Several dozen Capital District tennis players got the chance to learn from one of the sport’s all-time greats Saturday.
Roy Emerson held a pair of morning clinics at Schuyler Meadows Country Club in Loudonville before participating in an afternoon pro-am. The first clinic was for children from the 15-LOVE program, and the second was for adults.
I like working with kids, especially when they are keen to learn, said the 70-year-old Emerson, who won 28 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles.
`He’s great at teaching kids,` said Schuyler Meadows pro Jonathan Ellenbogen. `He talks to them in a way that they can understand.`
The adult clinic and pro-am were a fundraiser for the 15-LOVE program, which teaches tennis to youth who can’t afford to take lessons.
`It’s cool,` said 17-year-old Rumeal Lewis of Colonie, who is in his fifth year with the 15-LOVE program. `We’re like a big family here.`
`There’s a lot of things to do like going to the U.S. Open,` added 12-year-old Akina Ngu, who is in her second year with the Capital District chapter.
Emerson worked specifically with the children on their serves and was a patient teacher as they tried to land their serves properly.
`When I couldn’t get my serve through, he helped me with how high to toss the ball,` said Ngu.
`He’s got a good sense of humor. He was laughing a lot,` said Lewis. `But he was also very cool, which I guess is what helped him win all those Grand Slam titles.`
Emerson said he feels a responsibility to pass the game on to the next generation.
`The kids, they’re the next tennis players,` he said. `If we don’t take care of them, we won’t have tennis players.`
Emerson learned the game growing up in Australia. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1959 at Wimbledon as a doubles player and claimed his first singles championship at the 1961 Australian Open. He wound up winning his native country’s singles title a record six times, the last coming in 1967. Emerson also won two Wimbledon, two French and two U.S. Open singles titles.
`I’m so happy I grew up playing tennis,` said Emerson. `I got to meet people, and I got good enough to tour the world.`
Loudonville resident Graham Jones remembers Emerson’s career well. Jones watched Emerson during the height of his career on television while living in London.
`He was a great player ` self effacing, unpretentious,` said Jones, an 80-year-old who was attending the adult clinic. `You instantly liked him.`
Even those too young to see Emerson play knew of his accomplishments.
`I asked (the 15-LOVE kids) if they knew who he was before they started, and they equated him with Rod Laver and (Bjorn) Borg,` said Ellenbogen.
Emerson has no plans to stop playing or teaching tennis.
`As long as I can put one foot in front of the other, I think I’ll continue to play because I’d rather do that than go to the gym or work on a treadmill,` he said.“