote and develop the growth of tennis, we partnered with the Royal Kona Resort in Kona to manage their four court tennis facility and pro shop. Albert Murata, from Waialae Iki 5 and AM stringing, is the new Director of Tennis at the Royal Kona Resort. 

In addition, we launched our introductory tennis lesson program, Play & Learn Tennis, on the two Classic Clay tennis courts at the Alohilani Resort in Waikiki. We launched the program in January and most of the classes were filled quickly.

Advocacy:

We are working with Council member Andria Tupola, who is heading up a task force to open up the public parks for tennis and other sports in a safe manner using safe playing guidelines.

Summary:

This has been an unprecedented year and difficult in many regards. I see tennis as a perfect opportunity to get out of the house, get some exercise and socialize with friends. A recent Tennis Industry study shows a 22 % increase in tennis participation in 2020 compared to 2019. The tennis survey supports the benefits of playing tennis.

I am optimistic that things are getting better. With the vaccine on the near horizon and everyone following safety precautions, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Stay safe and healthy. Thank you for being USTA members and thank you for your support of tennis. I hope you continue to play and enjoy tennis as a lifetime sport.