1 QUOTE

“John, do you remember the U.S. Open?”

- Yung Soon Teter

1 NOTE

The U.S. Open tennis tournament started two days ago. The last of the four grand slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US. Open) means the tennis season is winding down. My mother loved tennis. She played in college while earning her master’s degree in New York City. She wanted me to play tennis as a boy. But I loved baseball. One day I came back from little league with really bad allergies. Next thing I knew, I in a private tennis lesson learning to hit forehands. Mom Teter was smooth that way.

I was not an elite junior tennis player. But when I was 12, I was enrolled me in a national tournament. I won my local level. I won the west coast regionals at UCLA. Because I won the region, the USTA (United States Tennis Association) flew me and Mom to New York for the U.S. Open. It was Mom’s first time back to NYC since graduation some 20 years earlier. I lost in the third round to a kid from New York. But I will never forget how happy we were. We met Arthur Ashe at our players luncheon. We watched Jimmy Connors on the practice court. We stayed up way too late to see John McEnroe play doubles (I fell asleep on Mom’s shoulder at 2 AM on the 7-Train back to the city). And we high-fived when Yannick Noah hit the first tweener against Aaron Kriekstein.

I was too young to understand but the U.S. Open a short time after my Dad died in a plane accident. She was mourning the sudden loss of her husband of 27 years. She lost so much. IWhat a grace for Mom to enjoy the grace of tennis. I thought I had won I won the qualifying tournaments because I was a better player than my opponents. But I now believe God was helping my Mom. In her End Game season, Mom’s short-term memory betrayed her. But a few core memories were stored deep inside. Every now and again, out of the blue, Mom would ask me, “John, do you remember the U.S. Open?” I would reply, “Mom, that was the best!”

I wish I could watch the U.S. Open one more time with my Mom.

1 QUESTION

Are you a tennis fan and are you watching the U.S. Open this year?

Until Next Tuesday,

John