NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., April 3, 2023 — Professional Tennis Player Madison Keys and her Kindness Wins foundation revealed newly renovated tennis courts in North Charleston on Monday, April 3rd ahead of the 2023 Credit One Charleston Open.
The American was joined by District 8 City Council Member Bob King, Charleston Open Tournament Manager Eleanor Adams and over 30 children from underserved areas of North Charleston for the court unveiling and youth tennis clinic.
“I love Charleston and I’m so happy my foundation was able to play a small role in making something great happen here,” said Keys, who lifted the trophy at the WTA 500-level tournament in Charleston in 2019. “I’m grateful to everyone who made this happen and can’t wait for the community to use the courts.”
Last September, Keys and Kindness Wins held a social media fundraiser on its annual “Kindness Wins Day” to raise money for community courts in need. With donations from the Charleston Open, WTA Charities, her fellow tennis champions and fans around the world, Madison decided she wanted to give back to the community of Charleston.
“As a mom of a professional tennis player, I’ve seen first-hand how important it is that children have a safe place to access sports,” said Christine Keys, President of Kindness Wins and Madison’s mother. “I’m thrilled that Kindness Wins was able to provide support to this tennis-loving community in North Charleston, and I know these courts will get a lot of great use in the years to come.”
This project was done in partnership with the North Charleston Recreation Department and USTA South Carolina, who regularly use the four courts at the JV Morris Tennis Center to provide tennis clinics to underserved youth in the area.
“These courts will offer endless opportunities for kids of all ages,” said April Gift, USTA SC Manager of Program Development. “With the groundbreaking for the tennis facility at Danny Jones being over a year away and having four teams that regularly need to play there, it’s nice to know that the players will have a safe place to play their matches, practice and participate in clinics close to home. These newly resurfaced courts have really helped beautify the North Park.”
After the unveiling, Kindness Wins and USTA SC hosted a youth tennis clinic, with support from other local tennis organizations such as Lowcountry Youth Tennis Association, Lowcountry Tennis Association and Third Serve Foundation.
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ABOUT KINDNESS WINS
Founded in 2020 by Madison Keys, Kindness Wins is a 501©3 nonprofit dedicated to promoting kindness to youth, kindness to self and kindness to others in times of struggle. The foundation supports youth access to sports, education and their own desires to make a difference and create a kinder world For more, visit https://www.kindnesswins.org/ or Facebook (facebook.com/KindnessWinsFoundation), Twitter (@KindnessWinsFdn), and Instagram (@KindnessWinsFoundation).
ABOUT MADISON KEYS
Madison Keysis a Grand Slam finalist (2017 US Open), three-time Grand Slam semifinalist (2022 Australian Open, 2018 Roland Garros and 2015 Australian Open), and holds six WTA titles. She achieved a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world and claimed the Charleston Open title in 2019, also receiving a key to the city.
ABOUT USTA SOUTH CAROLINA
USTA South Carolina is the state branch of the United States Tennis Association and is in one of nine states that comprise the USTA Southern Section. A not-for-profit organization with more than 22,000 members, USTA South Carolina offers a variety of tennis programs and services for all ages and abilities to “promote and develop the growth of tennis” across South Carolina. For more information, visit https://sctennis.com or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sctennis), Twitter (@ustasc) or Instagram (@ustasouthcarolina).
